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AROUND THE WORLD 3: Coral Reefs Recovering From Tsunami

Although the impact of the tsunami still haunts Southeast Asia one year after it devastated communities in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other communities, there are signs of hope for another type of community anchored in the shallows of the Indian Ocean. In a report published in the December issue of National Geographic magazine, researchers from the New England Aquarium announced that the coral reefs off of the coast of Asia show signs of recovering from the tsunami.

Dr. Gregory Stone and his team made over 500 dives at 56 sites off the shores of Thailand to survey the health of the coral reefs. They found that about 14 percent of the reef was almost or completely destroyed, 50 percent was moderately damaged, and 36 survived with little to no injury. Although these numbers may appear startling, coral reefs have thrived for centuries after natural disasters and are expected to recover from the most recent tsunami.

The most dangerous threat to the reefs, however, is the human impact on the coral. Pollution dumped into the ocean, increase in water temperature caused by global warming, harvesting parts of the coral and the species that call them home, and humans treading on the sensitive reef have all caused severe--possibly irreversible--damage to the coral.

Coral reefs, though they appear to be inanimate, are actually a community of tiny living animals whose skeletons form the brightly colored and often hard formations under tropical waters. Ironically, when healthy, coral reefs can serve as a buffer to tsunamis impact on land.

--Written by Morgan Diamond

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