Cay

Heron Island, Australia

A cay (/ˈkiː/ or /ˈkeɪ/), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef).

Formation and composition

Cay sand under an optical microscope

A cay forms when ocean currents transport loose sediment across the surface of a reef to a depositional node, where the current slows or converges with another current, releasing its sediment load. Gradually, layers of deposited sediment build up on the reef surface.^[1][2] Such nodes occur in windward or leeward areas of reef where surfaces sometimes occur around an emergent outcrop of old reef or beach rock.

The island resulting from sediment accumulation is made up almost entirely of biogenic sediment – the skeletal remains of plants and animals – from the surrounding reef ecosystems.^[3] If the accumulated sediments are predominantly sand, then the island is called a cay; if they are predominantly gravel, the island is called a motu.

Cay sediments are largely composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), primarily of aragonite, calcite, and high magnesium calcite. They are produced by myriad plants (e.g., coralline algae, species of the green algae Halimeda) and animals (e.g., coral, molluscs, foraminifera). Small amounts of silicate sediment are also contributed by sponges and other creatures.^[4][5][6][7] Over time, soil and vegetation may develop on a cay surface, assisted by the deposition of sea bird guano.

Development and stability

A range of physical, biological and chemical influences determines the ongoing development or erosion of cay environments. These influences include: the extent of reef surface sand accumulations, changes in ocean waves, currents, tides, sea levels and weather conditions, the shape of the underlying reef, the types and abundance of carbonate producing biota and other organisms such as binders, bioeroders and bioturbators (creatures that bind, erode, and mix sediments) living in surrounding reef ecosystems.^[8][9]

Significant changes in cays and their surrounding ecosystems can result from natural phenomena such as severe El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles. Also, tropical cyclones can help build or destroy these islands.^[10][11]

There is much debate and concern over the future stability of cays in the face of growing human populations and pressures on reef ecosystems, and predicted climate changes and sea level rise.^[12][13] There is also debate around whether these islands are relict features that effectively stopped expanding two thousand years ago during the late Holocene or, as recent research suggests, they are still growing, with significant new additions of reef sediments.^[14]

Understanding the potential for change in the sediment sources and supply of cay beaches with environmental change is an important key to predicting their present and future stability. Despite, or perhaps because of all the debate around the future of cays, there is consensus that these island environments are very complex and somewhat fragile.

Examples

Warraber Island, Torres Strait

Examples of cays include:

• The Florida Keys are composed primarily of exposed ancient coral reefs and oolite beds formed behind reefs. A few of the Florida Keys, such as Sand Key, are "cays" as defined above.
• Heron Island, Australia, a coral cay on the southern Great Barrier Reef
• Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla
• Rama Cay, Nicaragua
• Tobacco Caye, Dangriga, Belize
• Warraber Island in central Torres Strait (10°12' S, 142°49' E), Australia, a small ‘vegetated sand cay’ according to the classification schemes of McLean and Stoddart (1978)^[15] and Hopley (1982).^[3] Approximately 750 by 1500 m wide, this island is situated on the leeward surface of a large 11 km² emergent reef platform. This cay and the surrounding reef flat are Holocene in origin, having formed over an antecedent Pleistocene platform.^[16]
• Elbow Cays, Bahamas

See also

• Archipelago

References

Corals and coral reefs
Stony corals	Scleractinia Blue coral Brain coral Elkhorn coral Hermatypic coral Chalice coral Pillar coral Staghorn coral Table coral
Soft corals	Alcyonacea Black coral Bamboo coral Organ pipe coral Sea fans Sea pens
Coral reefs	Atoll reef Cay Fringing reef Microatoll Coral reef fish Census of Coral Reefs The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs Catlin Seaview Survey
Coral regions	List of reefs Deep-water coral African coral reefs Amazon Reef Andros, Bahamas Belize Barrier Reef Coral Sea Islands Coral Triangle Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Great Barrier Reef Maldives Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System New Caledonia Barrier Reef Pulley Ridge Raja Ampat Islands Red Sea Southeast Asian coral reefs
Coral diseases	Coral bleaching Black band disease Skeletal eroding band White band disease White pox disease
Protection	Coral Reef Alliance Coral reef protection Green Fins International Society for Reef Studies Project AWARE Reef Check Reef Ball
Other	Artificial reef Aquaculture of coral Coral dermatitis Precious coral Coral rag Coral reef organizations Coral sand Coralline alga Environmental issues with coral reefs Fire coral Reef resilience Rugosa (extinct) Symbiodinium Tabulata