Bioerosion of Bermuda reefs

In order to test the usefulness of borings as indicators of palaeoenvironment a number of transects were sampled over a variety of reefs in Bermuda and an analysis was made of the borings and their inhabitants. The borings are described of 25 endolithic species, including sponges, a sea anemone, sipunculids, annelids, bivalves, a gastropod, a barnacle and an echinoid. Several embedding species are also described. The distribution data indicate that bathymetric control is largely overprinted by that of hydraulic energy. Other controls are discussed such as living versus dead coral as substrate, morphology and structure of substrate, and location within special microenvironment. These relationships within the complex reef milieu would be difficult to disentangle in the fossil record.