Coral reefs have established along the west and southwest sections of the island shelf,
extending offshore approximately 0.6 nautical miles, encompassing depths between 15
and (at least) 70 m. The area of most extensive hermatypic coral reef development is
known as Puerto Canoas. This section of the shelf is identified as our study area and
presented with its bathymetry as Figure 10. The coral reef system at the Puerto Canoas
shelf is exuberant, with huge stony coral colonies growing together and forming large
coral promontories that provide very high topographic relief (Plate 14). Coral outcrops
are interspersed among a coralline sandy bottom. With a mean substrate cover of 52 %,
scleractinian corals represent the dominant taxonomic component of the sessile-benthic
community at Puerto Canoas (García-Sais et al., 2001b). A total of 21 species of
Figure 10. Study area at Isla Desecheo, Mona Passage, western Puerto Rico.
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