Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health
Worldwide, coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate. This is most apparent in the Caribbean, where reefs have been transformed from coral gardens – 60-70% of the bottom was carpeted in thickets of elkhorn coral and staghorn coral, mountainous …
Parrotfishes represent one of the most conspicuous members of the Indo-Pacific coral reef fauna. They are ideal study subjects for addressing questions regarding population and community ecology for several reasons, including their high diversity and abundance, complex reproductive life histories …
After diving our first set of offshore Ribbon reefs we began exploring the Green, Pink and Blue Zones on a set of midshelf reefs. The depths, water clarity and habitat structure are all vastly different from offshore reefs. Most of …
The Indo-West Pacific is known for their rich, diverse soft coral (octocoral) communities, and the Ribbon Reefs were no exception. They are plant-like, resembling trees or bushes, but they are made up of polyps just like a stony coral. Distinguished …
For our first three days of research, we are comparing the coral and fish community within three Ribbon Reefs. Ribbon Reefs form a chain of 10 individual reefs beginning to the north of Cairns and stretching close to 120 km …
Over the next month our research team will explore the remote northern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to evaluate the effectiveness of management in protecting biodiversity and enhancing the resilience of the reef system to climate change. The Marine Park …
How do we inspire students to be the future leaders and stewards of our oceans? One way is to hold an annual academic marine science competition that tests high school students on their knowledge of the marine sciences. That is …
It’s 6am in Neiafu, Vava’u. We’re driving down to the wharf in the dark because at first light, local community fishing boats return from an evening of hard work offshore. As another spectacular sunrise emerges from the low hills surrounding …
After our GRE research mission last September, we decided to return to conduct education research – another Foundation’s first. The willingness of the Tongans and overwhelming outpouring for coral reef education, not only from the government, but from local communities …
This past month, we’ve been having a lot of conversations with fishermen in Tonga. Here is a short summary of what we’ve been hearing. Fishing in Tonga targets reef fish and pelagic fish species, as well as other reef organisms …
