Reef structure

Abstract

Reefs grow with distinctive morphologies such as fringing, barrier, platform, and atoll forms, preserving internal patterns of reef communities whose ecology records much of their history. They respond to important controls such as substrate, subsidence, and sea-level change, and this is reflected in their architecture. As repositories of biodiversity and records of past climates, they deserve special attention and high conservation status in our world of changing climate (see Wilkinson, 2008), increasing storms, sea-level rise, bleaching, and ocean acidification.