Reefbudget
Note: At present the methodology and supporting datasets only apply to Caribbean reef sites.
ReefBudget is an online resource and methodology that allows rates of biologically-driven coral reef carbonate production to be quantified. The method employs detailed field-based census methodologies to determine the abundance of key carbonate producing and eroding taxa, the rates at which these operate and their contributions to net carbonate production being quantified using published datasets.
About Reefbudget
This site provides details of the ReefBudget methodology, copies of the field survey sheets and links to the relevant Excel data entry spreadsheets required to calculate rates of carbonate production.
ReefBudget project contributors:
- Chris Perry (University of Exeter, UK)
- Evan Edinger (Memorial, Canada)
- Paul Kench (Auckland, NZ)
- Pete Mumby (University of Queensland, Aus)
- Gary Murphy (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
- Scott Smithers (James Cook, Australia)
- Bob Steneck (Maine, USA)
Please acknowledge ReefBudget in any publications resulting from the use of this methodology.
For further details about ReefBudget or to contribute/notify us of additional available datasets please contact:
Chris Perry E-mail: c.perry@exeter.ac.uk
Relevant publications:
Perry CT, Murphy GN, Graham NAJ, Wilson SK, Januchowski-Hartley FA, East H (2015) Remote coral reefs can sustain high growth potential and may match future sea-level trends. Scientific Reports 5, 18289; doi: 10.1038/srep18289.
Perry CT, Steneck RS, Murphy GN, Kench PS, Edinger EN, Smithers SG, Mumby PJ (2015) Regional-scale dominance of non-framework building corals on Caribbean reefs affects carbonate production and future reef growth. Global Change Biology 21: 1153-1164
Perry C.T., Murphy G.N., Kench P.S., Edinger E.N., Smithers S.G., Steneck R.S., Mumby P.J. (2014) Changing dynamics of Caribbean reef carbonate budgets: emergence of reef bioeroders as critical controls on present and future reef growth potential. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 281: 20142018
Perry C.T., Murphy G.N., Kench P.S., Smithers S.G., Edinger E.N., Steneck R.S. and Mumby P.J. (2013) Caribbean-wide decline in carbonate production threatens coral reef growth. Nature Communications. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2409 (Open Access)
Perry C.T., Edinger E.N., Kench, P.S., Mumby P.J., Murphy G., Steneck, R.S. and Smithers S.G. (2012) Estimating rates of biologically driven coral reef framework production and erosion: a new census-based carbonate budget methodology and applications to the reefs of Bonaire. Coral Reefs. 31: 853-868
