Effects of cyclone-generated disturbance on a tropical reef foraminifera assemblage.
Sci Rep
; 6: 24846, 2016 04 29.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27126520
ABSTRACT
The sedimentary record, and associated micropalaeontological proxies, is one tool that has been employed to quantify a region's tropical cyclone history. Doing so has largely relied on the identification of allochthonous deposits (sediments and microfossils), sourced from deeper water and entrained by tropical cyclone waves and currents, in a shallow-water or terrestrial setting. In this study, we examine microfossil assemblages before and after a known tropical cyclone event (Cyclone Hamish) with the aim to better resolve the characteristics of this known signal. Our results identify no allochthonous material associated with Cyclone Hamish. Instead, using a swathe of statistical tools typical of ecological studies but rarely employed in the geosciences, we identify new, previously unidentified, signal types. These signals include a homogenising effect, with the level of differentiation between sample sites greatly reduced immediately following Cyclone Hamish, and discernible shifts in assemblage diversity. In the subsequent years following Hamish, the surface assemblage returns to its pre-cyclone form, but results imply that it is unlikely the community ever reaches steady state.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Biodiversidade
/
Tempestades Ciclônicas
/
Foraminíferos
/
Recifes de Corais
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article