Reefs in Space and Time: Recognizing David Stoddart's Contribution to Coral Reef Science

Abstract

This volume of papers grew out of a session titled ‘Modern reefs and reef islands: reflections and resonance of David Stoddart’s contributions to coral reef science’ held on the first day of the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Honolulu, Hawaii in June 2016. The session aimed to recognize the late David Stoddart’s pioneering research and organizational initiatives in the development of coral reef science over the last few decades. The present contributions are a derivative of that session and are arranged in sequence that reflects major phases of Stoddart’s field activity from British Honduras (Belize) in the early 1960s through French Polynesia in the 1990s. This sequence is introduced in a summary of over 240 of Stoddart’s writings on coral reefs that covers the key themes and regions as well as a comprehensive bibliography of those writings. Two locations where Stoddart had a constant interest were Belize on the Atlantic coast of Central America; and Aldabra in the western Indian Ocean. Contributions on both of these locations are included here: the first being a review of marine research in the Belize atolls since the early work of Stoddart, who noted that these were not Darwinian atolls but part of a massive carbonate platform; the second being a study of the benthic communities and bathymetry of the lagoon at Aldabra.