Introduction to Marine Biology 4th Edition by George Karleskint,Richard Turner,James Small

Exercise 1

Indo-Pacific reefs are older than Atlantic reefs, have a greater diversity of organisms, have more extensive algal ridges, grow to 60 meters or less in depth, have a far greater depth of reef carbonates, and coral surface coverage can approach 100%. Atlantic reefs have a deeper buttress zone, have coral growth extending down to 100 meters, are commonly dominated by the hydrozoan Millepora complanata (fire coral), have a greater biomass of sponges, and have coral coverage rarely exceeding 60%.