Studies on the coral reefs of Lakshadweep

Abstract

Popular books and monographs described a rornantic image of the coral islands, which if one observes from outside the water i s not entirely justified. Once beneath the waves, however, the coral islands show a fantastic and very beautiful world, where the exceptionally diverse organisms involving plants and animals form a complex web of interrelationship. A coral reef 1s defined (Vaughan, 1931) as "a ridge or mount of limestor~e, the upper surface of which lies, or lay a t the time of its formation, near the level of the sea, and >redominantly cornposed of calcium carbonate secreted by organisms, of whlch the most important a r e corals".