Story at a glance
- Coral reefs cover 0.1 percent of the ocean’s floor, housing more than 25 percent of marine life.
- A new gallery at the London Zoo will highlight the research being done to conserve these reefs.
- Coral reefs are being destroyed by the effects of climate change.
A new gallery at the London Zoo will feature an artificial coral reef assembled by scientists and conservationists highlighting the destruction of the Earth’s coral reefs from climate change and the research being carried out to combat it.
Called “Tiny Giants,” the gallery will feature a variety of species of coral, such as vivid green branching coral and blue ridge coral, allowing the tank’s fish to flourish, including clownfish.
“Coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and we want to show people how wonderful they are,” said Paul Pearce-Kelly, senior curator of invertebrates and fish for the Zoological Society of London. “However, we also want to highlight the research and conservation efforts that are now being carried out to try to save them from the threat of global warming. We want the public to see what is being done to try to save these wonders.”
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Corals are animals, also known as polyps, with mouths encompassed by tentacles to obtain food. Their symbiotic relationships with the algae living in them provide their vibrant colors, and the algae’s photosynthesis gives the polyps nutrition.
Coral reefs cover 0.1 percent of the ocean’s floor, housing more than 25 percent of marine life, such as fish and sponges.
However, climate change is increasingly destroying these habitats. As ocean temperatures rise, the coral reefs become bleached, losing their color and dying, while sea level rises, deoxygenation and acidification pose other threats.
“Behind our new coral reef tank we have built laboratories where scientists will be studying coral species,” said Pearce-Kelly.
To combat these threats, scientists are researching species of coral that can withstand the rising temperatures, as well as attempting to manipulate and increase their reproduction rates, as coral only reproduce once per year.
“The crucial point is that the progress we make in making coral better able to survive in a warming world can be shown to the public and encourage them to believe that we can do something to save the planet’s reefs,” Pearce-Kelly said. “Saving our coral reefs is now a critically important ecological goal.”
The new gallery opens on Monday.
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