4. Conclusions
The presence, diversity and massive occurrences of
benthic cyanobacteria in coral reef environments reflect the
prevalent ecological conditions, and may serve as indicators
of coral reef health and as a warning concerning the use of
the reef as food resource. Marine benthic cyanobacterial
blooms often produce toxic substances that are transferred
along the food chain and affect fish and mollusks. A number
of new international programmes have been launched to
study and manage harmful algal blooms and their links to
environmental changes in a manner consistent with the
global nature of these phenomena (see Hallegraeff, 2003).