Reefs shift from net accretion to net erosion along a natural environmental gradient

Coral reefs persist in an accretion-erosion balance and ocean acidification resulting from anthropogenic CO2 emissions threatens to shift this balance in favor of net reef erosion. Corals and calcifying algae, largely responsible for reef accretion, are vulnerable to environmental changes associated with ocean acidification, but the direct effects of lower pH on reef erosion has received less attention, particularly in the context of known drivers of bioerosion and natural variability. This study examines the balance between reef accretion and erosion along a well-characterized natural environmental gradient in Kane'ohe Bay, Hawai'i using experimental blocks of coral skeleton. Comparing before and after micro-computed tomography (µCT) scans to quantify net accretion and erosion, we show that, at the small spatial scale of this study (tens of meters), pH was a better predictor of the accretion-erosion balance than environmental drivers suggested by prior studies, including resource availability, temperature, distance from shore, or depth. In addition, this study highlights the fine-scale variation of pH in coastal systems and the importance of microhabitat variation for reef accretion and erosion processes. We demonstrate significant changes in both the mean and variance of pH on the order of meters, providing a local perspective on global increases in pCO2. Our findings suggest that increases in reef erosion, combined with expected decreases in calcification, will accelerate the shift of coral reefs to an erosion-dominated system in a high-CO2 world. This shift will make reefs increasingly susceptible to storm damage and sea-level rise, threatening the maintenance of the ecosystem services that coral reefs provide.

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Cite this as

Silbiger, N J, Guadayol, Òscar, Thomas, Florence I M, Donahue, M J (2014). Dataset: Reefs shift from net accretion to net erosion along a natural environmental gradient. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.846699

DOI retrieved: 2014

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 29, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.846699
Author Silbiger, N J
Given Name N J
Family Name Silbiger
More Authors
Guadayol, Òscar
Thomas, Florence I M
Donahue, M J
Source Creation 2014
Publication Year 2014
Resource Type text/tab-separated-values - filename: Silbiger_2014
Subject Areas
Name: Biosphere

Name: Chemistry

Name: Ecology

Name: Oceans

Related Identifiers
Title: Reefs shift from net accretion to net erosion along a natural environmental gradient
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10999
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2014
Source: Marine Ecology Progress Series
Authors: Silbiger N J , Guadayol Òscar , Thomas Florence I M , Donahue M J .

Title: seacarb: seawater carbonate chemistry with R. R package version 3.0.6
Identifier: https://cran.r-project.org/package=seacarb
Type: DOI
Relation: References
Year: 2015
Authors: Gattuso Jean-Pierre , Epitalon Jean-Marie , Lavigne Héloïse .