A thriving, healthy Caribbean coral reef today: its evolution is an important factor in its future.
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Image courtesy of NOAA
Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Efforts Miss the Mark
Conservation efforts to protect endangered corals in the Caribbean focus on the areas that have the largest variety of species. Ann Budd of the University of Iowa and John Pandolfi of the University of Queensland, Australia, two scientists who have been studying these corals, say that it's important to also protect the corals in the edges of the reefs where there is less biodiversity.
Reef-building corals are very diverse and are very threatened by global warming and other problems that come with climate change.
The scientists conclude that if coral reef conservation strategies protect only the centers of high species richness, they will miss important coral species that can respond better to global climate change. Budd and Pandolfi say that the best way to conserve coral reefs is to focus on both the centers of biodiversity and the edge zones.
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