Nature Communications (Mar 2020)

Coral skeletons reveal the history of nitrogen cycling in the coastal Great Barrier Reef

  • Dirk V. Erler,
  • Hanieh Tohidi Farid,
  • Thomas D. Glaze,
  • Natasha L. Carlson-Perret,
  • Janice M. Lough

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15278-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Coastal pollution degrades ecosystems, but long term impacts are unknown in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Using a 333 year record of coral skeleton nitrogen isotopes, Erler and colleagues show that increasing nutrient inputs since European settlement have led to unexpected feedback responses.