[Coral-List] Use and misuse of sediment traps on coral reefs
Mike Field
mfield at usgs.gov
Thu Feb 17 15:53:23 EST 2011
Colleagues,
We have recently published a paper in Coral Reefs on the use and
misuse of sediment traps in coral reef environments. We’re providing
this information here because not all listers may have access to the
journal, and because many monitoring protocols and research studies
depend—sometimes inappropriately or erroneously-- on the use of traps
to estimate or monitor sedimentation on coral reefs.
The paper is:
Storlazzi , C.D., Field M. E., H. Bothner, M. H., 2011 The use (and
misuse) of sediment traps in coral reef environments: theory,
observations, and suggested protocols. Coral Reefs, v. 30, p 23-38
The abstract for the paper is below. If you would like a pdf copy of
the paper, please send a request to Curt Storlazzi
(cstorlazzi at usgs.gov) or to me (mfield at usgs.gov).
Mike
ABSTRACT
Sediment traps are commonly used as standard tools for monitoring
‘‘sedimentation’’ in coral reef environments. In much of the
literature where sediment traps were used to measure the effects of
‘‘sedimentation’’ on corals, it is clear from deployment descriptions
and interpretations of the resulting data that information derived
from sediment traps has frequently been misinterpreted or misapplied.
Despite their widespread use in this setting, sediment traps do not
provide quantitative information about ‘‘sedimentation’’ on coral
surfaces. Traps can provide useful information about the relative
magnitude of sediment dynamics if trap deployment standards are used.
This conclusion is based first on a brief review of the state of
knowledge of sediment trap dynamics, which has primarily focused on
traps deployed high above the seabed in relatively deep water,
followed by our understanding of near-bed sediment dynamics in shallow-
water environments that characterize coral reefs. This overview is
followed by the first synthesis of near-bed sediment trap data
collected with concurrent hydrodynamic information in coral reef
environments. This collective information is utilized to develop nine
protocols for using sediment traps in coral reef environments, which
focus on trap parameters that researchers can control such as trap
height (H), trap mouth diameter (D), the height of the trap mouth
above the substrate (zo), and the spacing between traps. The
hydrodynamic behavior of sediment traps and the limitations of data
derived from these traps should be forefront when interpreting
sediment trap data to infer sediment transport.
************************************************
Michael E. Field
US Geological Survey
Pacific Science Center
400 Natural Bridges Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 427-4737; FAX: (831) 427-4748
http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov
More information about the Coral-List
mailing list