Can anyone provide me with a sensible definition of the raised coral atoll vegetation type known as 'Makatea' or draw me to a paper / publication (s) describing it? I have found the term is used widely in literature but so far failed to find how this karst ecosystem is defined (beyond the obvious - its the vegetation that colonises a raised (fossil) coral reef - typical of the Pacific) and/or set apart from other karst vegetation associations. I am interested in relation to work I am doing on the Kermadec Islands (South Pacific). Any comments, help appreciated.
Hi Peter, my understanding is that Makatea referred to the landform - a raised coralline limestone which is deeply fissured. The vegetation on Makatea varies depending on location and physical factors such as distance from shoreline, height above sea level, time since disturbance, abundance of seabirds, etc, but I am not aware of any publications with definitions specific to Makatea (but most of my publications were drowned during a survey of the Phoenix Islands in Kiribati so I cannot check this). Art Whistler at the Bishop Museum may be a good source of info.
Hi Mike - your initial comments follow my understanding too - but it transpires there is a set definition according to Dr Peter Bellingham (Nunn P (1994) Oceanic Islands. Blackwell, Oxford, 413 p.) - I am trying to track that reference down now. Cheers
Good luck. I'd be interested to hear if you find a definition
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