MPAs should contain many different reef zones and habitats to maintain a full complement of biodiversity and a steady, varied supply of larvae to replenish naturally damaged areas and to replace dead or emigrated organisms.

• Habitats should span a broad range of depths, exposures to prevailing winds and currents, and distances from shore.

This is particularly important to ensure that some coral communities survive bleaching and provide a source of larvae to settle and help reestablish portions of the reefs that die off.

• In practice, three categories of habitats should be considered for inclusion in coral reef MPAs:

coral habitats;

contiguous habitats (i.e., submerged, intertidal, or above water); and

distant linked habitats.

• Although the latter two categories may not be physically part of the reef community, they are incontrovertibly linked through function.