Coral island

A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea. The term low island can be used to distinguish such islands from high islands, which are formed through volcanic action. Low islands are formed as a result of sedimentation upon a coral reef or of the uplifting of such islands. Coral reefs are some of the oldest ecosystems on the planet, over geological time forming massive reefs of limestone. The reef environment supports more plant and animal species than any other habitat. Coral reefs are vital for life for multiple aspects some of which include structure, ecology, and nutrient cycles which all support biodiversity in the reefs. Coral reefs build massive calcareous skeletons that serve as homes for animals such as fish hiding inside the crooks and crannies of the reef and barnacles attaching themselves directly to the coral's structure. The structures also help plants that need the sun to photosynthesize, by lifting the plants to the ocean's surface where the sunlight can penetrate the water. The structures also create calm zones in the ocean providing a place for fish and plant species to thrive. Over geological time a reef may reach the surface and can become a coral island, where it begins a whole new ecosystem for land-based creatures. A coral island begins as a volcanic island over a hot spot. As the volcano emerges from the sea, a fringing reef grows on the outskirt of the volcano. The volcano eventually moves off the hot spot by means of plate tectonics. Once this occurs, the volcano can no longer keep up with the wave erosion and undergoes subsidence. Once the island is submerged, the coral must keep growing to stay in the epipelagic zone. This causes the coral to grow into an atoll with a shallow lagoon in the middle. The lagoon can then undergo accretion and create an island completely made of carbonate materials.

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Fringing reef

A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows directly from the shoreline, then the reef flat extends to the beach and there is no backreef. In other cases (e.g., most of the Bahamas), fringing reefs may grow hundreds of yards from shore and contain extensive backreef areas within which it contains food and water, examples are Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the western coast of Australia, the Caribbean, East Africa, and Red Sea.

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines, because they were part of the Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines.

Atoll

An atoll (pronˈæt.ɒl,-ɔːl,-oʊl,əˈtɒl,-ˈtɔːl,_-ˈtoʊl) is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence and antecedent karst models, have been used to explain the development of atolls.

Worldwide analysis of reef surveys sorts coral taxa by associations with recent and past heat stress

Stéphane Joost, Oliver Michele Selmoni, Véronique Berteaux-Lecellier

Coral reefs around the world are under threat from anomalous heat waves that are causing the widespread decline of hard corals. Different coral taxa are known to have different sensitivities to heat, although variation in susceptibilities have also been ob ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2022

Intracellular competition for nitrogen controls dinoflagellate population density in corals

Anders Meibom, Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Maoz Fine, Julia Marie Jeanne Yvonne Bodin, Maria-Evangelia Giovani

The density of dinoflagellate microalgae in the tissue of symbiotic corals is an important determinant for health and productivity of the coral animal. Yet, the specific mechanism for their regulation and the consequence for coral nutrition are insufficien ...

ROYAL SOC2020

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Coral reefs are suffering a major decline due to the environmental constraints imposed by climate change. Over the last 20 years, three major coral bleaching events occurred in concomitance with anomalous heatwaves, provoking a severe loss of coral cover w ...

2020

Biomineralization: Skeleton Structure and Evolutionary History

Explores the structure and phylogeny of scleractinian corals, emphasizing reliable taxonomic criteria and micromorphological diversity.

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