This book provides a unique perspective on the destruction - both natural and human-caused - of coral reef ecosystems. Reconstructing the ecological history of coral reefs, the authors evaluate whether recent dramatic changes are novel events or part of a long-term trend or cycle. The text combines principles of geophysics, paleontology, and marine sciences with real-time observation, examining the interacting causes of change: hurricane damage, predators, disease, rising sea-level, nutrient loading, global warming and ocean acidification. Predictions about the future of coral reefs inspire strategies for restoration and management of ecosystems. Useful for students and professionals in ecology and marine biology, including environmental managers.

Coral reef communities are among the most complex, mature and productive ecosystems on earth. Their activity resulted in the creation of vast lime constructions. Being extremely productive and having the function of a powerful biofilter, coral reefs play an important role in global biogeochemical processes and in the reproduction of food resources in tropical marine regions. All aspects of coral reef science are covered systematically and on the basis of a holistic ecosystem approach. The geological history of coral reefs, their geomorphology as well as biology including community structure of reef biota, their functional characteristics, physiological aspects, biogeochemical metabolism, energy balance, environmental problems and management of resources are treated in detail.

Coral reefs are the largest landforms built by plants and animals. Their study therefore incorporates a wide range of disciplines. This encyclopedia approaches coral reefs from an earth science perspective, concentrating especially on modern reefs. Currently coral reefs are under high stress, most prominently from climate change with changes to water temperature, sea level and ocean acidification particularly damaging. Modern reefs have evolved through the massive environmental changes of the Quaternary with long periods of exposure during glacially lowered sea level periods and short periods of interglacial growth. The entries in this encyclopedia condense the large amount of work carried out since Charles Darwin first attempted to understand reef evolution. Leading authorities from many countries have contributed to the entries covering areas of geology, geography and ecology, providing comprehensive access to the most up-to-date research on the structure, form and processes operating on Quaternary coral reefs.

There are more coral species in deep, cold-waters than in tropical coral reefs. This broad-ranging treatment is the first to synthesise current understanding of all types of cold-water coral, covering their ecology, biology, palaeontology and geology. Beginning with a history of research in the field, the authors describe the approaches needed to study corals in the deep sea. They consider coral habitats created by stony scleractinian as well as octocoral species. The importance of corals as long-lived geological structures and palaeoclimate archives is discussed, in addition to ways in which they can be conserved. Topic boxes explain unfamiliar concepts, and case studies summarize significant studies, coral habitats or particular conservation measures. Written for professionals and students of marine science, this text is enhanced by an extensive glossary, online resources, and a unique collection of color photographs and illustrations of corals and the habitats they form.

One of the most serious consequences of global climate change for coral reefs is the increased frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events and, since the first edition of this volume was published in 2009, there have been additional mass coral bleaching events. This book provides comprehensive information on the causes and consequences of coral bleaching for coral reef ecosystems, from the genes and microbes involved in the bleaching response, to individual coral colonies and whole reef systems. It presents detailed analyses of how coral bleaching can be detected and quantified and reviews future scenarios based on modeling efforts and the potential mechanisms of acclimatisation and adaptation. It also briefly discusses emerging research areas that focus on the development of innovative interventions aiming to increase coral climate resilience and restore reefs.

This book presents both state-of-the art knowledge from Recent coral reefs (1.8 million to a few centuries old) gained since the eighties, and introduces geologists, oceanographers and environmentalists to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystem encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity. Scleractinian reefs first appeared about 300 million years ago. Today coral reef systems provide some of the most sensitive gauges of environmental change, expressing the complex interplay of chemical, physical, geological and biological factors. The topics covered will include the evolutionary history of reef systems and some of the main reef builders since the Cenozoic, the effects of biological and environmental forces on the zonation of reef systems and the distribution of reef organisms and on reef community dynamics through time, changes in the geometry, anatomy and stratigraphy of reef bodies and systems in relation to changes in sea level and tectonics, the distribution patterns of sedimentary (framework or detrital) facies in relation to those of biological communities, the modes and rates of reef accretion (progradation, aggradation versus backstepping; coral growth versus reef growth), the hydrodynamic forces controlling water circulation through reef structures and their relationship to early diagenetic processes, the major diagenetic processes affecting reef bodies through time (replacement and diddolution, dolomitization, phosphatogenesis), and the record of climate change by both individual coral colonies and reef systems over the Quaternary. * state-of-the-art knowledge from Recent corals reefs* introduction to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystems encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity.* authors are internationally regarded authorities on the subject* trustworthy information