Role of polychaetes of coral reefs

In 1973, Grassle found that dead coral substrates on the Great Barrier Reef had diverse polychaete communities, and this has been shown to occur on other reefs. Since then equally diverse polychaete communities have been found in reefal sediments. This review synthesizes the information on coral reef polychaetes, including the role they play in bioerosion and in the food chain, recycling of sediments, bioturbation of sediments, their use as pollution indicators, the mass spawning phenomenon of many species and recruitment patterns. Although the diversity of coral reef polychaetes have been documented, their taxonomy is poorly known and many so called "cosmopolitan" species have been recorded, which probably represent misidentifications. Future studies are suggested including additional taxonomic studies to develop a better understanding of the role of polychaetes on coral reefs, a habitat which world-wide is being subjected to degradation and which requires improved management.