Main Page

Welcome to the Coral Digest

This is a project of the ENEC 259 Coral Reef Ecology and Management at UNC - Chapel Hill (ENEC259) class. It is meant to be a semi-comprehensive resource for learning about corals, coral reefs, the threats corals face, the role and importance reefs play in the world, and management of reefs and reef-related environments. In time, this Wiki will become the class "textbook", and we hope that other classes interested in learning about coral reefs might also find it useful and informative.

Each year's ENEC259 class will build upon the material from previous years. Students will select topics of interest from a list of topics provided by previous years' students that require more research, or students can introduce new topics. After a semester of research, current students will synthesize their research and add that content to this wiki.

Main Topics

• Reef Structure and Formation
• Reef and Near-reef Inhabitants
• Reef Ecology
• Threats to Corals and Coral Reefs
• Protecting and Managing Coral Reefs

Tips for Using This Site

• If you are looking for something specific, like information on coral bleaching, use the Search box at the top and type in "bleaching"
• If you want to learn more about a given topic, then start with the Main Topics, and work your way down towards more specific topics

About Our Images

Unless otherwise indicated, photos shown on this site are pulled from our class photo album located at https://picasaweb.google.com/ENST259, and image credits are attributed in the photo album. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are from the US Virgin Islands (the vast majority from St. John) or the British Virgin Islands (the Caves of Normal Island or the Indians).

Contact

If you have any questions about this wiki or topics you'd like to see added, please email Brian Naess at naess@unc.edu.

Topics for 2015 Students

These are the existing pages on the Wiki that have no content or need additional content. You may choose one of these topics, or you may choose a topic of your own. If your topic is already covered by the Wiki, please make sure that you can contribute significantly to the existing article.

• Ancient Coral Reefs/Reefs in the Fossil Record
• Descriptions/Discussion of Patch Reefs and Bank Reefs
• Topics for Students interested in Biology/Ecology/Marine Science:
  • Descriptions/Discussion/Biology of Soft Corals
  • In-depth discussion of Coral Reproduction
  • Descriptions/Discussion/Biology of Deepwater Corals (Abbey V and Olivia)
  • Interesting Fish Behaviors like Feeding Techniques, etc. (there are others, so you may come up with your own topic)
    • Fish Predation - This page needs to be filled in. It's mostly an outline.
    • Feeding Techniques - Predation and Herbivory are listed, but are there others?
  • Fish Reproduction, which would include a discussion of Hermaphroditism
  • Descriptions/Discussion/Biology of any reef creature that might interest you from our Creatures page

               **Squids and Octopuses (Christy K and Charlotte H)

• • Descriptions/Discussion/Biology of Other Reef Builders like Hydrozoans and Coralline Algae - Hydrozoans needs to be filled in more
  • Different Reef Relationships like Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism (Maria Blanchard and Sky Cornell)
  • Describe and illustrate the different Feeding Guilds and Trophic Levels on the reefs - Needs to be filled in more.
• Talk about the role of Bioerosion on reefs
• In-depth discussions of one or more of the other ecosystems associated with reefs, like Macroalgal Beds, and Lagoons
• Perhaps combined with the above topic, a discussion of the importance of Nursery Areas
• One of the major threats to coral reefs is Pollution, which can take many forms, including Nutrient Loading, and Plastics and other Litter
• The Caribbean sees at least one tropical cyclone per year. Beef up the Cyclones page with some specific case studies from around the Caribbean.
• The AirPollution entry has a single bullet point about the effects of dust from Africa on Caribbean reefs. This section can be expanded greatly.
• Perhaps the greatest threat to coral reefs is Overfishing. Although the entry has some content, a lot more can be said about the topic. The FisheriesManagement page also needs work.
• Do warmer SSTs play a role in increased flooding?
• Talk about devastating Outbreaks, like the crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak on the Great Barrier Reef
• For someone interested in laws and regulations, there are many Governmental Units dedicated to working with coral reefs. List as many as you can, along with their role, missions, and accomplishments - particularly for the US.
• The Management section could use a new section about Monitoring. Talk about how reefs are monitored, the benefits of monitoring, and give some examples of US monitoring projects in the Caribbean, especially in the US Virgin Islands. (Katherine N. and Erica S.)