Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health
Scientific research is the bread and butter of the Living Oceans Foundation, but public outreach is another key component of our work. During the last two weeks that we have been researching in the Tuamotu Archipelago, we have been joined by a …
After two weeks, we’ve completed reef assessments around Rangiroa, Aratika, and Raraka and are now examining Fakarava. Tuamotu reefs are dramatically different from Society Islands. Besides the near absence of crown of thorns seastars (we’ve seen a handful in the …
We spent three days at the beautiful Rangiroa atoll. If you read the Aerial Reconn blog, then you will know that this atoll is large. It is so large that when you are in the center, you are unable to …
Our coral reef research in the Tuamotu archipelago began with an aerial survey, at an elevation of 500-1000 feet above sea level, using the Golden Eye seaplane. The Tuamotu islands constitute the largest archipelago in French Polynesia, spanning an area …
For the last week, the Global Reef Expedition scientists have been diving and surveying the leeward side of fore reefs around Raiatea, French Polynesia, focusing their efforts on the reef slope. This particular reef community changes its structure along a …
Most coral reefs thrive in shallow depth, where light can easily penetrate the water. Corals depend on the energy of sunlight, through the photosynthetic microscopic algae that reside within their tissue, to grow and survive. For the first time in …
Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the seas. Teeming with life, reefs harbor a broad range of organisms that rely on a complex network of ecological interactions and symbiosis (close and often long-term interaction between two or more …
At first sight, Huahines’ reefs appeared to lack vertical relief; the bottom was barren and without much life. It was obvious to all of us that a disturbance had impacted these reefs sometime in the past. Locals indicated it was …
Mopelia and Scilly are beautiful coral atolls located in the Leeward group of the Society Islands. A coral atoll originally starts as a volcanic island. As the island and ocean floor subside, corals and other calcifying organisms build a near-shore …
The first site in the Society Islands to be visited in French Polynesia is Mopelia (Maupihaa). This coral atoll has a well-developed reef encircling a lagoon in which numerous bommies occur. Islands sit atop the reef and host sea bird …
