Scleractinian assemblages under sediment input: their characteristics and relation to the nutrient input concept

During the Meso-Cainozoic evolution of scleractinians, increasing photoautotrophy and progressive invasion of oligotrophic environments is in contrast to a Late Cretaceous to Cainozoic increase in the relative number of reefs in marginal-marine/siliciclastic settings. This trend may be explained by second-order sea-level fall and shrinking of epicontinental carbonate seas and isolated platforms, driving corals to more narrow, attached shelves, and by a wider total trophic range in which distinct coral assemblages can thrive, as a result of coral evolution and diversification.