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Estimating rates of biologically driven coral reef framework production and erosion: a new census-based carbonate budget methodology and applications to the reefs of Bonaire

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Abstract

Census-based approaches can provide important measures of the ecological processes controlling reef carbonate production states. Here, we describe a rapid, non-destructive approach to carbonate budget assessments, termed ReefBudget that is census-based and which focuses on quantifying the relative contributions made by different biological carbonate producer/eroder groups to net reef framework carbonate production. The methodology is presently designed only for Caribbean sites, but has potential to be adapted for use in other regions. Rates are calculated using data on organism cover and abundance, combined with annual extension or production rate measures. Set against this are estimates of the rates at which bioeroding species of fish, urchins and internal substrate borers erode reef framework. Resultant data provide a measure of net rates of biologically driven carbonate production (kg CaCO3 m−2 year−1). These data have potential to be integrated into ecological assessments of reef state, to aid monitoring of temporal (same-site) changes in rates of biological carbonate production and to provide insights into the key ecological drivers of reef growth or erosion as a function of environmental change. Individual aspects of the budget methodology can also be used alongside other census approaches if deemed appropriate for specific study aims. Furthermore, the methodology spreadsheets are user-changeable, allowing local or new process/rate data to be integrated into calculations. Application of the methodology is considered at sites around Bonaire. Highest net rates of carbonate production, +9.52 to +2.30 kg CaCO3 m−2 year−1, were calculated at leeward sites, whilst lower rates, +0.98 to −0.98 kg CaCO3 m−2 year−1, were calculated at windward sites. Data are within the ranges calculated in previous budget studies and provide confidence in the production estimates the methodology generates.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded through a Leverhulme Trust International Research Network grant (F/00426/G). We thank Ramón de León, Bonaire National Marine Park (STINAPA), for his assistance with research permits and with arranging site access. Christine Schönberg is thanked for comments on the sponge bioerosion methodology. The constructive comments of Lucien Montaggioni and an anonymous reviewer for Coral Reefs helped tighten the focus of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK

    C. T. Perry

  2. Department of Geography, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    E. N. Edinger

  3. School of Environment, Private Bag 92019, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    P. S. Kench

  4. School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, UK

    G. N. Murphy

  5. School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Darling Marine Center, 193 Clarks Cove Road, Walpole, ME, 04573, USA

    R. S. Steneck

  6. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia

    S. G. Smithers

  7. Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    P. J. Mumby

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  1. C. T. Perry
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Correspondence to C. T. Perry.

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Communicated by Geology Editor Prof. Bernhard Riegl

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Perry, C.T., Edinger, E.N., Kench, P.S. et al. Estimating rates of biologically driven coral reef framework production and erosion: a new census-based carbonate budget methodology and applications to the reefs of Bonaire. Coral Reefs 31, 853–868 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0901-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0901-4

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