Abstract
Although it is well known that primary production is generally higher in near-shore waters than in adjacent oceanic regions, this inequality in tropical reefs, where nutrient concentrations are not higher than in the oceanic water that bathes them (1), is particularly difficult to explain. Progress in answering this fundamental question has been hampered by the tremendous diversity of reef habitats and photosynthetic organisms, the methodological difficulties of working on them (2), and inaccuracies and confusion in the interpretation of data obtained in early field studies (3). In this paper, I present information on annual surface light energy inputs to a coral reef; patterns of light utilization by one group of primary producers, the reef corals; and equations designed to allow interpretation of studies on the oxygen metabolism of symbiotic invertebrates.
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© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
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Porter, J.W. (1980). Primary Productivity in the Sea: Reef Corals in Situ . In: Falkowski, P.G. (eds) Primary Productivity in the Sea. Environmental Science Research, vol 19. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3890-1_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3890-1_22
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