珊瑚礁工程地质研究的内容和方法

珊瑚礁工程地质研究的主要内容为珊瑚礁自然地质条件、珊瑚礁岩土物理力学性质和珊瑚礁混凝土料问题。除了通常的工程地质研究方法外, 着重介绍珊瑚礁工程地质研究的钻探、触探和地球物理勘测方法。     

Taphonomic differentiation of Acropora palmata facies in cores from Campeche Bank Reefs, Gulf of México

A common assumption in the geological analysis of modern reefs is that coral community zonation seen on the surface should also be found in cores from the reef interior. Such assumptions not only underestimate the impact of tropical storms on reef facies development, but have been difficult to test because of restrictions imposed by narrow‐diameter cores and poor recovery. That assumption is tested here using large‐diameter cores recovered from a range of common zones across three Campeche Bank reefs. It is found that cores from the reef‐front, crest, flat and rubble‐cay zones are similar in texture and coral composition, making it impossible to recognize coral assemblages that reflect the surface zonation. Taphonomic signatures imparted by variations in encrustation, bioerosion and cementation, however, produce distinct facies and delineate a clear depth zonation. Cores from the reef‐front zone (2–10 m depth) are characterized by sections of Acropora palmata cobble gravel interspersed with sections of in‐place (but truncated) A. palmata stumps. Upper surfaces of truncated colonies are intensely bioeroded by traces of Entobia isp. and Gastrochaenolites isp. and encrusted by mm‐thick crustose corallines before colony regeneration and, therefore, indicate punctuated growth resulting from a hurricane‐induced cycle of destruction and regeneration. Cores from the reef crest/flat (0–2 m depth) are also characterized by sections of hurricane‐derived A. palmata cobble‐gravels as well as in‐place A. palmata colonies. In contrast to the reef front, however, these cobble gravels are encrusted by cm‐thick crusts of intergrown coralline algae, low‐relief Homotrema and vermetids, bored by traces of Entobia isp. and Trypanites isp. and coated by a dense, peloidal, micrite cement. Cores from the inter‐ to supratidal rubble‐cay zone (+0–5 m) are only composed of A. palmata cobble gravels and, although clasts show evidence of subtidal encrustation and bioerosion, these always represent processes that occurred before deposition on the cay. Instead, these gravels are distinguished on the basis of their limited bioerosion and marine cements, which exhibit fabrics formed in the intertidal zone. These results confirm that hurricanes have a major influence on facies development in Campeche Bank reefs. Instead of reflecting the surface coral zonation, each facies records a distinctive, depth‐related set of taphonomic processes, which reflect colonization, alteration and stabilization following the production of new substrates by hurricanes.     

Significance of shallow core transects for reef models and sea‐level curves,Heron Reef,Great Barrier Reef

A sequence of shallow reef cores from Heron Reef, Great Barrier Reef, provides new insights into Holocene reef growth models. Isochron analysis of a leeward core transect suggests that the north‐western end of Heron Reef reached current sea‐level by ca 6·5 kyr bp and then prograded leeward at a rate of ca 19·6 m/kyr between 5·1 kyr and 4·1 kyr bp (pre‐1950) to the present reef margin. A single short core on the opposing margin of the reef is consistent with greater and more recent progradation there. Further to the east, one windward core reached modern sea‐level by ca 6·3 kyr bp , suggesting near ‘keep‐up’ behaviour at that location, but the opposing leeward margin behind the lagoon reached sea‐level much more recently. Hence, Heron Reef exhibited significantly different reef growth behaviour on different parts of the same margin. Mean reef accretion rates calculated from within 20 m of one another in the leeward core transect varied between ca 2·9 m and 4·7 m/kyr depending on relative position in the prograding wedge. These cores serve as a warning regarding the use of isolated cores to inform reef growth rates because apparent aggradation at any given location on a reef varies depending on its location relative to a prograding margin. Only transects of closely spaced cores can document reef behaviour adequately so as to inform reef growth models and sea‐level curves. The cores also emphasize potential problems in U‐series dates for corals within a shallow (ca 1·5 m) zone beneath the reef flat. Apparent age inversions restricted to that active diagenetic zone may reflect remobilization and concentration of Th in irregularly distributed microbialites or biofilms that were missed during sample vetting. Importantly, the Th‐containing contaminant causes ages to appear too old, rather than too young, as would be expected from younger cement.     

