Declining coral health and fish diversity in the South Pacific

Coral reefs harbor ~1-9 million species, including 30% of all marine fish species. Reef health worldwide is declining due to many factors: e.g. pollution, sedimentation, dynamite fishing, and global warming. Working with the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation and the crew aboard the R/V Heraclitus, I examined coral health and fish diversity in the Solomon Islands, Melanesia. In 2006, I surveyed coral and fish on Sagharughombe reef, Solomon Islands using SCUBA and compared the results with surveys done in 2000 and 2002. Coral surveys indicated a significant decline in health over the six-year period. Fish surveys found no clear trend in species abundances and species richness, but a significant decline in species diversity over the years. The decline in coral health we observed may have contributed to diminished fish diversity. To protect marine biodiversity, coral reefs must be better protected and declines in coral health must be halted.