Draft: Cavity Dwellers (Coelobites) Under Coral Rubble in Southern Belize Barrier and Atoll Reefs
Gischler E and Ginsburg R. 1996. Draft: Cavity Dwellers (Coelobites) Under Coral Rubble in Southern Belize Barrier and Atoll Reefs. Bulletin of Marine Science. 58(2)
Coral rubble is the most common hard substrate on barrier and atoll reefs in southern Belize, as it is on many other reefs. Occurrence, successional patterns, colonized area and diversity of reef cavity dwellers (coelobites) living on undersides of coral rubble are different in the major reef environments. There exist at least 94 species under rubble collected at 94 stations along 5 transects. Three major factors are found to control distribution, abundance and diversity of coelobites under rubble: {1) rubble stability, (2) flushing of sub-rubble cavities and (3) biological interactions between organisms. Cavity dwellers (coelobites sensu Ginsburg and Schroeder 1973) are a major element in the coral reef ecosystem. The variety of coelobites contributes substantially to the diversity of a reef; in places their biomass exceeds that of the reef surface; they largely contribute to the consolidation of the reef framework and they may be a major part of the reef food chain.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Gischler, Eberhard; Ginsburg, Robert
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- CAVE, Concentration, Disbursement, Habitat, marine ecosystem