Stromatoporoid growth forms and Devonian reef fabrics in the Upper Devonian Alexandra Reef System,Canada – Insight on the challenges of applying Devonian reef facies models

Existing facies models for Devonian reef systems can be divided into high‐energy and low‐energy types. A number of assumptions have been made in the development of these models and, in some cases, criteria that distinguish important aspects of the models are poorly defined. The Upper Devonian Alexandra Reef System contains a variety of reef fabrics from different depositional environments and is ideal for studying the range of environments in which stromatoporoids thrived and the facies from these different environments. A wide variety of stromatoporoid growth forms including laminar, tabular, anastamosing laminar and tabular, domal, bulbous, dendroid, expanding conical, concave‐up whorled‐laminar, concave‐up massive tabular and platy‐multicolumnar are present in the Alexandra Reef System. The whorled‐laminar and massive tabular concave‐up growth forms are virtually undocumented from other Devonian reefs but were common in the reef front of the Alexandra, where they thrived in a low‐energy environment around and below fair‐weather wave base. In contrast, high‐energy parts of the reef margin were dominated by bioclastic rubble deposits with narrow ribbon‐like discontinuous bodies of laminar stromatoporoid framestone. In the lagoon, laminar stromatoporoids formed steep‐sided sediment‐dominated bioherms in response to sea‐level rise and flooding. Relying mostly on the different reef facies in the Alexandra system, a new classification scheme for Devonian reef fabrics has been developed. Devonian reef fabrics can be classified as being: (i) sediment‐laden metazoan dominated; (ii) metazoan–microbial dominated (boundstone); (iii) metazoan dominated (framestone); or (iv) metazoan–marine cement dominated. Distinction of these fabrics carries important sedimentary and palaeoecological implications for reconstructing the depositional environment. With examples from the Alexandra Formation, it is demonstrated that reef facies accumulated in a range of depositional environments and that the simple observation of massive stromatoporoids with or without microbial deposits does not automatically imply a high‐energy reef margin, as otherwise portrayed in a number of the existing facies models for these systems.     

Spatial distribution of crustaceans associated with shallow soft‐bottom habitats in a coral reef lagoon

The ecology and diversity of the shallow soft‐bottom areas adjacent to coral reefs are still poorly known. To date, the few studies conducted in these habitats dealing with macroinvertebrate fauna have focused on their abundance spatial patterns at high taxonomic levels. Thus, some aspects important to evaluate the importance and vulnerability of these habitats, such as species diversity or the degree of habitat specialization, have often been overlooked. In this study we compared the crustacean assemblages present in four different habitats at Magoodhoo Island coral reef lagoon (Maldives): coral rubble, sandy areas and two different seagrass species (Thalassia hemprichii and Cymodocea sp.). Forty‐two different crustacean species belonging to 30 families and four orders were found. ‘Site’ was a significant factor in all of the statistical analyses, indicating that tropical soft‐bottom habitats can be highly heterogeneous, even at a spatial scale between tens and hundreds of meters. Although traditionally it has been considered that seagrass beds host greater species diversity and abundance of organisms than adjacent unvegetated habitats, no differences in the univariate measures of fauna (abundance of organisms, number of species and Shannon diversity) were observed among habitats. However, sandy areas, coral rubble and seagrass beds exhibited different species composition of crustacean communities. The percentage of taxa considered as potential habitat specialists was 27% and the number of species exclusively occurring in one habitat was especially high in seagrass beds. Thus, degradation of this vegetated habitat would result in a great loss of biodiversity in tropical shallow soft‐bottom habitats.     

Reefs at the edge: coral community structure around Rapa,southernmost French Polynesia

Rapa (27°36′ S, 144°20′ W) is a small (~40 km²) volcanic island isolated in the Southern Austral Archipelago, where direct anthropogenic stressors are extremely limited. Here, we present the results of the first quantitative survey of coral community structure across habitats and depths around the island. Despite its geographical isolation in the depauperate South Central Pacific, its small size and unfavourable environmental conditions (competition with macroalgae, low sea surface temperatures, reduced reef accretion), the diversity of scleractinian corals at Rapa is particularly high (112 species from 32 genera, including 37 species of Acropora) in comparison to other French Polynesian islands and subtropical Pacific locations. Our results indicate that the abundance (>100 colonies per 10 m² recorded at nine of the 17 sampling stations) and cover (>40% at four stations) of corals are relatively high for a marginal reef location. Strong spatial heterogeneity was found, with high variation in diversity, abundance, cover and community composition among stations. Variation in community composition was related to habitat types, with distinct assemblages among fringing reefs within bays, reef formations at bay entrances, and those on the submerged platform surrounding the island. On the platform, a depth gradient was detected, with generic richness, abundance and cover generally greater at deeper stations (18–20 m depth) compared with medium‐depth (10–12 m) and shallow (1–3 m) stations. A gradient was also recorded along bays, with increasing coral diversity and abundance from the bay heads to the bay entrances. The coral community at Rapa was characterized by the presence of several taxa not found in other French Polynesian archipelagos and the rarity of others that are common and abundant in the Society and the Tuamotu islands. Another distinctive feature of reef communities at Rapa is the high cover and dominance of macroalgae, particularly in the shallower parts of the surrounding platform, which probably explains the lower densities of coral colonies recorded there. These characteristics of the diversity and biogeographical composition of coral assemblages at Rapa provide considerable ecological grounds for its conservation.     

