Tidal effects on coral reefs

Abstract

The influence of tides on coral reefs is not just confined to the semi-diurnal, rise and fall of sea level. Physical oceanographic studies of coral reefs have investigated the Great Barrier Reef where there is ready access and resources that are available for research, with significant research also on Indian Ocean and Pacific coral reefs and atolls. Future coral reef investigations may consider the accumulated literature from the Great Barrier Reef and other much-studied locations in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, with an overall understanding of the interaction of their physical and biological processes.