[Coral-List] Newly discovered reef (?) is taller than a skyscraper

[Risk, Michael]

   Hah Tom-you are becoming part of that "old literature" we are talking
   about. But thanks for reminding all of us of your monumental work from
   Indonesia, which imho should be required reading for every reef
   scientist. Yeah, both volumes.

   For my part, I always used the definition in the 1957 GSA Memoir: a
   reef is "a wave-resistant biologically-constructed framework." Or words
   to that effect-my copy of that Memoir is in the dumpster, courtesy of
   yet another reorganization.
     __________________________________________________________________

   From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
   Tomas via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
   Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 1:44 PM
   To: Mario Cachao <mcachao at fc.ul.pt>
   Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
   Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Newly discovered reef (?) is taller than a
   skyscraper

   Hi everyone,
   The term "coral reef" and "reef" are being used very interchangeably
   these days and it does create a certain degree of confusion, especially
   for those who are working for their sustainable management and
   conservation. The recent explosion of various new "international
   journals" has also created a credibility issue since "coral reef"
   papers
   are still coming out that almost resemble fiction. The "coral reefs" of
   St. Martin's Island (Bangladesh) are a god example. This amazing island
   close to the world's largest delta system sustains a relatively diverse
   coral community, but because of its geological origins and its past and
   present environmental setting coral reefs have never developed. That
   has
   not stopped publication of many scientific papers talking and
   describing
   the "coral reefs" of St. Martin's Island, widely known in Bangladesh as
   their "Coral Island". Just like "coral reef" the term "coral island"
   does have a geological definition, but this does not seem to matter
   even
   in science publications. I think the start of this "coral reef" tale
   probably started with the publication of:
   Fattah, Q. A. (1979). Protection of marine environment and related
   ecosystems of St. Martin's Island. Proceedings of the. National Seminar
   Protection Mar. Env. Rel. Ecosystems, Dhaka, 27-29 November. pp.
   104-108.
   This was followed by:
   UNEP/IUCN (1988). Coral Reefs of the World. Volume 2: Indian Ocean, Red
   Sea and Gulf. UNEP Regional Seas and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland,
   Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K./UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. pp. 389.
   Here is a quote from the UNEP/IUCN (1988) report:
   "A general description of the marine environment of Bangladesh is given
   in UNEP (1986a). The only known coral reef in Bangladesh occurs around
   St Martin's Island (20DEG37'N, 92DEG18'E), an island of about 6 sq. km,
   in
   the Bay of Bengal, 13 km from the south-east mainland coast and 95 km
   south of Cox's Bazaar. It is reputed to be a submerged reef but
   scientific knowledge of the area is still very limited. The island is
   inhabited by about 3000 people, most of whom are fishermen. Parts of
   the
   reef are said to be completely destroyed due to shell and coral
   collection, but it is possible that domestic and industrial effluents,
   dynamite fishing and recreational pressure have added to the problem
   (Fattah, 1979). Scientific expeditions to the island took place in 1973
   and 1979 (UNEP, 1986a). St Martin's Island is being surveyed as a
   potential marine park as it is also an important wintering ground for
   wildfowl and a nesting site for marine turtles (Khan, 1985; UNEP, in
   prep.)."
   When I decided to work on "The Ecology of the Indonesian Seas"  I
   contacted many well know coral reef scientists and asked them for their
   contributions by including a "Box" section in the books where each
   scientists could write a short "Box" addressing an issue of their
   choice
   that would fit with the theme of the chapter. One of these kind people
   was the late J. van der Land from the National Museum of Natural
   History
   in Leiden, Netherlands (now Naturalis Biodiversity Center) who agreed
   wrote a 4 page "Box" on "What is a coral reefs" in Chapter 4
   "Introducing Coral Reefs". Anyone who is interested to read this
   succinct discussion of "What is a coral reef?" can visit the following
   link and find the "Box" on page 128.
   [1]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301883199_Tomascik_T_A_J_Ma
   h_A_Nontji_M_K_Moosa_1997_Chapter_Four_Introducing_Coral_Reefs_In_The_E
   cology_of_the_Indonesia_Seas_Part_I_pp_109-144_Editions_HK_Ltd
   Tom
   On 2020-11-09 00:52, Mario Cachao via Coral-List wrote:
   > Dear All
   >
   > It's always with a clear surprise in their faces (well, before
   > COVID19, now with the masks I can't tell anymore) that my geology
   > students (on Paleontology classes) or my biology students (on General
   > Geology classes) apprehend that reef is not a biological driven term,
   > synonymous of coral reef.
   > I always tell the story that in the Brazilian coastal city of
   "Recife"
   > (the Portuguese name for reef) there are no coral reefs (only beach
   > rock outcrops that acted as such). In fact, locals call "reefs" to
   > beach pockets with exposed rock surfaces covered with calcareous algi
   > crusts and rhodoliths. Not sure if they are conscious of the original
   > term or if is just a touristic strategy.
   >
   > Cheers,
   > Mario
   >
   > _________________________________________________________
   > Mario Cachao |Associate Professor (w/ Habilitation) | t: +351 217 500
   > 362
   > Dep. Geology, Fac. Sciences, Univ. Lisbon, Portugal  |
   [2]www.fc.ul.pt/dg
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References

   1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301883199_Tomascik_T_A_J_Mah_A_Nontji_M_K_Moosa_1997_Chapter_Four_Introducing_Coral_Reefs_In_The_Ecology_of_the_Indonesia_Seas_Part_I_pp_109-144_Editions_HK_Ltd
   2. http://www.fc.ul.pt/dg
   3. https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list