STUDYING COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN REEF SYSTEMS 



Eldredge Bermingham (University of Georgia) introduced this general topic 

 toward the end of the session by suggesting what he believed to be a major 

 problem with coral reef community ecology. He felt that reef ecologists were 

 often academic descendants of bird ecologists, but failed to follow their 

 ornithological forefathers' passion for detailed natural history data. He 

 stressed that lack of solid baseline data on coral reefs inhibits our ability 

 to understand these systems. 



Both John Ebersole (University of Massachusetts at Boston) and Hixon 

 agreed in turn that detailed observational data are essential for any convincing 

 ecological study. In particular, long-term baseline data illustrating the 

 constancy or variability of observed patterns are needed. However, Hixon 

 questioned whether most (or even many) reef ecologists were academic descendants 

 of bird ecologists and, more importantly, noted that reef ecologists have 

 conducted far more rigorous experimental studies than most bird ecologists. 

 This disparity is understandable. On one hand, many terrestrial systems 

 (especially many avian communities) are amenable to long-term observation but 

 not to experimental manipulation. On the other hand, most coral reefs are both 

 geographically distant from most research institutions and difficult to observe 

 for long periods due to diving constraints. However, some reef systems are 

 small enough or the associated organisms sedentary enough to allow direct 

 experimentation, as evidenced by the papers in this symposium. Moreover, 

 artificial reefs constructed from either natural or manmade materials allow 

 researchers to rigidly control the age and structure of reef habitats, allowing 

 powerful experimental designs (e.g., Shulman, et al . , 1983; Fitz, et al . , 1983; 

 Wolf, et aU, 1983). 



SYNTHESIS AND PROSPECTUS 



It seems appropriate to close this paper with an overview of our future 

 needs in the study of coral reef communities. It is clear that, despite the 

 knowledge that has accrued since the first professional ecologists donned SCUBA 

 gear in the 1950's, we have only begun to scratch the surface of the complexities 

 of coral reef systems. The number of research possibilities is infinite; the 

 field is wide open. Thus, rather than suggesting what we need to study in 

 particular, I would like to review the ideas suggested during this workshop on 

 how we might improve future studies. 



Based on criticisms leveled at current studies and pleas for future changes 

 aired at various times during this workshop, three basic needs are evident. 

 First, the complexities of coral-reef community structure cannot be elucidated 

 without more extensive use of properly controlled field experiments. This 

 suggestion is not new (e.g., Connel 1 , 1974), and many reef ecologists have 

 embraced experimentation enthusiastically. However, any experiment, no matter 

 how elegantly designed and executed, cannot stand alone. As discussed above, 

 detailed observational knowledge of a system is essential before field experiments 

 can be properly interpreted. 



This brings us to a second need: long-term field studies. Because 

 (1) most coral reefs are located far from universities and other research 



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