Carbonate Production Potential of Coral Carpets - A Biological Twist to a Geological Problem.

This project intends to shed more light on the question whether reefs are merely over-thickened piles of sediment or primarily biological phenomena. It intends to use actualistic examples to determine whether functional differences exist in coral constructed biostromes and bioherms, i.e. whether there exist two fundamentally different sedimentological and ecological settings in coral systems - the reef proper and the coral carpet. It intends to develop new hypotheses about and pinpoint the actual location of maximum carbonate production and accretion within modem coral systems. It intends to add information on whether Holocene reef- and coral carpet morphology is primarily geologically or biologically controlled, and whether there exist within-system differences in biological versus geological control. The results will be used to explain the location, structure and functioning of recent as well as fossil reefs and coral biostromes. We want to define associations while alive and be able to develop predictive models how the associations would change after their death according to the dominant taphonomic agents. Furthermore important new findings for conservation biology can be expected - will global change effect reef growth in the same way across the entire system, or are the most productive parts beyond the reach of global environmental change? Research is planned to take place in the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, South Africa, Malaysia and the Caribbean.