The cover of the main components of the substratum, their spatial relations as well as mortality of the most important living component (Sceleractinia) were studied at the leeward reef of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Cover was very constant in both living and non-living components over the study period. There was a small but significant change in coral cover caused by a decrease at 10 and 20 m. Spatial arrangement of substratum components was subjected to changes in living and non-living components. There was a significant difference in the magnitude of such changes between the shallower (10, 20 m) and the deeper quadrats (30, 40 m), the spatial rearrangement being much greater in the shallower habitats. In addition, there are important variations in the relative spatial change of the different coral species. The observed patterns of species that are more and less mobile through time, such as Agaricia agaricites and Montastrea spp. respectively, are related to life history phenomena such as recruitment and mortality. Mortality was found to be high in colonies of A. agaricites and low in A. lamarcki and Montastraea spp. Mortality of coral colonies in this size class is often catastrophic in character. This evidence indicates that community organization in deep coral reefs, both along the depth gradient and along the coast, is more influenced by spatial rearrangement of the substrate than has previously been recognized.