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The Houtman Abrolhos Islands: Carbon metabolism of coral reefs at high latitude 1
Author(s) -
Smith S. V.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1981.26.4.0612
Subject(s) - reef , coral reef , coral , oceanography , cnidaria , latitude , seasonality , coelenterata , environmental science , geology , geography , ecology , biology , geodesy
CaCO 3 production by a coral community in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands (≈ 29°S latitude) proceeds at an average rate of about 32 g CaCO 3 ·m ‒2 ·d ‒1 , and organic carbon production at about 17 g C·m ‒2 ·d ‒1 . Both rates are high compared to rates determined for tropical reefs, and both show strong seasonality. Complex coral reef communities do not necessarily suffer substantial metabolic depression as they approach their latitudinal limits.