Productivity of a coral reef using boundary layer and enclosure methods

The metabolism of Cayo Enrique Reef, Puerto Rico, was studied using in situ methods during March 2009. Benthic O-2 fluxes were used to calculate net community production using both the boundary layer gradient and enclosure techniques. The boundary layer O-2 gradient and the drag coefficients were used to calculate productivity ranging from -12.3 to 13.7 mmol O-2 m(-2) h(-1). Productivity measurements from the enclosure method ranged from -11.0 to 12.9 mmol O-2 m(-2) h(-1). During the study, the mean hourly difference between the methods was 0.65 mmol O-2 m(-2) h(-1) (r(2) = 0.92), resulting in well-reconciled estimates of net community production between the boundary layer (-33.1 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) and enclosure (-46.3 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) techniques. The results of these independent approaches corroborate quantified rates of metabolism at Cayo Enrique Reef. Close agreement between methods demonstrates that boundary layer measurements can provide near real-time assessments of coral reef health. Citation: McGillis, W. R., C. Langdon, B. Loose, K. K. Yates, and J. Corredor (2011), Productivity of a coral reef using boundary layer and enclosure methods, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L03611, doi:10.1029/2010GL046179.