Include all extended plates in plating varieties. Once a colony s boundaries are established, it is easier to make a correct identification of genus and species. To avoid differences or ambiguities of common names, while still recognizing that several different systems of nomenclature are in current use by reef researchers, a species list of the major reef building corals of the Caribbean is given in Appendix 2. This list represents the Caribbean species that are the primary focus of our analysis i.e., those that contribute most to reef building. The diameter should be measured in plan view perpendicular to the axis of growth.
Plan view is assessed from an angle that is parallel to the axis of growth.
The height should be measured parallel to the axis of growth. For a colony growing on top of another colony, only measure the diameter and height of the individual colony being assessed. Example of size measurements for knocked over coral too large to move. Note dead area and live area. Examples of corals with complex morphologies Basally-connected columns of Montastraea annularis Interlocking thickets of A .