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Titel |
A novel paleo-bleaching proxy using boron isotopes and high-resolution laser ablation to reconstruct coral bleaching events |
VerfasserIn |
G. Dishon, J. Fisch, I. Horn, K. Kaczmarek, J. Bijma, D. F. Gruber, O. Nir, Y. Popovich, D. Tchernov |
Medientyp |
Artikel
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Sprache |
Englisch
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ISSN |
1726-4170
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Digitales Dokument |
URL |
Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 12, no. 19 ; Nr. 12, no. 19 (2015-10-08), S.5677-5687 |
Datensatznummer |
250118114
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Publikation (Nr.) |
copernicus.org/bg-12-5677-2015.pdf |
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Zusammenfassung |
Coral reefs occupy only ~ 0.1 percent of the ocean's habitat, but are
the most biologically diverse marine ecosystem. In recent decades, coral
reefs have experienced a significant global decline due to a variety of
causes, one of the major causes being widespread coral bleaching events. During
bleaching, the coral expels its symbiotic algae, thereby losing its main source of
nutrition generally obtained through photosynthesis. While recent coral
bleaching events have been extensively investigated, there is no scientific
data on historical coral bleaching prior to 1979. In this study, we employ
high-resolution femtosecond Laser Ablation Multiple Collector Inductively
Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) to demonstrate a distinct
biologically induced decline of boron (B) isotopic composition (δ11B) as a result of coral bleaching. These findings and methodology offer
a new use for a previously developed isotopic proxy to reconstruct
paleo-coral bleaching events. Based on a literature review of published
δ11B data and our recorded vital effect of coral bleaching on
the δ11B signal, we also describe at least two possible coral
bleaching events since the Last Glacial Maximum. The implementation of this
bleaching proxy holds the potential of identifying occurrences of coral
bleaching throughout the geological record. A deeper temporal view of coral
bleaching will enable scientists to determine if it occurred in the past
during times of environmental change and what outcome it may have had on
coral population structure. Understanding the frequency of bleaching events
is also critical for determining the relationship between natural and
anthropogenic causes of these events. |
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