The role of a coral reef ecosystem in the biological fixation of CO 2

Abstract

Biological studies were carried out in Bora Bay, Miyako Island, near Okinawa Japan, with the object to understand the structure and physiology of a coral reef ecosystem, with especial emphasis on the carbon cycle and CO 2 fixation. Food web of the coral reef ecosystem at Bora Bay shows some remarkable patterns with cyanobacteria, epiphytic microalgae, sea weed and zooxanthellae as primary producers rather than phytoplankton. The importance of the microbial loop as an organic source and the rapid decomposition and recycling rates is another pattern to be considered.