Chronostratigraphy of Bramston Reef reveals a long-term record of fringing reef growth under muddy conditions in the central Great Barrier Reef

Ryan, Emma; Smithers, Scott G.; Lewis, Stephen E.; Clark, Tara R.; Zhao, Jian‐xin

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.10.016

Cited by 21 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Only minor amounts of progradational growth were documented on these reefs from 5.5 to 4.8 ka. However, similar to the results of the mid-outer platform reefs in this study, active fringing reef flat progradation ceased or slowed considerably by ~4.6-3 ka (Smithers et al, 2006, Leonard et al, 2015, Ryan et al, 2016a.…”

Section: >>Figsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…However, recent geological and ecological research on fossil reefs in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) (Smithers et al, 2006, Leonard et al, 2015, Ryan et al, 2016a, 2016b and wider Indo-Pacific , Hamanaka et al, 2012, Toth et al, 2015 identified intervals of significant reef "turn-off" in response to natural environmental forces earlier in their development during the mid-to late Holocene. It is therefore important to understand the longer term histories of coral reefs as they not only provide important information about significant palaeoenvironmental change, but also provide greater insight into the persistence (or not) of reef growth through time.…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Successive reef growth phases of "turn-on" and "turn-off" were identified from numerous inshore fringing reefs of the GBR within the past 7-kyr (Smithers et al, 2006, Leonard et al, 2015, Ryan et al, 2016a, 2016b. Specifically, hiatuses in reef growth from 4.6 to 2.8 ka and from 5.5 to 2.3 ka were identified from these reefs and are attributed to falling sea level and or re-suspension of terrigenous material Smithers, 2011, Leonard et al, 2015).…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Successive phases of Holocene reef flat development: Evidence from the mid- to outer Great Barrier Reef

Dechnik

Webster

Webb

et al. 2017

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A re-examination of 46 recently published U/Th reef flat ages from Heron and One Tree reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) identified several distinct Holocene reef growth phases with a clear 2.3-kyr hiatus in lateral reef accretion from 3.9 ka to 1.5 ka. An analysis of all available published radiocarbon reef flat ages (165) from 27 other mid-outer platform reefs revealed a similar hiatus between 3.6 ka and 1.6 ka for the northern, south-central and southern GBR. However, no hiatus in reef flat growth was observed in reefs from the central GBR with ages ranging from 7.6 ka to 0.9 ka. Increased upwelling, turbidity and cyclone activity in response to increased sea-surface temperature (SST's), precipitation and El-Nino Southern Oscillation variability have been ruled out as possible mechanisms of reef turn-off for the midouter platform reefs. Rather, a fall (~0.5 m) in relative sea level at 4-3.5 ka is the most likely explanation for why reefs in the northern and southern regions turned off during this time.Greater hydro-isostatic adjustment of the central GBR and long term subsidence of the HalifaxBasin may have provided greater vertical accommodation for the mid-outer reefs of the central GBR, thus allowing these reefs to continue to accrete vertically despite a fall in sea level ~4-3.5 ka. Further evidence for greater subsidence in this region includes the lack of senile reefs and dominance of incipient and juvenile reefs in the central GBR. This suggests that these reefs approached sea level considerably later than the northern and southern reefs, consistent with their deeper antecedent substrates. Thus, these results not only provide important information about possible reef flat demise in response to natural environmental factors, but also provide insights into regional subsidence that affected relative sea level along the east Australian margin during the Holocene.

show abstract

Section: >>Figsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Successive phases of Holocene reef flat development: Evidence from the mid- to outer Great Barrier Reef

Dechnik

Webster

Webb

et al. 2017

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Divergent ecological trajectories further confound the issue, with some studies reporting long-term coral community stability under the continuous influence of terrigenous sediments (Perry et al 2008(Perry et al , 2009Roche et al 2011;Ryan et al 2016), while others have linked shifts in coral assemblages to anthropogenically induced water-quality decline (e.g. Fabricius et al 2005;Roff et al 2013).…”

Section: Communicated By Geology Editor Prof Eberhard Gischlermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fabricius et al 2005;Roff et al 2013). One explanation for the apparent disparity between existing ecological records is that the impact of increasing sediment influx is spatially heterogeneous, with an emerging hypothesis that nearshore coral communities are preadapted to, and thus better able to cope with, conditions of low light availability and sedimentation (Perry et al 2008;Morgan et al 2016a;Ryan et al 2016). This pre-adaption may therefore have instilled a greater resilience within these nearshore coral communities to changes in water quality than those of inshore reefs, which are located further offshore towards the inner/mid-shelf boundary, and where the influence of suspended sediments and the frequency of exposure to river flood plume-associated particulates (i.e.…”

Section: Communicated By Geology Editor Prof Eberhard Gischlermentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoecological records of coral community development on a turbid, nearshore reef complex: baselines for assessing ecological change

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding past coral community development and reef growth is crucial for placing contemporary ecological and environmental change within appropriate reef-building timescales. On Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR), coral reefs situated within coastal inner-shelf zones are a particular priority. This is due to their close proximity to river point sources, and therefore susceptibility to reduced water quality discharged from coastal catchments, many of which have been modified following European settlement (ca. 1850 AD). However, the extent of waterquality decline and its impacts on the GBR's inner-shelf reefs remain contentious. In this study, palaeoecological coral assemblage records were developed for five proximal coral reefs situated within a nearshore turbid-zone reef complex on the central GBR. A total of 29 genera of Scleractinia were identified from the palaeoecological inventory of the reef complex, with key contributions to reef-building made by Acropora, Montipora, and Turbinaria. Discrete intervals pre-and post-dating European settlement, but associated with equivalent water depths, were identified using Bayesian age-depth modelling, enabling investigation of competing ideas of the main drivers of nearshore coral assemblage change. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that changes in the composition of nearshore coral assemblages are: (1) intrinsically driven and linked to vertical reef development towards sea level, and (2) the result of changes in water quality associated with coastal river catchment modification. Our records found no discernible evidence of change in the generic composition of coral assemblages relative to European settlement. Instead, two distinctive depth-stratified assemblages were identified. This study demonstrates the robust nature of nearshore coral communities under reported water-quality decline and provides a useful context for the monitoring and assessment of ecological change on reefs located within the most nearshore turbidzone environments of the central GBR.

show abstract

Microstructural characteristics of the stony coral genus Acropora useful to coral reef paleoecology and modern conservation

Zhao

Zhang

Zhong

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Chronostratigraphy of Bramston Reef reveals a long-term record of fringing reef growth under muddy conditions in the central Great Barrier Reef

Cited by 21 publications

References 50 publications

Successive phases of Holocene reef flat development: Evidence from the mid- to outer Great Barrier Reef

Successive phases of Holocene reef flat development: Evidence from the mid- to outer Great Barrier Reef

Palaeoecological records of coral community development on a turbid, nearshore reef complex: baselines for assessing ecological change

Microstructural characteristics of the stony coral genus Acropora useful to coral reef paleoecology and modern conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About