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The Colombian Caribbean Sea presents both coastal continental and oceanic coral reef ecosystems. Based on quantitative sampling using video transects and multivariate analyses we found that there are small (hundreds of meters to few kilometers) and large scale (tens to hundreds of kilometers) spatial distribution patterns in the composition and abundance of sessile organisms. Despite these coral reefs constitute a single community with the same coral species and other organisms, Siderastrea siderea y Agaricia tenuifolia reef zones occur exclusively in the continental sector, meanwhile, fore-reef terraces and lagoonal and windward peripheral reefs are characteristic of the oceanic sector. These variations may reflect the different geologic histories, prevailing environmental conditions, frequency and intensity of disturbances, and life strategies of dominant species. Within sectors (i.e. continental and oceanic), coral reef community structure seems to be influenced by the intensity of wave exposure, water depth and reef geomorphology. The different spatial scales in which the community responds to the environment should be considered when conservation and management strategies are taken in coral reefs of Colombia.
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References
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