Influence of anthropogenic pressure and seasonal upwelling on coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay (Central Vietnam)

The growing coastal development, dredging and dumping activities, overfishing and expansion of marine cage culture in Nha Trang Bay (NTB) of Central Vietnam since the beginning of the 2000s have resulted in a dramatic decrease of live coral cover. Surveys conducted in April–May 2013 and the same period in 2014 revealed that with an increase in distance from the outer part of the bay towards the mainland, the rivers’ influxes and dredged areas, coral cover decreased from 75% to 0.6% and species richness from 63 to 5, while the abundance of macroalgae increased from 0% to 56%. These changes correlate with differences in the concentration of suspended sediments on the same gradient. The abundance of the crown‐of‐thorns starfish Acanthaster planci and of the echinoid Diadema setosum significantly increased between the first estimation in 1998 and the survey in 2014, from 0 to 1.7 individuals (ind.) per 100 m^?2 and from 50.8 to 94.5 ind. per 100 m^?2, respectively, contributing to coral loss and intensive bioerosion of the reef framework in the bay. The large sizes of adult colonies of tabulate Acropora on the remote stations with negligible sedimentation and eutrophication loads were inconsistent with the assumptions that temperature‐induced coral bleaching or cyclones could be the major impacts in Nha Trang Bay. Analysis of the 16‐year thermal history of the bay did not reveal any instances in which the coral thermal bleaching threshold had been exceeded up to the present study. Seasonal upwelling, which occurs annually in the vicinity of Central Vietnam, may contribute to mitigation of thermal anomalies within NTB and to the maintenance of healthy coral communities on the remote reefs with relatively low anthropogenic impact.     

Persistent alternate abundance states in the coral reef sea urchin Diadema savignyi: evidence of alternate attractors

Alternate attractors have been shown to exist in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic systems, e.g. temperate forests, savannas, shallow lakes, wetlands, coral reefs, kelp forests. The shift from one attractor to another, also referred to as a regime shift, is thought to occur when a system passes some critical threshold such that the trajectory of the system changes direction. Alternate attractors in population dynamics can also exist, leading to alternate stable states in the population abundance of a species. This study explored alternate attractors in the population dynamics of the Indo‐Pacific sea urchin Diadema savignyi and the potential underlying mechanisms that promote its bi‐stability. In Moorea, French Polynesia, the local abundance of D. savignyi, a functionally important herbivore in lagoon habitats, occurs in two states: (i) solitary individuals that occupy crevices in low densities and (ii) aggregations of tens to hundreds of individuals. These different states are temporally stable and are not explained by spatial differences in recruitment rates of juveniles. A field experiment revealed that the per capita mortality rate of adult D. savignyi was substantially lower at sites where urchins occurred in aggregations compared with sites at which they were solitary individuals. An additional experiment showed that per capita mortality decreased with increasing aggregation size. Individuals in high‐density aggregations, however, had significantly smaller test diameters than solitary individuals, indicating that individuals in aggregations may be food limited. Collectively, the evidence suggests that the two different local abundance states of D. savignyi result from negative feedback loops where high local density can be maintained by aggregative behavior that greatly reduces per capita risk of predation when the local number of adult sea urchins is sufficiently large; sites with few sea urchins remain at low density because individuals are more susceptible to predation when crevices are occupied but there are not enough individuals to form large aggregations. Thus, there may be alternate attractors in the population dynamics of D. savignyi that can produce either persistently low or high local population densities.     

全珊瑚骨料海水混凝土力学性能试验研究

为了探讨全珊瑚骨料海水混凝土的基本力学性能,并比较其与普通混凝土和轻集料混凝土的差异,通过实验系统测定了珊瑚混凝土的基本力学性能,建立了其轴心抗压强度(f_(c,m))、劈裂抗拉强度(f_(sp,m))、抗折强度(f_(t,m))与立方体抗压强度(f_(cu,m))之间的线性关系与计算公式。结果表明:在强度等级C20~C50的范围内,珊瑚混凝土的f_(c,m)和f_(sp,m)分别比普通混凝土的f_(c,m)和f_(sp,m)高出10%~48%和9%~33%,随着强度等级的提高,两种混凝土之间的差距在减小。珊瑚混凝土的f_(t,m)与普通混凝土的ft,m之间的差异规律与强度等级有关,较低强度等级的C30珊瑚混凝土ft,m比普通混凝土的f_(t,m)要高4%,而较高强度等级的C55珊瑚混凝土f_(t,m)比普通混凝土的f_(t,m)低13%。较高强度等级的C50珊瑚混凝土f_(c,m)、f_(sp,m)和f_(t,m)分别比页岩陶粒轻集料混凝土的f_(c,m)、f_(sp,m)和f_(t,m)低11%、0.9%和4%。     

珊瑚礁连通性研究进展

综述了国外近20 a珊瑚礁连通性的研究简史,总结了珊瑚礁连通性研究的方法,阐述了"珊瑚礁连通性"的研究对珊瑚礁生态系统管理的重要意义。中国的珊瑚礁连通性研究刚起步,离国外还有很大差距,今后应加强珊瑚幼虫扩散路径、珊瑚群体内(群体间)遗传分化、遗传距离、基因流的研究,对我国海域珊瑚幼虫扩散的走廊加以保护。