Corals Reef Part 2

--The southern coast of Saipan contains several beautiful beaches where extensive reef development has occurred through time. The CNMI Monitoring Program conducts surveys on the reefs adjacent to Obyan, Boyscout, and Coral Ocean Point beaches. These reefs are fortunate for their favorable environmental setting consisting of; 1) protection from prevailing NE swells (low exposure), and 2) adjacent, small watersheds consisting of raised limestone rock, with relatively low amounts of terrigenous sediments washing into the marine environment during storms. These environmental conditions have led to the development of lush, three-dimensional reef structures that exist today. The living reef (the top few centimeters of the reef structure) has been exposed to various natural disturbances over the years. These include large crown-of-thorns starfish populations (COTS) (1969, 1985, 1995, 2004-6) and frequent typhoons.we believe the reef to be resilient based upon the relatively high levels of coralline algae, which are the preferred substrate for new coral settlement, and large number of new coral recruits.
-->Lau Lau Bay contains some of the most diverse yet threatened reefs in the entire CNMI. The protected nature of the bay has allowed thriving reefs to development over the past 5,000 years, resulting in amazing, three dimensional reef structure today. This reef structure is valued by divers and fishermen alike because of its beauty and fish habitat that it provides. The protection and isolation of the bay also means that these reefs are more susceptible to disturbances (typhoons and pollution).
http://www.cnmicoralreef.net/ns/laulau2.html