%0 Journal Article
%T Competition between Coral and Algae in Tertiary and Quaternary Reefs: Greenhouse to Icehouse Transitions
%A Belkasim Khameiss
%A Richard Fluegeman
%A William Hoyt
%A Shawn Malone
%A Ahmed Muftah
%J Journal of Environmental Protection
%P 94-107
%@ 2152-2219
%D 2024
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/jep.2024.151007
%X The competition between coral and algae in marine reefs is pervasive through geologic time; that competition determines the structure and composition of reef communities, which we see in the fossil record. However, the relationships between coral and calcareous algae in reefs are poorly understood. To study this relationship, several hand samples and thin sections were examined from nine different foralgal reef localities around the world. Foralgal reefs typically extend from about 20 m depth or shallower on the seaward side of the reef. The first section is Salt Mountain, Alabama, which preserves a Paleocene reef. It contains a high percentage of red coralline algae with benthic foraminifera. The second section is IDOP-U1376, IIA Limestone, it is Middle Eocene, in the form of an isolated reef sandwiched between two igneous beds. The third section is the Utoe¡¯ Limestone, New Caledonia, it is Middle Eocene in age and is composed mainly of grain-boundstone units with some igneous interlayered. The fourth section is the Darnah Formation in the West-Darnah roadcut section, Northeast Libya, it is Middle Eocene in age, it is composed of highly fossiliferous limestone (corals, red coralline algae, echinoids, mollusks, foraminifers, and bryozoans). The fifth section, the Al Bayda Formation (Algal Limestone Member) in Northeast Libya, is in the Drayanah¡ªAl Abyar roadcut, Northeast Libya, it has several species of algae but also includes a high percentage of buildups of coral species. The sixth section is the Oligo-Miocene Al Faidiyah Formation (Al Fatayah Cement Quarry) limestone unit in Northeast Libya. The seventh section is (Core-core 20) late-early to middle Miocene Limestone Unit-Cicuco Field, NW Colombia. The eighth section is the Benghazi Formation at Benghazi Cement Quarry, in Northeast Libya, it is fossiliferous limestone, consisting of coral, algae, mollusks, and echinoids. The ninth and tenth sections are Quaternary reefs in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, respectively. These reefs contain a high percentage of coral, red coralline algae, echinoids, mollusks, foraminifers, and ostracods. Based on the data and static analysis results on the thin sections and hand specimens, this study determines the occurrence and outcomes of coral-algal interactions among different coral growth forms (branching, upright, massive, encrusting, plating, and solitary). The Early Paleogene (Paleocene to Eocene) has the highest percentage of algae in two forms (crustose and frondose), which is a good indicator of a warm climate. In the Middle Eocene to Late Eocene, coral
%K Utoe¡¯ Limestone
%K New Caledonia
%K Benghazi Formation at Benghazi Cement Quarry
%K Is IDOP-U1376
%K IIA Limestone
%K It Is Middle Eocene
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=130952