Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7
ClimateChangeand
SandyBeachEcosystems
Alan R. Jones
CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................ 133
Sandy.Beaches.as.Habitats..................................................................................... 134
Biota.and.Ecology.................................................................................................. 135
Habitat.Linkages..................................................................................................... 137
Climate.Change...................................................................................................... 138
Ecological.Effects.of.Climate.Change.................................................................... 139
Temperature....................................................................................................... 140
Sea.Level............................................................................................................ 141
Storminess/Wave.Energy................................................................................... 143
Oceanography.................................................................................................... 144
Rainfall............................................................................................................... 144
Acidiication,.Calciication,.Acidosis................................................................ 144
Interacting.Stressors........................................................................................... 145
Management........................................................................................................... 146
General.Considerations...................................................................................... 146
Beach.Resilience................................................................................................ 148
Summary................................................................................................................. 150
Acknowledgments.................................................................................................. 151
References.............................................................................................................. 151
Sea-level.rise.will.have.impacts.on.soft-sediment.shorelines.and.intertidal.ecosystems,.
which.will.be.especially.vulnerable.to.change.with.additional.impacts.from.extreme.
events..(CSIRO.2002)
INTRODUCTION
In.extent,.sandy.beaches.are.major.ecosystems.comprising.about.50-60%.of.Earth's.
coastlines.(Bird.1996)..That.these.beaches.have.iconic.status.and.large.socioeconomic.
value.is.well.understood.(Batley.and.Cocks.1992;.Klein.et.al..2004;.Blackwell.2007)..
Less.appreciated.is.the.fact.that.they.are.diverse,.living.ecosystems.(McLachlan.and.
Brown. 2006). that. have. intrinsic. value. and. provide. many. ecological. goods. and. ser-
vices.to.humans.(Schlacher.et.al..2008;.Defeo.et.al..2009)..This.failing.is.largely.due.
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