Bioerosion of branched corals was assessed in a fringing reef (Playa Blanca) and a patch reef (Gorgonilla) of Gorgona Island in the tropical eastern Pacific. Cylinder-shaped experimental units (EUs), made from branches of Pocillopora spp., were set 50 cm above the sea bottom for 6, 12 and 18 mo in Playa Blanca (4 zones: Back Reef, Reef-Flat Crest, Reef Front and Reef Slope) and the Gorgonilla p...

Abundance, growth rates and nutrient limitation of the heterotrophic bacteria present in the reef water column and reef cavity water were measured on a fringing reef at Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles). Bacterial in situ growth rates were measured using dialysis bags. Nutrient limitation was measured using bioassays with different amendments of inorganic nutrients (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate) a...

Despite the widely accepted importance of herbivory as a determinant of reef benthic community structure, few studies have examined the relative contributions of individual species to ecosystem processes at the whole reef scale. This study quantifies the grazing impact of individual species of roving herbivorous fishes across an inner shelf fringing reef at Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef, A...

To identify temporal and spatial patterns in the supply of late-stage fish larvae to the coral reefs of the upper Florida Keys, 3 replicate light traps that collect larvae in the process of settling were deployed at each of 2 reefs from May 2002 to February 2004. Traps were deployed every other night from May through October and twice monthly from November through April to examine cross-shelf (...