Location

Coral Reefs: Trouble in Paradise

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In the middle of the Indian Ocean, more than 1000 miles from the nearest continental landmass, the research vessel Golden Shadow arrives in paradise. For the scientists aboard, it’s a moment they have been waiting for, a chance to explore a world almost empty of human impacts but full of life. They’re hoping these flourishing reefs will reveal secrets of how other reefs can survive the looming onslaught of climate change, but what they find challenges their expectations—both in the sea and on land. Their amazing journey offers new insights into the dangers facing coral reefs worldwide.

Reef fish thriving in the Chagos Archipelago

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted two coral reef research missions in the Chagos Archipelago as components of our Global Reef Expedition. Between March and May of 2015 the Living Oceans Foundation and a team of international scientists assessed the status of coral reefs and coral reef species within 12 large areas in the Chagos Archipelago. The Chagos Archipelago is hailed by coral reef scientists as one of the last untouched coral habitats in the Indian Ocean with incredible live coral cover and species diversity. But perhaps what rivaled the lush coral landscape was the thriving reef fish communities.

Coral Bleaching: A Shift in Perspective

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As a marine ecologist, being able to survey the reefs of the Chagos Archipelago, considered the last frontier of coral reefs, was a very exciting prospect. After many hours flying, and even more on the ship transiting to our first destination, we finally arrived in the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area where the Chagos reefs are found. From our first dive, I knew this would be a trip to remember. Prior to this, I had participated on many of the GRE expeditions, but this one felt different. I was awestruck by the beautiful reefs with large, healthy assemblages of corals and incredible fish communities. We came across unique reefs with monospecific stands of corals unlike seen in other parts of the world. The benthic communities appeared to be thriving with a balance of coral, CCA, other algae that supported the flourishing invertebrate and fish populations.

However, later in our trip, things started to change right before our eyes. We later discovered we were the first to observe what would be one of the most catastrophic global bleaching events on record. The water was exceptionally warm, causing the beautiful coral we had been observing to show signs of stress.

KSLOF Publishes Findings from the Global Reef Expedition Mission to the Chagos Archipelago

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Today, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation published our findings on the state of coral reefs in the Chagos Archipelago. This research mission gave us the chance to study some of the most isolated and well-protected coral reefs in the world. Our research, based on thousands of scientific surveys, found reefs in the Chagos Archipelago were some of the most diverse and had a higher density of fish than all of the reefs studied on the Global Reef Expedition, the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition in history.

What’s happening to the most remote coral reefs on Earth?

Scientists from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation have published their findings on the state of coral reefs in the Chagos Archipelago, considered the last frontier for coral reefs.   In the middle of the Indian Ocean lies some …

Global Reef Expedition: Chagos Archipelago Final Report

The Khaled Bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation embarked on the Global Reef Expedition to assess the state of coral reefs around the world. This ambitious five-year scientific mission was designed to evaluate the status of the benthic and reef fish …

Tongan socio-environmental spatial layers for marine ecosystem management

Published in Pacific Conservation Biology Abstract Environmental conditions and anthropogenic impacts are key influences on ecological processes and associated ecosystem services. Effective management of Tonga’s marine ecosystems therefore depends on accurate and up-to-date knowledge of environmental and anthropogenic variables. Although …

Are reef corals stressed or just pessimistic?

The Conversation December 14, 2018 By Anderson Mayfield Climate change threatens coral reefs around the globe. The high temperatures associated with this phenomenon can lead to “bleaching,” the breakdown of the symbiosis between corals and the algae that live within their cells. Since corals are nourished by these photosynthetically active algal …