Pioneer settlement of reef-building corals on pile piers of oil- drilling platforms in the south China Sea

Abstract

Coral settlements on piles of oil-drilling platforms rigged up in the South China Sea from 1984 to 1988 were investigated. The composition and structure of the settlements of 11 species of corals were determined. The biogenic substrate, which had formed over two years on the metal tubes of the piers and comprised mainly bivalve mollusks and barnacles, caused the beginning of the third phase of succession of tropical fouling – the development of an artificial coral reef. A pioneer settlement of mass species of reef-building corals can produce a buildup of huge masses and volume of calcium carbonate due to the formation of the reef skeleton, thus causing repeated resistance to wave pressures by the entire installation and creating a hazardous situation.