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African dust and the demise of Caribbean Coral Reefs
Author(s) -
Shinn Eugene A.,
Smith Garriet W.,
Prospero Joseph M.,
Betzer Peter,
Hayes Marshall L.,
Garrison Virginia,
Barber Richard T.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl011599
Subject(s) - coral reef , reef , coral , oceanography , demise , caribbean region , geography , ecology , geology , biology , political science , law , linguistics , philosophy , latin americans
The vitality of Caribbean coral reefs has undergone a continual state of decline since the late 1970s, a period of time coincidental with large increases in transatlantic dust transport. It is proposed that the hundreds of millions of tons/year of soil dust that have been crossing the Atlantic during the last 25 years could be a significant contributor to coral reef decline and may be affecting other ecosystems. Benchmark events, such as near synchronous Caribbean‐wide mortalities of acroporid corals and the urchin Diadema in 1983, and coral bleaching beginning in 1987, correlate with the years of maximum dust flux into the Caribbean. Besides crustal elements, in particular Fe, Si, and aluminosilicate clays, the dust can serve as a substrate for numerous species of viable spores, especially the soil fungus Aspergillus . Aspergillus sydowii , the cause of an ongoing Caribbean‐wide seafan disease, has been cultured from Caribbean air samples and used to inoculate sea fans.