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blue fish

CLIMATE
CONNECTION


Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Up to 3,000 species may be found on a single reef in South East Asia.


The combination of climate change and other human impacts on reefs is drastically reducing their diversity.

 



turtle

OVERVIEW

No natural spectacle can quite match the beauty of a healthy coral reef. Brightly colored and strangely shaped corals teem with exotic wildlife such as parrot fish, barracuda, sharks, and rare sea turtles. Anyone lucky enough to spend a few hours snorkeli ng around a tropical reef is unlikely to forget the wonderful experience of gliding silently in this undersea world, eye to eye with myriad shining fish. Yet, this fragile web of life just below the surface of the sea is under threat from global warming. Warmer seas and a predicted increase in the number and ferocity of tropical storms could spell disaster for many coral reef species. And the reefs most in danger from climatic change are already under stress from other human problems such as water polluti on, coastal development, or over fishing.

Coral reefs are one of the oldest types of living systems on Earth and the variety of life they support rivals that of the tropical forests of the Amazon or New Guinea. In the tropical Pacific, for example, reefs may be home to more than 1,300 species of fish. These biological wonders have survived tens of thousands of years of natural change, but many of them may not be able to survive the havoc wrought by humankind.

One tenth of all the world's coral reefs have already been virtually destroyed, and another third are expected to be lost within the next couple of decades even without climate change.

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