Pleistocene reefs of the Egyptian Red Sea: environmental change and community persistence

被引:11
|
作者
Casazza, Lorraine R. [1 ]
机构
[1] Al Akhawayn Univ, Sch Sci & Engn, Ifrane, Morocco
来源
PEERJ | 2017年 / 5卷
关键词
Coral reefs; Egypt; Climate change; Fossil reefs; Scleractinia; Cenozoic; Western Indian Ocean; PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA; CORAL-REEFS; LEVEL; GULF; TERRACES; ECOLOGY; STRATIGRAPHY; ASSEMBLAGES; DIVERSITY; EVOLUTION;
D O I
10.7717/peerj.3504
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
The fossil record of Red Sea fringing reefs provides an opportunity to study the history of coral-reef survival and recovery in the context of extreme environmental change. The Middle Pleistocene, the Late Pleistocene, and modern reefs represent three periods of reef growth separated by glacial low stands during which conditions became difficult for symbiotic reef fauna. Coral diversity and paleoenvironments of eight Middle and Late Pleistocene fossil terraces are described and characterized here. Pleistocene reef zones closely resemble reef zones of the modern Red Sea. All but one species identified from Middle and Late Pleistocene outcrops are also found on modern Red Sea reefs despite the possible extinction of most coral over two-thirds of the Red Sea basin during glacial low stands. Refugia in the Gulf of Aqaba and southern Red Sea may have allowed for the persistence of coral communities across glaciation events. Stability of coral communities across these extreme climate events indicates that even small populations of survivors can repopulate large areas given appropriate water conditions and time.
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页数:50
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