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Gaya West | Depth, turbidity, and currents | Description of the general morphology |
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The mesh reef in the lagoon (stations GW1 to GW5) | Depth: −7 m. The water is very turbid. Current speed is low. | In the lagoon, corals form a mesh reef made of large coral strips, 4–7 m high and 4-5 m wide. These coral rims rise from the seabed like large walls, surrounded by a sandy plain (Figure 5). The upper part of the strips never emerges at low tide. Coral vitality is low. |
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The transition from the lagoon to the reef rim | Depth: −2 m. It is possible to walk on this part of the reef at low tide. Currents are very strong, and,as a consequence, the area has not been analyzed. | From the lagoon toward the reef rim, the depth decreases sharply. In this transition zone, corals occur as circa metric patch reefs with great vitality. These patches are scattered in a large sandy area. Coral colonies are likely massive and submassive and few Acropora are visible. |
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The reef rim | Depth: 0 m. | The reef rim is the highest part of the intertidal portion of the reef, reaching a few centimeters above the upper level of coral growth. Here it is half-necrotic and is less than 10 m wide. Coralline algae cements the upper surface of the rim. |
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The outer slope (stations GW6 and GW7) | From 0 to 15 m, turbidity is not important, and coral diversity is the highest observed at Gaya West. | The outer slope is very steep and displays luxuriant hard corals, dominated by large heads of non-Acropora corals. |
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The sandy plain | Depth: −15 m. Turbidity is very important. | At −15 m depth appears a plain characterized by slightly muddy fine sediment. |
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