Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement

@article{Roff2013,
  Title = {Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement},
  Author = {Roff, George and Clark, Tara R. and Reymond, Claire E. and Zhao, Jian-xin and Feng, Yuexing and McCook, Laurence J. and Done, Terence J. and Pandolfi, John M.},
  Editor = {},
  Journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences},
  Year = {2013},
  Pages = {20122100},
  Volume = {280},
  Doi = {10.1098/rspb.2012.2100},
  Abstract = {The inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have undergone significant declines in water quality following European settlement (approx. 1870 AD). However, direct evidence of impacts on coral assemblages is limited by a lack of historical baselines prior to the onset of modern monitoring programmes in the early 1980s. Through palaeoecological reconstructions, we report a previously undocumented historical collapse of Acropora assemblages at Pelorus Island (central GBR). High-precision U-series dating of dead Acropora fragments indicates that this collapse occurred between 1920 and 1955, with few dates obtained after 1980. Prior to this event, our results indicate remarkable long-term stability in coral community structure over centennial scales. We suggest that chronic increases in sediment flux and nutrient loading following European settlement acted as the ultimate cause for the lack of recovery of Acropora assemblages following a series of acute disturbance events (SST anomalies, cyclones and flood events). Evidence for major degradation in reef condition owing to human impacts prior to modern ecological surveys indicates that current monitoring of inshore reefs on the GBR may be predicated on a significantly shifted baseline.},
}

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Roff, George
AU  - Clark, Tara R.
AU  - Reymond, Claire E.
AU  - Zhao, Jian-xin
AU  - Feng, Yuexing
AU  - McCook, Laurence J.
AU  - Done, Terence J.
AU  - Pandolfi, John M.
TI  - Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement
T2  - Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
PY  - 2013
SP  - 20122100
VL  - 280
DO  - 10.1098/rspb.2012.2100
AB  - The inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have undergone significant declines in water quality following European settlement (approx. 1870 AD). However, direct evidence of impacts on coral assemblages is limited by a lack of historical baselines prior to the onset of modern monitoring programmes in the early 1980s. Through palaeoecological reconstructions, we report a previously undocumented historical collapse of Acropora assemblages at Pelorus Island (central GBR). High-precision U-series dating of dead Acropora fragments indicates that this collapse occurred between 1920 and 1955, with few dates obtained after 1980. Prior to this event, our results indicate remarkable long-term stability in coral community structure over centennial scales. We suggest that chronic increases in sediment flux and nutrient loading following European settlement acted as the ultimate cause for the lack of recovery of Acropora assemblages following a series of acute disturbance events (SST anomalies, cyclones and flood events). Evidence for major degradation in reef condition owing to human impacts prior to modern ecological surveys indicates that current monitoring of inshore reefs on the GBR may be predicated on a significantly shifted baseline.
ER  -