Abstract
Coral reefs are complex systems that are difficult to fully understand when viewed from a single perspective. As we have separated ourselves into increasingly smaller and more specific disciplines, we often lose sight of important connections between physical and biological factors and how they can change over different spatial and temporal scales. As stresses on these robust yet fragile systems broaden and deepen, it is becoming increasingly important that we break down artificial disciplinary barriers and ask questions that are difficult to frame from a single scientific perspective. This chapter provides a jumping-off point to examine coral reefs – sitting at both a disciplinary and a temporal crossroads.
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Notes
- 1.
Three weeks earlier (April 12, 1961), Yuri Gagarin had completed a single orbit around Earth. However, the small viewing port beneath his feet was configured to view Earth only for a final alignment during re-entry.
- 2.
Barlow N (1958) The autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, with the original omissions restored: http://darwinonline.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1497&viewtype=text&pageseq=1, page 98.
- 3.
Letter to Caroline S. Darwin dated 29 April, 1936: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-301#mark-301.f2
- 4.
See the discussion of W.M. Davis’ support of Darwin’s subsidence theory by Hopley (1982).
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Hubbard, D.K. (2016). Coral Reefs at the Crossroads – An Introduction. In: Hubbard, D., Rogers, C., Lipps, J., Stanley, Jr., G. (eds) Coral Reefs at the Crossroads. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7567-0_1
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