The Western Indo-Pacific is a
biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the eastern and central
Indian Ocean. It is part of the larger
Indo-Pacific, which includes the tropical Indian Ocean, the western and central
Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of
Indonesia. The Western Indo-Pacific may be classified as a
marine realm, one of the great biogeographic divisions of the world's ocean basins, or as a subrealm of the Indo-Pacific.
The Western Indo-Pacific does not include the temperate and polar waters of the Indian Ocean, which are part of separate marine realms. The boundary between the Western Indo-Pacific and
Temperate Southern Africa marine realms lies in
South Africa near the border with
Mozambique, where the southernmost
mangroves and tropical
corals are found.
Subdivisions
The Western Indo-Pacific is further subdivided into marine provinces, and the marine provinces divided into marine ecoregions:
Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson et al. "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". Bioscience Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–583.
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The Western Indo-Pacific is a
biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the eastern and central
Indian Ocean. It is part of the larger
Indo-Pacific, which includes the tropical Indian Ocean, the western and central
Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of
Indonesia. The Western Indo-Pacific may be classified as a
marine realm, one of the great biogeographic divisions of the world's ocean basins, or as a subrealm of the Indo-Pacific.
The Western Indo-Pacific does not include the temperate and polar waters of the Indian Ocean, which are part of separate marine realms. The boundary between the Western Indo-Pacific and
Temperate Southern Africa marine realms lies in
South Africa near the border with
Mozambique, where the southernmost
mangroves and tropical
corals are found.
Subdivisions
The Western Indo-Pacific is further subdivided into marine provinces, and the marine provinces divided into marine ecoregions:
Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson et al. "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". Bioscience Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–583.
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