This is the first report of the sipunculan Aspidosiphon (Aspidosiphon) elegans (Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821) in the tropical eastern Pacific. With this species the number of coral borers rises to 18 for this region. The upogebiidid crustacean Pomatogebia rugosa (Lockington, 1878) was reported previously (as Upogebia rugosa) from coral colonies in the Gulf of California, Mexico, and from coral r...

Three years after most corals died on the central Indian Ocean reefs of Chagos, erosion and recovery were studied to 30 m depth. Mortality was near-total to 15 m deep in northern atolls, and to > 35 m in central and southern atolls. Some reef surfaces have 'dropped' 1.5 m due to the loss of dense coral thickets. Coral bioerosion is substantial, reducing 3-D reef 'structure' and forming unconsol...

Cold-water corals, such as Lophelia pertusa, are key habitat-forming organisms found throughout the world's oceans to 3000 m deep. The complex three-dimensional framework made by these vulnerable marine ecosystems support high biodiversity and commercially important species. Given their importance, a key question is how both the living and the dead framework will fare under projected climate ch...

Bioerosion by Cliona delitrix and Cliona lampa was assessed at 43 sites along the Florida Reef Tract, USA, in the summer of 2001. Sponge abundances were estimated using rapid visual assessment. Tissue samples of sponges were taken for analysis of delta15N. Comparison samples were taken from Belize. Annual trends in sponge abundance were estimated from archived videos covering the period from 19...