Conference paper
Reconstructing nitrogen cycling on a coastal coral reef using skeletal delta (super 15) N
V.M. Goldschmidt Conference - Program and Abstracts, pp.841-841
Goldschmidt Conference
Goldschmidt 2015, 25th (Prague, Czech Republic, 16/08/2015 - 21/08/2015)
2015
Metrics
42 Record Views
Abstract
Ongoing human activities are having progressively greater impacts on coral reef nitrogen cycling. However, the full history of anthropogenic impact is unclear due to a lack of continuous records. We present a 168-year-long record (1820 – 1987 AD) of the bulk nitrogen isotopic composition of coral derived, skeleton-bound organic matter (CS-δ15N) in a coastal Porites coral from the Great Barrier Reef. CS-δ15N varied by less than 1.5‰, indicating that the nitrogen supplied to the studied coral as well as the coral’s internal nitrogen cycle were stable despite nearby land use having changed dramatically during this period. These findings are consistent with the strong natural buffering of inshore coral reefs against riverine nitrogen load in this region, and they argue against nitrogen input as the dominant driver of observed changes in coral reef health since 1990 for this particular reef..
Details
- Title
- Reconstructing nitrogen cycling on a coastal coral reef using skeletal delta (super 15) N
- Creators
- Dirk V. Erler - Southern Cross UniversityXingchen T. Wang - Princeton UniversityDaniel M. Sigman - Princeton UniversitySander R. Scheffers - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- V.M. Goldschmidt Conference - Program and Abstracts, pp.841-841
- Conference
- Goldschmidt 2015, 25th (Prague, Czech Republic, 16/08/2015 - 21/08/2015)
- Publisher
- Goldschmidt Conference
- Number of pages
- 841-841
- Identifiers
- 991012978867202368
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry; Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference paper