Coral Reefs as Critical Sources of Carbonate Sand Generation: Quantifying Links Between Reef Ecology and Sand Production on Caribbean Reefs - Geography - NERC GW4+ DTP PhD Studentship

About the award
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus six Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Met Office, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

Location: Streatham Campus, Exeter

Project description:
Tropical coral reefs are iconic ecosystems that sustain not only high levels of biodiversity, but also provide numerous ecosystem goods and services that directly benefit society. Some of these goods and services are well documented and can be quantified with increasing reliability (e.g., food resource provisioning, coastal protection functions). However, far more poorly quantified are rates of carbonate sand production from reefs – a process largely dependent on reef-associated species – and which is essential to sustain reef habitat development, reef growth and, especially, the maintenance of sand-dominated beaches and islands. Recent methodological developments provide a framework for using census–based datasets to quantify the links between reef ecology and sand production, and this project will build on these by developing new quantitative methods for Caribbean species, and then apply these to sites along the Meso-American reef in Mexico, a coastline that is especially dependent on reef-derived sediment generation for beach maintenance.

Project Aims and Methods
Reef-derived sediment is largely sourced from the skeletal organisms that inhabit reefs (e.g., molluscs, foraminifera), from calcareous plants (e.g., Halimeda), and indirectly from grazing by various reef-associated taxa (e.g., parrotfish, urchins) (Perry et al. 2011). Sand production by reef organisms occurs at different rates and results in different types and sizes of sand, but is inherently linked to reef species abundance and diversity. Quantifying the links between reef ecology and sand production rates is thus paramount for coastal vulnerability assessments, although relevant methodologies to attempt this have, until recently, been essentially non-existent. This project will address this knowledge gap, with a specific focus on the Mexican Caribbean region, where reef sand production is critical for beach maintenance and shoreline protection. The project will build on recent approaches which have quantified sand generation based on ecological census data (Perry et al. 2015, 2016, 2017), by: 1) establishing a set of empirical datasets for a range of sand producing species relevant to the Caribbean; 2) build these into a user-interface that can be readily employed across multiple locations; and 3) then use the resultant methodologies to quantify sand generation rates at sites along the Meso-American reef system in Mexico.

Candidate
This project would ideally suit a candidate with a background and interest in either coral reef ecology, tropical coastal geomorphology or marine geology, and with a keen interest in undertaking tropical marine-based field research. Some experience of SCUBA (or a willingness to learn) are essential.

Training
In addition to generic research development training (project development, field logistics and planning, scientific writing), the student will receive project specific training in marine-based surveying methodologies, in reef species identification, in marine sampling and collection procedures, in sediment analysis procedures, and in experimental procedures to assess carbonate sand production and breakdown rates. The student will also receive guidance on approaches to data analysis, data publication and scientific dissemination, and may have the opportunity to participate in a wider range of cross-group field research activities to extend their learning and research experience.