The author reviews our present state of knowledge of the interplay between changing environmental conditions and modern reef biology. Specifically, he addresses the issues of coral reproductive and population biology at both the individual and population level, the symbiosis of coral zooxanthellae , and reef community ecology. Nevertheless, he describes some features of reproductive biology that do address the potential for corals to confront such challenges. For example, it has been predicted that the planet will experience a substantial melting of the polar ice caps as a result of CO 2 -induced global warming, which in turn is predicted to wreak havoc on the world's coral reefs as they succumb to rising sea levels. Such hybridizations may help explain the survival of coral populations throughout the varying environmental conditions of geologic time.
More research is needed on relevant temporal and spatial scales.
What it means This review article clearly demonstrates our lack of knowledge on three important fronts of coral reef research. To his way of thinking, our knowledge of community reef ecology is still in its infancy.