Definition
Typology is the study of types. It is related to the classification of objects in categories according to a series of characteristics relevant for a given purpose, and the methods to achieve it. Reef typology is thus about the definition of categories of reef objects useful to study a particular aspect of coral reef processes.
A variety of reef-related typology
Definition of a reef typology implies the selection of a number of criteria. Scales, in time and space, are key criteria to define a typology useful to study the processes of interest (Hatcher et al., 1987; Hatcher, 1997). Reef typologies can be built for the different scales, entities, and components of the reefs, and across different scales as well.
For instance, at the finest level, taxonomy of species will look at the categories of the different living organisms based on evolutionary criteria (e.g., Veron, 1995for corals). But in another context, organisms may be classified based on functional properties such as...
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Andréfouët, S. (2011). Reef Typology. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_270
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_270
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