Abstract:Coral reef ecosystems have the highest productivity and biodiversity among the marine ecosystems, despite being in the low nutrient environement. The primary producers include benthophyte, phyto-plankton, symbiotic algae and autotrophic bacteria. There are several methods for estimating primary production,each with its pros and cons.The one commonly used is the ~(14)C isotope method.The new production,as an important component of primary production,has received much attention recently.It can be estimated th...