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      Historical and ecological analysis of coral communities in Castle Harbour (Bermuda) after more than a century of environmental perturbation.

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      Marine pollution bulletin
      Elsevier BV

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          Abstract

          The coral reefs in Bermuda's Castle Harbour basin have been subjected to varying anthropogenic stressors for over 100 years. These include restriction of water flow through the construction of a causeway in the late 19th century and an extensive dredging and land reclamation operation during World War II. In the 1970s, disposal of bulk waste commenced at a foreshore reclamation site in Castle Harbour. Since 1996 the waste stream has included blocks of cement-stabilized municipal incinerator ash. This study provides a historical and quantitative ecological review of the Castle Habour reef ecosystem as a case study, assessing the responses of the reef to more than a century of anthropogenic disturbance. Measures of the coral community, flow rates, turbidity and sedimentary regimes suggest the present structure of the coral community largely reflects the impacts of the historic dredge and fill operations prior to the establishment of the foreshore dump site. Recent increases in the abundance of some sediment tolerant, massive reef-building coral species (Diploria strigosa and Montastraea cavernosa) suggest adaptation to chronic sediment stress.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Mar. Pollut. Bull.
          Marine pollution bulletin
          Elsevier BV
          0025-326X
          0025-326X
          2005
          : 51
          : 5-7
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2501, USA.
          Article
          S0025-326X(05)00317-6
          10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.07.010
          16242159
          738fa424-2ef8-41de-b197-2759342a597e
          History

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