Were coral reefs distributed on the back-arc side of the northernRyukyus during glacial periods? -Response of coral-reef ecosystems to paleoceanographicchanges-

珊瑚礁在琉球群岛分布广泛，其群落结构受多种环境因子的控制，其中珊瑚礁生态系统纬度边缘的珊瑚礁对环境变化特别敏感，与冰川-间冰期气候和海平面变化有关。在这项研究中，我们发现了淹没的礁岩在小高岛外的大陆架上，在北方中琉球的弧后一侧。这一事实表明，珊瑚礁在冰川时期可能会在今天琉球群岛的“珊瑚礁前沿”周围茁壮成长。

In the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus), coral reefs are widely distributed.Their community structure is highly controlled by various environmental factors, and thereefs at the latitudinal limits of coral-reef ecosystems are particularly sensitive toenvironmental changes, associated with glacial-interglacial changes in climate andsealevel. In this research, we found submerged reef rocks on a shelf off Kotaka-jima Island,on the back-arc side of the northern Central Ryukyus. This facts suggest that coral reefscould thrive in glacial periods around the present-day “coral-reef front” in theRyukyus.