[Coral-List] Newly discovered reef (?) is taller than a skyscraper
tomascik at novuscom.net
tomascik at novuscom.net
Mon Nov 9 18:44:09 UTC 2020
Hi everyone,
The term “coral reef” and “reef” are being used very interchangeably
these days and it does create a certain degree of confusion, especially
for those who are working for their sustainable management and
conservation. The recent explosion of various new “international
journals” has also created a credibility issue since “coral reef” papers
are still coming out that almost resemble fiction. The “coral reefs” of
St. Martin’s Island (Bangladesh) are a god example. This amazing island
close to the world’s largest delta system sustains a relatively diverse
coral community, but because of its geological origins and its past and
present environmental setting coral reefs have never developed. That has
not stopped publication of many scientific papers talking and describing
the “coral reefs” of St. Martin’s Island, widely known in Bangladesh as
their “Coral Island”. Just like “coral reef” the term “coral island”
does have a geological definition, but this does not seem to matter even
in science publications. I think the start of this “coral reef” tale
probably started with the publication of:
Fattah, Q. A. (1979). Protection of marine environment and related
ecosystems of St. Martin’s Island. Proceedings of the. National Seminar
Protection Mar. Env. Rel. Ecosystems, Dhaka, 27-29 November. pp.
104-108.
This was followed by:
UNEP/IUCN (1988). Coral Reefs of the World. Volume 2: Indian Ocean, Red
Sea and Gulf. UNEP Regional Seas and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland,
Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K./UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. pp. 389.
Here is a quote from the UNEP/IUCN (1988) report:
“A general description of the marine environment of Bangladesh is given
in UNEP (1986a). The only known coral reef in Bangladesh occurs around
St Martin's Island (20°37'N, 92°18'E), an island of about 6 sq. km, in
the Bay of Bengal, 13 km from the south-east mainland coast and 95 km
south of Cox's Bazaar. It is reputed to be a submerged reef but
scientific knowledge of the area is still very limited. The island is
inhabited by about 3000 people, most of whom are fishermen. Parts of the
reef are said to be completely destroyed due to shell and coral
collection, but it is possible that domestic and industrial effluents,
dynamite fishing and recreational pressure have added to the problem
(Fattah, 1979). Scientific expeditions to the island took place in 1973
and 1979 (UNEP, 1986a). St Martin's Island is being surveyed as a
potential marine park as it is also an important wintering ground for
wildfowl and a nesting site for marine turtles (Khan, 1985; UNEP, in
prep.).”
When I decided to work on “The Ecology of the Indonesian Seas” I
contacted many well know coral reef scientists and asked them for their
contributions by including a “Box” section in the books where each
scientists could write a short “Box” addressing an issue of their choice
that would fit with the theme of the chapter. One of these kind people
was the late J. van der Land from the National Museum of Natural History
in Leiden, Netherlands (now Naturalis Biodiversity Center) who agreed
wrote a 4 page “Box” on “What is a coral reefs” in Chapter 4
“Introducing Coral Reefs”. Anyone who is interested to read this
succinct discussion of “What is a coral reef?” can visit the following
link and find the “Box” on page 128.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301883199_Tomascik_T_A_J_Mah_A_Nontji_M_K_Moosa_1997_Chapter_Four_Introducing_Coral_Reefs_In_The_Ecology_of_the_Indonesia_Seas_Part_I_pp_109-144_Editions_HK_Ltd
Tom
On 2020-11-09 00:52, Mário Cachão via Coral-List wrote:
> Dear All
>
> It's always with a clear surprise in their faces (well, before
> COVID19, now with the masks I can't tell anymore) that my geology
> students (on Paleontology classes) or my biology students (on General
> Geology classes) apprehend that reef is not a biological driven term,
> synonymous of coral reef.
> I always tell the story that in the Brazilian coastal city of "Recife"
> (the Portuguese name for reef) there are no coral reefs (only beach
> rock outcrops that acted as such). In fact, locals call "reefs" to
> beach pockets with exposed rock surfaces covered with calcareous algi
> crusts and rhodoliths. Not sure if they are conscious of the original
> term or if is just a touristic strategy.
>
> Cheers,
> Mario
>
> _________________________________________________________
> Mario Cachao |Associate Professor (w/ Habilitation) | t: +351 217 500
> 362
> Dep. Geology, Fac. Sciences, Univ. Lisbon, Portugal | www.fc.ul.pt/dg
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