Dynamics of Coral Communities (Population and Community Biology Series)

This book focuses on the dynamical processes influencing the structure of coral communities, some of the most biologically diverse communities on earth. A variety of biological and physical processes operating across an enormous range of spatiotemporal scales are highlighted (e.g., niche partitioning, biological interactions, disturbance phenomena, large-scale tectonic, eustatic, climatic, and oceanographic processes). The focus on the community provides a framework for presenting some of the best examples from the literature using multiple taxonomic groups (e.g., corals, fishes, encrusting invertebrates).