Patterns in the distribution of coral communities across the central Great Barrier Reef.
Patterns in the distribution of coral communities across the central Great Barrier Reef.
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DOI：
10.1007/bf00301691
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发表时间：
1982-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Done, T.J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Done, T.J.
尽管大堡礁的卓越地位，但很少有对其生物群落的系统描述，特别是珊瑚本身。直到最近，珊瑚分类学的问题才得到充分解决，才开始纠正这一缺陷。本研究描述了17种珊瑚组合，它们占据了大堡礁中部及其附近的主要栖息地类型。所研究的生境范围从珊瑚海环礁的波浪冲击礁滩到海岸附近遮蔽泥泞的小礁的斜坡。这些珊瑚礁以及它们之间的珊瑚礁阵列具有珊瑚群落的特征，为将珊瑚礁分类为非Acroporareefs和各种Acroporareefs提供了基础。据推测，动物区系的差异之所以得以维持，是因为珊瑚礁主要是自我播种的，而且来自外部来源的大多数幼虫都是已经存在的物种。物种和群落类型的最大多样性是在大陆架中部附近的珊瑚礁上发现的，而海洋环礁和近岸受淤泥影响的珊瑚礁几乎同样depadenate。
Despite the pre-eminence of the Great Barrier Reef, there has been little systematic description of its biotic communities, and in particular, of the corals themselves. Only recently have the problems of coral taxonomy been sufficiently resolved to allow a beginning to be made in rectifying this deficiency. The present study describes seventeen assemblages of corals which occupy the major habitat types found in and near the central Great Barrier Reef. The habitats studied range from the wave swept reef flats of Coral Sea atolls to the slopes of small reefs occupying sheltered, muddy conditions near the coast. These, and the array of reefs between, have characteristic suites of coral communities which provide the basis for a classification of reefs into non-Acroporareefs and variousAcroporareefs. It is speculated that the faunistic differences are maintained because reefs are primarily self-seeded and because the majority of larvae from external sources are of species which are already present. The greatest diversity of both species and community types was found on reefs near the middle of the continental shelf, while the oceanic atolls and nearshore silt-affected reefs are almost equally depauperate.