I am currently finishing a little project on coral community in one of beach in Gunungkidul area, Yogyakarta, Java, with some undergraduate students.
Interestingly, there is small "buffering zone" like (picture attached). Could someone give me some explanation, what is the name of a structure like that in terms of coral zonation? Is it possible if it becomes barrier from wave action and provides more suitable place for coral settlement?
Because, we revealed relatively high coral cover on the near shore and it cannot find in another beach in Gunungkidul area due to high wave action in this area.
Thank you
Regards
Akbar
Dear André Klicpera, unfortunately i haven't more information on it, maybe next week i'll go to this project site again. Do you have some suggestion what kind of data/sample/photo i should take in order to get more information? Thanks
thanks gustavo and mas singgih for the answer, and yes, i still play around with coral finder and some samples to identify it:D
I would suggest two things, intertidal zone and supratidal zone. Your zone is between supratidal and intertidal zone. Supratidal is more sandy, while intertidal particularly at your picture is covered by hard substrata. The current and wave come up, force it when high water level come, and washed it when water level down. it is unstable zone, organisms present there is more mobile organisms, which can adjust that environment condition. Coral larvae mush have very hart time to settle there, so I do not suggest that there will be a suitable place for coral live at that condition. Broken coral might be there. I also suggest that you can identify first livings thing over there, then you can identify what zone of it, best wishes
The shoreline of Gunungkidul regency at the south coast of Central Java is known because of its strong wave exposure caused by oceanic swell. It may be beachrock that became unburied. Judging from the photographs, I think that it is difficult for corals to settle on the rock itself. A sheltered moat with corals could be interesting to study. Coral reefs along the Indian Ocean coastline of Java are difficult to access otherwise.
I learned from your pictures that your area is between uper tidal and intertidal zone, where waves up and down and also current in to the shore and off to the sea. This indicates that coral larvae will not settle because of unstable sedimentation area. The mobile organisms may able to adjust such as waves, currents, and sedimentation there. There may some slow movement benthic organisms which sit on big rocks or in between hard substrate. Anyhow, I suggest that you need to identify what organisms are there.
According to your short description, it seems a kind of shallow "coral reef crest" that is protecting a reef lagoon that ends in a sandy beach landward. I would classify it simply as a reef crest and would specify the particularities that you consider make it different from others. Indeed there are several different kinds of reef crests in the world with varying depth profiles, coral species composition and dominant coral species, depending on a number of local environmental conditions. Consulting Geister (1977) although from the Caribbean could help.
Geister, J. 1977. The influence of wave exposure on the ecological zonation of Caribbean coral reefs. Proc. Third International Coral Reef Symp. Miami, Florida. I. Biology. 23-30p.
hai, i have another pic of this area during low tide, and the last one is one of pic of coral community in that back reef :)
Hello Andre, this is internal structure of those deposits
If i'm not wrong this is clearly a coral skeleton :)
- Badges
- Science method
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Ecology