Bioerosion and Reef Ecology Essay example -- Bioeroding Ecosystem Ecol

Bioerosion and Reef EcologyThe breakdown of calcareous substrates among coral reefs, or bioerosion, is a facet of reef ecology too often forgotten. The process plays a much more important role than it is usually credited with. Bioeroding species, consisting of many distinct types of organisms that act on the environment in a seemingly endless variety of ways, interact with the ecosystem and with each other as part of the reef ripening and degradation cycle. The degradation portion of this cycle, the part that is most often overlooked, is essential for the development of reefs as the diverse and beautiful habitats that we know them as. Bioerosive interactions are very complex, and a general understanding of the process of bioerosion is necessary to gain a solid understanding of the reef ecosystem.IntroductionWhat is the significance, if any, of bioerosion in respect to a reefs ecosystem? How does bioerosion take place, and what effects does it have on the biology of a reef? These a re important questions to ask, as the processes that take place inside deadened coral skeletons or over long periods of time generally happen beyond the perception of the human eye or mind, and thus are often looked over.Bioerosion, be for this paper as the biological breakdown of substrates (specifically the calcareous skeletons of corals and other reef organisms), is half of the process of reef growth and decay and is too often looked upon as a negative force in reef dynamics. Not only is bioerosion the occasional victim of a generally negative sentiment, but bioerosion is sometimes evidently forgotten from scientific literature. For example, Australias Great Barrier Reef attributes the whole of physical breakdown of dead coral skeleton... ...-604.LeCampion-Alsumard, T., Golubic, S., Hutchings, P. (1995). Microbial endoliths in skeletons of live and dead corals Porites lobata (Moorea, French Polynesia). Marine Ecology. Progress Series 11, 149-157.Naylor, L.A., Viles, H. A., an d Carter, N.E.A. (2002). Biogeomorphology revisited looking towards the future. Geomorphology. deal 47. Issue 1. pp. 3-14.Rouse, Greg W., and Fredrik Pleijel. (2001). Polychaetes. Oxford University Press, Inc. New York. Spencer, T., and Viles, H. (2002). Bioconstruction, bioerosion, and disturbance on tropical coasts coral reefs and rocky limestone shores. Geomorphology. Volume 48. Issues 1-3. pp. 23-50. Zubia, M. and M. Peyrot-Clausade. (2001). Internal bioerosion of Acropora formosa in Reunion (Indian Ocean) microborer and macroborer activities. Oceanologica Acta. Vol. 24, Issue 3. pp. 251-262.