IMIS - Marine Research Groups | Compendium Coast and Sea

IMIS - Marine Research Groups

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A comparative study of the meio-epifauna associated with tropical and cold water coral reefs
Dutch title: Een vergelijkende studie van de meio-epifauna geassocieerd met tropische en koudwater-koraalriffen
Funder identifier: G019903N (Other contract id)
Period: January 2003 till December 2006
Status: Completed

Thesaurus terms Biodiversity; Corals; Meiofauna
  • Universiteit Gent; Faculteit Wetenschappen; Vakgroep Biologie; Onderzoeksgroep Mariene Biologie (MARBIOL), more
  • Vlaamse overheid; Beleidsdomein Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie; Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO), more, sponsor
  • University of Nairobi; School of Biological Sciences (SBS), more
  • University of Dar es Salaam; Faculty of Aquatic Sciences and Technology (FAST), more
Because of their different regional and historical context a comparison of the biodiversity of the meio-epifauna in both tropical versus cold water coral reefs ecosystem can give a better insight in the importance of local impacts and regional processes for the present biodiverity. It is estimated to what extent the biodiversity (local and regional) increases in a coral reef due to the presence of specialized taxa, living in association with particular substrate types. In addition it is evaluated if this increase in biodiversity is linked (or not) to other environmental characteristics, and/or to the diverging historical context (regional processes) of a tropical and coldwater coral reef.