Carbonate budgets as indicators of functional reef “health”: A critical review of data underpinning census-based methods and current knowledge gaps

Abstract

• Calcium carbonate budgets as indicators for reef health are understudied. • Geographic gaps exist in the Coral Triangle and Southwestern Pacific. • Further studies are necessary across reef zones and depth, and over time. • Paucity of supporting data on calcification and erosion constrains budget estimates. • Future research to increase spatial coverage and study environmental change impacts. The carbonate budget of a reef describes the net rate of carbonate production resulting from various biologically-, physically- and chemically-driven production and erosion processes. Thus, budget state metrics can provide important information on a reef’s growth potential and on the capacity of reefs to sustain key geo-ecological services such as habitat provision and coastal protection. Whilst various approaches for estimating carbonate budgets exist, census-based methods have gained recent interest because they quantify the contribution of different functional groups and taxa, and allow assessments of the links between changing reef ecology and budget states. However, the present paucity of supporting data on growth and erosion rates for the majority of coral species and reef-associated taxa represents a constraint on these budget estimates and limits meaningful between-site comparisons. In light of the growing interest in using carbonate budgets as a functional reef “health” assessment tool, this review thus considers our current state of knowledge regarding the geographic coverage of existing reef budget states and the availability of relevant supporting data. We use this to highlight current knowledge gaps, future challenges, and opportunities that emerging techniques may offer. The primary aim of this review is to encourage increased research efforts on budget states and underlying metrics in order to better constrain reef carbonate budget estimates from across a broad range of sites and environments.