Abstract
The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community. This may not happen if gradual changes in climate favor different species. If equilibrium is reached, a lesser degree of diversity may be sustained by niche diversification or by a compensatory mortality that favors inferior competitors. However, tropical forests and reefs are subject to severe disturbances often enough that equilibrium may never be attained.
Keywords
Coral reefReefEcologyDiversification (marketing strategy)TropicsNicheBiodiversityGeographyRainforestTropical climateBiology
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Some Physical and Biological Determinants of Coral Community Structure in the Eastern Pacific
Various physical and biological factors affecting coral community structure were investigated by direct observation and periodic censusing (supplemented with laboratory observat...
Recolonization of Red Sea Corals Affected by Natural Catastrophes and Man‐Made Perturbations
The recovery patterns of hermatypic corals following an unpredicted catastrophic low tide were studied on two reef flats in the northern Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea: (1) the nature r...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1978
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 199
- Issue
- 4335
- Pages
- 1302-1310
- Citations
- 9113
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
9113
OpenAlex
Cite This
Joseph H. Connell
(1978).
Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests and Coral Reefs.
Science
, 199
(4335)
, 1302-1310.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.199.4335.1302
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.199.4335.1302