Rogers,-C.S.; McLain,-L.N.; Tobias,-C.R.  Effects of 
	Hurricane Hugo (1989) on a coral reef in St. John, USVI.  
	MAR.-ECOL.-PROG.-SER. 1991. vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 189-199.

In January 1989, a long-term study site was established on a 
coral reef off the south coast of St. John, U.S. Virgin 
Islands. Five 20 m transects were installed at depths of ca 
11 to 13 m. Hurricane Hugo struck St. John on September 17 
and 18, 1989. Analysis of quantitative data collected before 
and after the storm allowed documentation of the effects of 
this powerful storm on coral community structure. The total 
living cover by scleractinians, including the dominant 
species, Montastrea annularis , decreased significantly. The 
amount of substrate available for colonization increased. 
Cover by macroscopic algae increased dramatically after the 
storm, later decreased, and then rose again 1 yr later. In 
spite of the reduction in live cover by the dominant coral 
species, neither diversity (H') nor evenness (J') increased.