The global biogeography of reef morphology

AimThe Caribbean and Indo-Pacific are separate biogeographical realms with distinct biogeographical and evolutionary histories, a 10-fold difference in biodiversity, and highly disparate sea-level histories. Since reef morphology often reflects interactions between biological activity and biogeographical history, including sea levels, the widths of shallow coral reef habitats are likely to differ markedly between realms, with ramifications for numerous ecosystem functions. Our goal, therefore, was to assess the impact of global-scale biogeographical and evolutionary histories on coral reef habitats. Specifically, are Indo-Pacific reefs wider than their Caribbean counterparts? LocationGlobal. Time PeriodModern. Major Taxa StudiedCoral reefs. MethodsWe used the Allen Coral Atlas, a global reef mapping system (3 m pixel resolution), to examine 3765 transects, 3 km long and 1 km apart, on 60 reefs across the two realms, quantifying shallow reef habitat widths (Inner and Outer Reef Flat, and Reef Crest) using ArcGIS. ResultsShallow reef habitat widths were strikingly similar between the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. Estimated modal widths diverged by just 37 m; means by just 122 m. Although shallow reef zones appeared to be wider in the Indo-Pacific, habitat widths on atolls were almost identical across realms (means varying by less than 8 m). Main ConclusionsOur remote sensing approach provides a global description of the biogeography of coral reefs as biogenic structures. Furthermore, we can assess the relative importance of realm-wide differences in coral diversity and sea-level history on reef growth. The striking similarity of reef widths across realms suggests that reef growth (net reef accretion) is largely independent of coral diversity, or sea-level history, and that other factors may have played a major role in constraining shallow reef widths. These factors may include geomorphology (e.g. antecedent topography and historical accommodation space) and, once at sea level, self-limiting local hydrodynamics.