Dennis,-G.D.; Bright,-T.J.  The impact of a ship grounding on 
	the reef fish assemblage at Molasses Reef, Key Largo 
	National Marine Sanctuary, Florida.  PROCEEDINGS-OF-THE-
	SIXTH-INTERNATIONAL-CORAL-REEF-SYMPOSIUM,-TOWNSVILLE,-
	AUSTRALIA,-8th-12th-AUGUST-1988.-VOLUME-2:-CONTRIBUTED-
	PAPERS-MINI-SYMPOSIUM-1-TO-10-14. Choat,-J.H.;Barnes,-
	D.;Borowitzka,-M.A.;Coll,-J.C.;Davies,-P.J.;Flood,-
	P.;Hatcher,-B.G.;et-al.-eds.. 1988. pp. 213-218.

Reef fish recolonization of a coral reef area damaged by a 
ship grounding was monitored by diver visual census for 2 
years (November 1984 to November 1986). During this time 
impacted and control areas tended to become more similar, 
though they still differed detectably in species composition, 
community structure, and biomass as late as two years after 
the grounding. These differences can be attributable to 
damage from the grounding and not just spatial variability, 
as control areas were never significantly different. Further 
recovery of the epifaunal assemblage and an increase in 
spatial complexity, especially in the severely impacted area, 
may be necessary for the reef fish assemblage to recover to 
pre-impact levels. This may take several more years based on 
epifauna recovery rates of corals and alcyonarians.