| Concepts and character of a coral reef |
| Survey and monitoring of living coral cover |
| Coral reef references |
| Mayaguez Reef Study |
| Coral reef papers |
| Coral reef projects |
| Coral identification |
| Contact for more information email message |
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Modern reefs are important for their mediation of nearshore ecology, their role as natural breakwaters and their value as fishery and recreational resources. They take on added significance as models for ancient reef systems and their links to natural-resource distribution as well as questions about the evolution of marine life through geologic time.
Coral reefs are biologically produced structures that in time exert control on the surrounding environments. Modern reefs are a focal point for study by varied groups of researchers, each of which has its own perspectives and priorities. Biologists are primarily concerned with individual organisms or interactions among them (ecology).