Boring worms (Sipuncula and Annelida: Polychaeta): their early impact on Eastern Tropical Pacific coral reefs

The form, condition, and survival of coral reefs depends on the balance between construction and destruction. Natural processes such as bioerosion can cause this balance to lean towards destruction, threatening these ecosystems. Polychaetes and sipunculids are members of the boring community; however, knowledge of their identity and role in the bioerosive process and their capacity to remove calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) in the coral reefs of the...