Importance of water-flow on the physiological responses of reef-building corals

Abstract

The topographic complexity of coral reef structure naturally provides temporal and spatial variations in environmental factors. Among these physical environmental factors, water-flow is an important environmental factor in coral reef habitat that had been overlooked as a stress ameliorator for reef-building corals. This review will summarize the recent studies as well as previous findings concerning the effects of water-flow on corals. The interaction among major stress factors and water-flow will be discussed with special attention to the aspects of coral bleaching phenomenon.