Nine mutually exclusive zones were identified from land to open water corresponding to typical insular shelf and coral reef geomorphology (Figure 1 and Figure 2). These zones include: land, shoreline/intertidal, lagoon, back reef, reef crest, fore reef, bank/shelf, bank/shelf escarpment, and dredged* (since this condition eliminates natural geomorphology). Zone refers only to each benthic community's location and does not address substrate or cover types within. For example, the lagoon zone may include patch reefs, sand, and seagrass beds, however, these are considered structural elements that may or may not occur within the lagoon zone and therefore, are not used to define it.
* not depicted in figures
