Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth. Unfortunately, current estimates indicate that almost 35 percent of the world's coral reefs are in serious danger of being lost by 2050 due to the effects of coastal development, over-fishing and multiple factors associated with global climate change.
Using long-term study plots, Moore Foundation grantees at California State University, Northridge quantified population dynamics of coral along the north shore of Moorea in French Polynesia between 2010 and 2014.
Coral reefs in Moorea suffered catastrophically from 2006 to 2010, but by 2015 some coral populations had rebounded. The CSU Northridge team considered evidence that population recovery could be supported by self-seeding.
Their first order approximations reveal the potential for coral on the north shore of Moorea to produce enough larvae to support local recruitment and population recovery following a catastrophic disturbance.
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