Biocomplexity of coral ecosystems: Diversity in all its states

In the first of the key areas of biocomplexity, life is presented as being composed of multiple organization levels, the main levels being genes, individual, population, species, community and metacommunity. Functional ecology has become a blooming sector. This chapter shows that the diversity of coral reefs is still poorly understood, with the exception of some groups of organisms. It presents some concrete examples from the author’s research on coral reef fish to provide an initial appreciation of functional ecology applied to coral reefs. The chapter also shows that the diversity of coral reefs is still poorly understood, with the exception of some groups of organisms. Next, the chapter details the distribution and characteristics of several large groups characterizing coral reefs. The high species diversity observed on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific provides this region with a functional insurance that allows it to better withstand disturbances.