Sedimentology and downhole log analysis of Site 820, central Great Barrier Reef outer shelf: the factors controlling Pleistocene progradational and aggradational seismic geometry

Journal ArticleThe textural and compositional characteristics of the 400 m sequence of Pleistocene wackestones and packstones intersected at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 820 reflect deposition controlled by fluctuations in sea-level, and by variations in the rate of sediment supply. The development of an effective reefal barrier adjacent to Site 820, between 760 k.y. and 1.01 Ma, resulted in a marked reduction in sediment accumulation rates on the central Great Barrier Reef outermost shelf and upper slope. This marked change corresponds with the transition from sigmoidal prograding seismic geometry in the lower 254 m of the sequence, to aggradational geometry in the top 146 m. The reduction in the rate of sediment accumulation that followed development of the reefal barrier also caused a fundamental change in the way in which fluctuations in sea-level controlled sediment deposition. In the lower, progradational portion of the sequence, sea-level cyclicity is represented by superimposed coarsening-upward cycles. Although moderately calcareous throughout (mostly 35%-75% CaCO3), the depositional system acted in a similar manner to siliciclastic shelf depositional systems. Relative sea-level rises resulted in deposition of more condensed, less calcareous, fine, muddy wackestones at the base of each cycle. Sea-level highstands resulted in increased sedimentation rates and greater influx of coarse bioclastic material. Continued high rates of sedimentation of both coarse bioclastic material and mixed carbonate and terrigenous mud marked falling and low sea-levels. This lower part of the sequence therefore is dominated by coarse packstones, with only thin wackestone intervals representing transgressions. In contrast, sea-level fluctuations following formation of an effective reefal barrier produced a markedly different sedimentary record. The more slowly deposited aggradational sequence is characterized by discrete thin interbeds of relatively coarse packstone within a predominantly fine wackestone sequence. These thin packstone beds resulted from relatively low sedimentation rates during falling and low sea-levels, with much higher rates of muddy sediment accumulation during rising and high sea-levels. The transition from progradational to aggradational sequence geometry therefore corresponds to a transition from a "siliciclastic-type" to a "carbonate-type" depositional system

Geometry of Pleistocene facies on the Great Barrier Reef outer shelf and upper slope - seismic stratigraphy of sites 819, 820, and 821

Journal ArticleSeismic stratigraphic analysis of the sedimentary succession intersected in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 819, 820, and 821, on the outer shelf and upper slope seaward of the Great Barrier Reef, provides a clear indication of the importance of sediment supply and depositional base-level as two of the fundamental parameters that control the geometry of seismic sequences. The nine predominantly unconformity-bounded seismic sequences display two different geometric styles: obliquely progradational sequences at the base of the succession are succeeded by purely aggradational sequences. The distribution of the aggradational sequences shows that deposition was concentrated on the outer shelf, with the locus of sedimentation varying from the shelf edge to immediately adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. The locus of deposition of the underlying obliquely progradational sequences was predominantly within broad submarine valleys immediately below the paleoshelf edge. Depositional base-level fluctuations controlled the textural and compositional characteristics of sediment that was deposited on the outer shelf and upper slope, and formed sequence and subsequence boundaries characterized by offlap and/or onlap. However, it was the initiation of reef growth to form an outer reef barrier, at approximately 0.75 to 1 Ma, that restricted sediment supply to the outer shelf and resulted in the two fundamentally different types of seismic sequence geometry

The influence of wave exposure on coral community development on man-made breakwater reefs, with a comparison to a natural reef

Breakwaters dominate shorelines in many coastal urban areas, providing substantial hard-bottom habitat upon which diverse and abundant reef communities develop. In recognition of their potential ecological and economic importance, there is increasing interest in understanding how design features can influence community development. We investigated the influence of wave exposure on breakwater coral communities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Coral community composition, cover, size structure, recruitment, mortality, and growth rates were compared quarterly between two windward and two leeward breakwater sites for 1 yr to explore the influence of wave exposure on coral community development. Comparisons also were made with a natural coral reef to gain an understanding of how community structure and dynamics compare between these habitats. Benthic and water column sediment particle sizes were also analyzed. Leeward breakwaters contained a low-cover coral community dominated by small colonies with high mortality compared with windward breakwaters and the natural reef. Windward breakwater coral communities had comparable recruitment, mortality, and growth rates as the natural reef. Fine sediments ( 125 μm), likely as a result of differences in wave action among reef types. Overall, these results suggest that leeward breakwaters represent sub-optimal habitats for coral community development. However, with appropriate design, breakwaters can develop diverse and abundant coral communities with comparable coral cover, demographics, and growth rates to those on the natural reef in Dubai. © 2010 Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science of the University of Miami

The effects of water temperature on the juvenile performance of two tropical damselfishes expatriating to temperate reefs

