Reefs of Time
eBook - ePub

Reefs of Time

What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Reefs of Time

What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival

About this book

How fossilized reefs hold clues to the survival of corals in the Anthropocene

With rising global temperatures, pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification, and other problems caused by humans, there’s no question that today’s coral reefs are in trouble. As predictions about the future of these ecosystems grow increasingly dire, scientists are looking in an unlikely place for new ways to save corals: the past. The reefs of yesteryear faced challenges too, from changing sea level to temperature shifts, and understanding how they survived and when they faltered can help guide our efforts to help ensure a future for reefs.

Lisa Gardiner weaves together the latest cutting-edge science with stories of her expeditions to tropical locales to show how fossils and other reef remains offer tantalizing glimpses of how corals persisted through time, and how this knowledge can guide our efforts to ensure a future for these remarkable organisms. Gardiner takes readers on an excursion into “the shallow end of deep time”—when marine life was much like today’s yet unaffected by human influence—to explore the cities of fossilized limestone left behind by corals and other reef life millennia ago. The changes in reefs today are unlike anything ever seen before, but the fossil record offers hope that the coral reefs of tomorrow can weather the environmental challenges that lie ahead.

A breathtaking journey of scientific discovery, Reefs of Time reveals how lessons from the past can help us to chart a path forward for coral reefs struggling for survival in an age of climate crisis and mass extinction.

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Yes, you can access Reefs of Time by Lisa S. Gardiner in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Environmental Science. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. Welcome to the Rock Factory
  8. 2. The Present as the Key to the Past
  9. 3. Reefs at the Shallow End of Deep Time
  10. 4. Into the Death Assemblage
  11. 5. When Reefs Fall Apart
  12. 6. When Reefs Persist
  13. 7. Lying Low to Avoid Extinction
  14. 8. Designing Reefs That Can Survive Us
  15. 9. Survival of the Heat Tolerant
  16. 10. The Anthropocene Coral Paradox and the Future of Reefs
  17. Acknowledgments
  18. Notes
  19. Index