PatchReefs: Difference between revisions
From coraldigest
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
Patch Reefs are | Patch Reefs are isolated outcroppings (patches) of coral that are in close proximity to each other but are physically separate from each other because of sand rings around them. They typically are found in shallow lagoons within a larger collective reef. Patch reefs are found in waters with a depth of ten to twenty feet<ref name="Lippson"> R. L. Lippson and A. J. Lippson. Life Along the Inner Coast : a Naturalist’s Guide to the Sounds, Inlets, Rivers, and Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Key West. The University of North Carolina Press. 2009. 387-400. Print.</ref> <ref> Patch Reef. Florida Museum of Natural History. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/coral/patchreef.html. 24 Feb 2015. </ref> and are typically found in close proximity to land. Coral reef formation is restricted to a solid surface (such as rocky outcroppings and fossil coral ridges)<ref name="Lippson"> R. L. Lippson and A. J. Lippson. Life Along the Inner Coast : a Naturalist’s Guide to the Sounds, Inlets, Rivers, and Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Key West. The University of North Carolina Press 2009. 387-400. Print.</ref>. The patchy appearance for which the reefs are classified is created as a result of the spaces between the solid surfaces. As with all coral reefs, there needs to be sunlight, low turbidity, appropriate water temperature, and low nutrient levels. | ||
== Discussion == | == Discussion == | ||
Revision as of 12:44, 14 April 2015
Patch Reefs
Description
Patch Reefs are isolated outcroppings (patches) of coral that are in close proximity to each other but are physically separate from each other because of sand rings around them. They typically are found in shallow lagoons within a larger collective reef. Patch reefs are found in waters with a depth of ten to twenty feet[1] [2] and are typically found in close proximity to land. Coral reef formation is restricted to a solid surface (such as rocky outcroppings and fossil coral ridges)[1]. The patchy appearance for which the reefs are classified is created as a result of the spaces between the solid surfaces. As with all coral reefs, there needs to be sunlight, low turbidity, appropriate water temperature, and low nutrient levels.
Discussion
Formation
Patch reefs are formed on rocky or fossilized coral outcroppings in ten to twenty feet of water.[1] Brain and star corals are typically the first inhabitants of patch reefs, and other corals develop there over time.
Morphology and Ecology
- They form upward and then outward.
- Width of rings dependent on how far herbivorous fish go from the patch reef to feed
- Isolation and Fish Migration.
- Nurseries
- “Large transient taxa”[3] are not common in patch reefs.
Location
- Usually, patch reefs occur within the lagoon behind the barrier or atoll rim. [4]
- 10-20 Feet of water
- Closer to shore with spaces in between allowing for better circulation.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 R. L. Lippson and A. J. Lippson. Life Along the Inner Coast : a Naturalist’s Guide to the Sounds, Inlets, Rivers, and Intracoastal Waterway from Norfolk to Key West. The University of North Carolina Press. 2009. 387-400. Print. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Lippson" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Lippson" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Patch Reef. Florida Museum of Natural History. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/coral/patchreef.html. 24 Feb 2015.
- ↑ Schroeder, Robert E and Parrish, James D. Ecological characteristics of coral patch reefs at Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Press. 2006.
- ↑ Jack Morelock. Reef Types. 2005. http://geology.uprm.edu/Morelock/rftypes.htm. 24 Feb 2015.