The importance of sampling scale in ecology: Kilometer-wide variation in coral reef communities

Observations along the north coast of Jamaica in 1994 suggested that areas of relatively high coral cover and high coral diversity occurred adjacent to reefs that have been in decline since 1980. This study was carried out to quantify these observations, to determine whether similar variation occurs elsewhere in the Caribbean, and to draw attention to the significance of kilometer-wide variation in coral reef community ecology. The fore reef (10 m depth) of Discovery Bay, Jamaica, had 60% macroalgae cover and appeared typical of a highly degraded Caribbean reef. However, neighboring reefs (