Abstract
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are key producers of carbonate sediment on reefs today. Despite their importance in modern reef ecosystems, the long-term relationship of CCA with reef development has not been quantitatively assessed in the fossil record. This study includes data from 128 Cenozoic coral reefs collected from the Paleobiology Database, the Paleoreefs Database, as well as the original literature and assesses the correlation of CCA abundance with taxonomic diversity (both corals and reef dwellers) and framework of fossil coral reefs. Chi-squared tests show reef type is significantly correlated with CCA abundance and post-hoc tests indicate higher involvement of CCA is associated with stronger reef structure. Additionally, general linear models show coral reefs with higher amounts of CCA had a higher diversity of reef-dwelling organisms. These data have important implications for paleoecology as they demonstrate that CCA increased building capacity, structural integrity, and diversity of ancient coral reefs. The analyses presented here demonstrate that the function of CCA on modern coral reefs is similar to their function on Cenozoic reefs; thus, studies of ancient coral reef collapse are even more meaningful as modern analogues.
Highlights
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are non-geniculate, red algae of the order Corallinales that secrete Mg-calcite skeletons [1]
The chi-squared test indicates reef type is dependent upon Algae Score in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic coral reefs (p = 0.006)
Because ecological reefs are the only constructions with definite framework, CCA presence is linked with framework and structural rigidity of the reef
Summary
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are non-geniculate, red algae of the order Corallinales that secrete Mg-calcite skeletons [1]. CCA are common worldwide, in tropical regions, where CCA build algal ridges [2], act as free-living rhodoliths [3], and are key producers of carbonate sediment in reefs [3, 4, 5]. Since their appearance in the Early Cretaceous [6], CCA have developed an important, complicated relationship with corals. CCA are critical for reef framework in high-energy, intertidal or outer ridge habitats where wave-resistivity is important [8, 9].
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