Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs

Synopsis

Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs: Fifty Years of Learning describes how coral reefs have alternately flourished and declined over the last fifty years and the dynamics of these changes. The study is based on recordings at thirty different locations along the Sudanese coast, visited by the author between 1971 and 1973.Beyond the Red Sea's desert shores lie some of the richest and most diverse coral reefs on our planet. Over a thousand species of reef fishes, matched by a similar abundance of living corals, creating habitats scientists were only just beginning to understand. The complexity of the interrelations was truly mesmerizing. A single intervention, such as removal of a key species, could cause the whole community to collapse. Healthy corals were transformed into green weed-smothered reefs, accompanied by the loss of both corals and fish.Based on the author's observations of how knowledge and perspectives have changed over the last fifty years, this book highlights lessons learned from historical records that may help maintain and reestablish coral reefs in the years to come.Topics covered include: CORAL REEF FISH (fish surveys); CORAL REEF PROFILES (coral growth rates, coral distribution, and corals on 'Cousteau garage'); CORAL THREATS (climate change, coral bleaching, coral diseases, coral sponges, Terpios hoshinota, coral predators, and coral urchins); CORAL—ALGAE; CORAL RESEARCH; and more . . .