214
C. M. YONOE
recent reefs with a description of borings up to that on Bikini (the deeper
one at Eniwetok which struck the basalt foundations was made in 1962
(Ladd et at., 1953)) ending with the generalization that “ the more thet
is discovered about the geological history of any reef or reef-enuiruld
island, the more complicated its history appears.” Very recently (1961)
he has published an admirable general survey of uoral reefs. But his
only direct reference to living corals concern growth with a mention
of organic productivity. The more popular, but no less authoritafive,
paper by Newell (1959) again outlines the history of the cord reef
controversy but contains an excellent comparison of Pacifiu and
Atlantic reefs (to be discussed later) with a general account of the
biology of coral reefs.
Umbgrove (1947), another geologist with exueptiody wide
experience of coral reefs, this time in the East Indim, reviewed the
results of 15 years of work before 1940 on reefs widely scattered through
that region. Although he covered the work of other Dutch investigators,
notably Kuenen, Verwey and Boschma (the last two being zoologistS)
the main biological implications of his review concern the environmmta,l
forces which influence coral growth.
There is finally the invaluable account of coral reefs by W e b (1957)
in the first volume of the “ Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology ” and which, in relatively short space, gives the most comprehensive general account of coral reefs, in all their varied asp&,
known to this author. He begins by noting that coral reefs “ are scattered over an area of 190,000,000 square kilometres (68,000,000 square
miles) wherever a suitable substratum lies within the lighted waters of
the tropics beyond the iduence of continental sediments, and away
from the cool upwellings of the aea in the eaetern parts of the mane’
basins.” He refers later to “ The coral-reef biotope ” &B ‘‘ a fa&a of the
marine tropical biochore ”, with its “ essential fauna and flom ” &B
consisting “ of corals and calcareous algae whioh dominate in numbers
and volume and provide the ecological niches essential to the existenCte
of all other reef-dwelling animals and plants.” It follows from this that
“ The existence and potentialities of reefs are largely uonditioned by the
ecological requirements of hermatypic corals and calcareous algae.”
Here we have Darwin’s original definition amplified and brought up fo
date.
111. SYSTEMATICS AND DISTRJBUTXON
Passing to works of systematic importance there come f h t the
“ Rsvision of the Suborders, Families, and Genera of the Scleractinia ”
by Vaughan and Wells (1943) and the comprehensive account of the
C. M. YONOE
recent reefs with a description of borings up to that on Bikini (the deeper
one at Eniwetok which struck the basalt foundations was made in 1962
(Ladd et at., 1953)) ending with the generalization that “ the more thet
is discovered about the geological history of any reef or reef-enuiruld
island, the more complicated its history appears.” Very recently (1961)
he has published an admirable general survey of uoral reefs. But his
only direct reference to living corals concern growth with a mention
of organic productivity. The more popular, but no less authoritafive,
paper by Newell (1959) again outlines the history of the cord reef
controversy but contains an excellent comparison of Pacifiu and
Atlantic reefs (to be discussed later) with a general account of the
biology of coral reefs.
Umbgrove (1947), another geologist with exueptiody wide
experience of coral reefs, this time in the East Indim, reviewed the
results of 15 years of work before 1940 on reefs widely scattered through
that region. Although he covered the work of other Dutch investigators,
notably Kuenen, Verwey and Boschma (the last two being zoologistS)
the main biological implications of his review concern the environmmta,l
forces which influence coral growth.
There is finally the invaluable account of coral reefs by W e b (1957)
in the first volume of the “ Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology ” and which, in relatively short space, gives the most comprehensive general account of coral reefs, in all their varied asp&,
known to this author. He begins by noting that coral reefs “ are scattered over an area of 190,000,000 square kilometres (68,000,000 square
miles) wherever a suitable substratum lies within the lighted waters of
the tropics beyond the iduence of continental sediments, and away
from the cool upwellings of the aea in the eaetern parts of the mane’
basins.” He refers later to “ The coral-reef biotope ” &B ‘‘ a fa&a of the
marine tropical biochore ”, with its “ essential fauna and flom ” &B
consisting “ of corals and calcareous algae whioh dominate in numbers
and volume and provide the ecological niches essential to the existenCte
of all other reef-dwelling animals and plants.” It follows from this that
“ The existence and potentialities of reefs are largely uonditioned by the
ecological requirements of hermatypic corals and calcareous algae.”
Here we have Darwin’s original definition amplified and brought up fo
date.
111. SYSTEMATICS AND DISTRJBUTXON
Passing to works of systematic importance there come f h t the
“ Rsvision of the Suborders, Families, and Genera of the Scleractinia ”
by Vaughan and Wells (1943) and the comprehensive account of the