Late Holocene initiation and growth of a nearshore turbid-zone coral reef: Paluma Shoals, central Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Abstract

It is now well known that corals and coral reefs can grow and survive in turbid water (e.g. Marshall and Orr 1931; Anthony 2000). However, with the exception of a few excellent studies (Hopley et al. 1983; Johnson and Risk 1987; Hopley 1994; Tudhope and Scoffin 1994; Kleypas 1996), descriptions of the internal structure and growth history of turbid-zone reefs are rare compared to those of clearer water systems. Here we outline the internal structure and Holocene growth history of the largest and most southern reef (hereafter referred to as South Shoal) at Paluma Shoals, a group of nearshore turbid-zone reefs in Halifax Bay, approximately 50 km northwest of Townsville (Fig. 1a).