Study finds best homes for world's coral
Coral reefs are under threat from climate change and over-fishing
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Thursday, 17, Apr 2008 10:48
Conservationists have created maps showing where the world's coral reefs are in the most trouble and regions where they can best thrive.
They show that much of the northern Indian Ocean contains very stressful environments for coral, while areas of the Maldives and Seychelles fall in the middle of the most severe conditions.
The least-stressed coral reefs lie in an area north-east of Madagascar, including reefs off the islands of Mauritius, Rodriques and Reunion.
The Wildlife Conservation Society and the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth developed the maps by using a new scientific model.
This takes into account several ocean conditions including seawater temperatures; photosynthetic and ultraviolet light; winds and currents; and the concentration of microscopic plankton on the ocean's surface.
Coral reefs are under threat from a number of factors including climate change and over-fishing and have disappeared at rates up to 5.4 per cent per year over the past 30 years.
"Despite the large areas in high and severe stress, the model suggests that there are some reefs with less stressful conditions and more reasons for hope," said WCS researcher Dr Timothy McClanahan, one of the study's authors.
The research is published in the journal Ecological Modelling.