Coral Reefs: Damage Indicators

IntroductionCovering approximately 1.2 million km2 or 0.25% of the world maritime domain, coral reefs represent the greatest structures formed on the earth’s surface by living creatures. Although coral has existed for the past billion years, those which cover the seabed in the present day appeared in the Jurassic period (secondary era) and develop in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans (SCORE, 1998). Coral reefs support a broad range of marine biodiversity (one quarter of all fish caught...