The question may not directly apply to this observation (i.e., that DOC can be lower in backreefs dominated by algae than in offshore water). But there was a flurry of work on coral DOC release that seems to have waned. Where are we on that? What is the consensus, e.g., DOC release in corals vs algae?

Also, has anyone compared DOC conc. in waters around coral and algal dominated substrate when other factors are held constant? I know such comparisons have been made (e.g., Dinsdale 2008) but along environmental gradients, so it wasn't clear whether background conditions or benthic community structure was causing differences in DOC and bacterial communities.