Sediment-pollution delivery to coastal waters

Names and classification

Other names

sediment-pollution delivery to coastal waters

Family

Invasive & Human-Altered Process Mechanisms

Record type

ecological_process

Habitat and ecology

Ecological role

Supports Atlas reasoning about ecosystem function, dependencies, threats, conservation leverage points and cross-module consequences.

Process and seasonal context

Definition

Human-accelerated sediment and attached contaminant transport from disturbed watersheds to reefs.

Drivers

introduced species; land use; extraction; pollution; management

Inputs

pressure; propagules; contaminants; removals

Outputs

altered hydrology; food webs; regeneration; erosion; connectivity

Spatial scales

site → island → watershed

Temporal scales

event → decades

Validity and limits

Context-specific; do not extrapolate across habitat, season, elevation, salinity or disturbance state without evidence.

Sources and further reading

• From ridge to reef—linking erosion and changing watersheds to coral reef impacts
• Sedimentation processes in a coral reef embayment: Hanalei Bay, Kauaʻi
• Coral Reef Project: Kauaʻi
• Invasive Impacts on Erosion
• Dune Restoration