Ocean warming associated with global climate change is already inducing geographic range shifts of marine species. Juvenile coral reef fishes transported into temperate latitudes (termed 'vagrant' fishes) can experience winter water temperatures below their normal thermal minimum. Such environmental extremes may increase energetic costs for such fishes, resulting in reduced performance, which may be the governing factor that limits the potential for poleward range expansion of such fishes. This study compared the juvenile physiological performance and behaviour of two congeneric tropical damselfishes which settle during austral summer months within temperate eastern Australia: Abudefduf vaigiensis have an extended southern range, and lower threshold survival temperature than the congeneric A. whitleyi. Physiological and behavioural performance parameters that may be affected by cooler temperature regimes at higher latitudes were measured in aquaria. Lower water temperature resulted in reduced growth rates, feeding rates, burst escape speed and metabolic rates of both species, with significantly reduced performance (up to six-fold reductions) for fishes reared at 18°C relative to 22°C and 26°C. However, A. whitleyi exhibited lower growth rates than A. vaigiensis across all temperatures, and lower aerobic capacity at the lowest temperature (18°C). This difference between species in growth and metabolic capacity suggests that the extended southern distribution and greater overwintering success of A. vaigiensis, in comparison to A. whitleyi is related to thermal performance parameters which are critical in maintaining individual health and survival. Our results support previous findings in the region that water temperature below 22°C represents a critical physiological threshold for tropical Abudefduf species expatriating into temperate south-eastern Australia

Autonomous Systems Taxonomy

The purpose of this taxonomy is to provide common definitions and a functional decomposition of the technology that is required for NASA's autonomous systems. The taxonomy serves as a framework for: (1) assessing the state of NASA's autonomous systems capability (workforce, technology, etc.) and (2) assessing the state of the art in autonomy technology

Growth impacts in a changing ocean: insights from two coral reef fishes in an extreme environment

Determining the life-history consequences for fishes living in extreme and variable environments will be vital in predicting the likely impacts of ongoing climate change on reef fish demography. Here, we compare size-at-age and maximum body size of two common reef fish species (Lutjanus ehrenbergii and Pomacanthus maculosus) between the environmentally extreme Arabian/Persian Gulf (‘Arabian Gulf’) and adjacent comparably benign Oman Sea. Additionally, we use otolith increment width profiles to investigate the influence of temperature, salinity and productivity on the individual growth rates. Individuals of both species showed smaller size-at-age and lower maximum size in the Arabian Gulf compared to conspecifics in the less extreme and less variable environment of the Oman Sea, suggesting a life-history trade-off between size and metabolic demands. Salinity was the best environmental predictor of interannual growth across species and regions, with low growth corresponding to more saline conditions. However, salinity had a weaker negative effect on interannual growth of fishes in the Arabian Gulf than in the Oman Sea, indicating Arabian Gulf populations may be better able to acclimate to changing environmental conditions. Temperature had a weak positive effect on the interannual growth of fishes in the Arabian Gulf, suggesting that these populations may still be living within their thermal windows. Our results highlight the potential importance of osmoregulatory cost in impacting growth, and the need to consider the effect of multiple stressors when investigating the consequences of future climate change on fish demography

Consequences of marine barriers for genetic diversity of the coral-specialist yellowbar angelfish from the Northwestern Indian Ocean

Ocean circulation, geological history, geographic distance, and seascape heterogeneity play an important role in phylogeography of coral‐dependent fishes. Here, we investigate potential genetic population structure within the yellowbar angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus) across the Northwestern Indian Ocean (NIO). We then discuss our results with respect to the above abiotic features in order to understand the contemporary distribution of genetic diversity of the species. To do so, restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq) was utilized to carry out population genetic analyses on P. maculosus sampled throughout the species’ distributional range. First, genetic data were correlated to geographic and environmental distances, and tested for isolation‐by‐distance and isolation‐by‐environment, respectively, by applying the Mantel test. Secondly, we used distance‐based and model‐based methods for clustering genetic data. Our results suggest the presence of two putative barriers to dispersal; one off the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the other off northern Somalia, which together create three genetic subdivisions of P. maculosus within the NIO. Around the Arabian Peninsula, one genetic cluster was associated with the Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden in the west, and another cluster was associated with the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in the east. Individuals sampled in Kenya represented a third genetic cluster. The geographic locations of genetic discontinuities observed between genetic subdivisions coincide with the presence of substantial upwelling systems, as well as habitat discontinuity. Our findings shed light on the origin and maintenance of genetic patterns in a common coral reef fish inhabiting the NIO, and reinforce the hypothesis that the evolution of marine fish species in this region has likely been shaped by multiple vicariance events.This work was conducted within the framework of the NPRP project ‘Connectivity, diversity and genetic between offshore natural coral reefs and oil platforms – NPRP No. 7‐1129‐1‐201’, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. F.T. is supported by a CNPq/Brazil fellowship through the program Science without Borders (Proc. 232875/2014‐6). We are also grateful to Filipe Vieira (University of Copenhagen) for his advice on population genetic analyses

Phylogeography of a commercially important reef fish, Lutjanus ehrenbergii, from the coastal waters of the Arabian Peninsula

The coastal waters of the Arabian Peninsula include a heterogeneous marine region comprising the Persian/Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman at its northeastern boundary and the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea at its southern and western boundary. The environment within this region shifts from highly variable coral cover and extreme temperatures within the Persian/Arabian Gulf to sparse coral cover, lower summer temperatures, and nutrient-rich upwelling within the Sea of Oman. Within the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea there is high coral cover and warm, stable conditions. We tested for barriers to pelagic dispersal across this peninsula for the commercially important blackspot snapper Lutjanus ehrenbergii using mitochondrial DNA sequences. We found scant evidence for population genetic differences when comparing within northern and southern sections, but instead found strong evidence of genetic differentiation between northern and southern sections, with the Persian/Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman populations being highly differentiated from the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea populations. Low levels of haplotype sharing between the Persian/Arabian Gulf – Sea of Oman and the Gulf of Aden – Red Sea probably reflect scenarios of historical colonization into these peripheral bodies of water, or the presence of a contemporary ecological barrier preventing further genetic exchange