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The utility of stable isotopic signatures in coral skeletons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

Peter K. Swart  and
Jim J. Leder
Peter K. Swart
Affiliation:
Stable Isotope Laboratory, Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics, RSMAS, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33149
Jim J. Leder
Affiliation:
Stable Isotope Laboratory, Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics, RSMAS, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33149
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Abstract

There is a fundamental ecologic differentiation between zooxanthellate and non-zooxanthellate corals. This paper reviews factors which govern the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of these groups of corals. Although the stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of coral skeletons are strongly influenced by environmental and physiological factors, the precise mechanisms remain a matter of debate. In particular the oxygen isotopic composition is known to be governed by the temperature and the oxygen isotopic composition of the water and perhaps also by kinetic factors. In contrast the carbon isotopic composition is controlled by a combination of photosynthesis, respiration, autotrophy, heterotrophy, and the isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon. Using a combination of carbon and oxygen isotopes it is possible to distinguish zooxanthellate from non-zooxanthellate corals.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 1: Paleobiology and Biology of Corals , October 1996 , pp. 249 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 by The Paleontological Society 

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