Two new coral reefs have been discovered in the deep waters of the Galápagos

While mapping the seabed using a remote-controlled vehicle, a group of researchers equipped with laser scanners he discovered two pristine coral reefs in the waters off the coast of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, considered one of the main destinations in the world for observing unique animal and plant species and one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.The two barriers, habitats of numerous living species, were most likely formed thousands of years ago.However, studies on coral structures located in deep waters are less widespread than those carried out on more superficial ones.However, the knowledge gathered to date says that the former, despite being colder, darker and deeper than the latter, which thrive thanks to sunlight, they actually host the majority of all coral species and act as a refuge for many animals.Reasons that pushed Stuart Banks, a marine scientist who carries out conservation research in the Galápagos, to underline that «finding such a deep and long-lived coral reef is a big step forward towards protection of the most hidden oceanic diversity and towards understanding the role that lesser-known habitats play in maintaining the health of our ocean."

Already last April, the Minister of the Environment of the Galapagos, José Dávalos, he announced that a scientific expedition that was scouring the waters of the Marine Reserve of the Ecuadorian archipelago had come across a totally pristine and unknown coral reef, 400 meters deep and approximately two kilometers long, "with abundant marine life and over 50% living coral".

Both discoveries are extremely significant, since until recently it was believed that the Wellington coral reef, located off the coast of Darwin, was the only one that survived the effects of the catastrophic El Niño – a cyclical phenomenon linked to the warming of the waters of the Eastern Equatorial Pacific – 1982-1983.Instead, the findings, in addition to dispelling bad omens, have shown that the coral reefs of the Galapagos are "ancient, undisturbed for centuries or thousands of years, and essentially pristine, unlike others found in many other parts of the world's oceans."

In fact, the condition of those located elsewhere is not always so rosy.for example in 2022, the Australian Great Barrier Reef, which extends for more than 2 thousand kilometres, experienced its sixth bleaching event mass, the fourth in just six years.The event, caused by the increase in temperature of the waters, which causes the death of the algae - which live in symbiosis with the barrier and nourish it -, has confirmed a trend which in the last thirty years has led to a drastic decrease of the population of small, medium and large corals in the area.An enormous damage considering that these are fundamental for the survival of fish and crustaceans - and therefore also, indirectly, for ours.For this reason, over the years, there have been many attempts throughout the world to stem the damage.

In the Hoi Ha Wan marine park, hit in 2018 by a typhoon that destroyed 80% of the protected area, researchers from the University of Hong Kong have, for example, placed terracotta tiles 3D printed, with the aim of recreating artificial reefs that without any human influence would have taken decades to regenerate naturally.With their intervention, marine scientists help corals survive by creating supports for them to attach to.Another successful attempt was completed in Australia, where at the end of 2020 the first artificial fertilization of corals gave birth to organisms capable of surviving bleaching events.

[by Gloria Ferrari]