Discovery Bay is the site of a fringing reef complex with shallow and deep forereef components.
The prograding shallow component ends with an abrupt drop-off at 55 meters depth. The deep forereef cliff then continues vertically to approximately 122 meters below sea level. The latter are sparsely colonized due to high sedimentation rates. Agaricia and Montastrea cavernosa and the calcareous green algae Halimeda . As light penetration diminishes with depth, these corals grow upward and outward and forms tend to be flattened to increase the amount of surface area exposed to light.