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A 107-year-old coral from Florida Bay: barometer of natural and man- induced catastrophes?

Bulletin of Marine Science
By: , and 

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Abstract

The 107-yr growth history of a massive coral Solenastrea bournoni from Florida Bay was reconstructed with X-ray imagery from a single 4 in. diameter (10 cm) core that penetrated the exact epicenter of the 95.3 cm high colony. Growth increments totalled 952.9 mm, averaging 8.9 mm/yr over the life of the coral. Growth rate trends in the Florida Bay coral were compared to those in a Montastraea annularis of similar age from a nearby patch reef on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Florida Keys. It was concluded that growth rate, at least in these specimens, is a questionable indicator of past hurricanes and freezes. There does appear to be, however, a possible cause-and-effect relationship between major man-induced environmental perturbations and a prolonged reduction in growth rate in each coral's growth record. -from Authors
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A 107-year-old coral from Florida Bay: barometer of natural and man- induced catastrophes?
Series title Bulletin of Marine Science
Volume 44
Issue 1
Year Published 1989
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Bulletin of Marine Science
First page 283
Last page 291
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