Guangzhou, 7 Jul (Zhongxin Net) -- This reporter learned from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "South China Sea Institute") on 3 July that the monograph "Zhongsha Qundao Reef-making Corals" edited by the Institute for three years has been published and distributed, which identifies 3 species of corals, providing valuable information for studying the diversity and distribution pattern of reef-building corals in the South China Sea.
Zhongsha Islands, known as "Red Hair Shallow" and "Shixing Shitang" in ancient times, are one of the four major archipelagos in the South China Sea. The distribution of coral in Zhongsha Islands is mostly below 20 meters in depth, and the sea conditions are complex, and there are often large waves and rapids, which makes it difficult and risky to carry out ecological investigation of diving coral reefs.
According to the Institute of South China Sea, with the support of the national science and technology basic resources investigation special "Comprehensive Scientific Expedition of Zhongsha Islands", the Institute organized consecutive comprehensive scientific expedition voyages between China and Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2021, and through the whole material of the field surgical examination data, a total of 200 species of reef-building coral in Zhongsha Qundao were identified and recorded, belonging to 16 families and 58 genera.
Long-spined starfish in the Zhongsha Islands gnawing on corals Photo courtesy of the South China Sea
The monograph first discusses the geographical and environmental characteristics of Zhongsha Qundao, the research history and current status of coral reefs in Zhongsha Qundao, and then describes the reef-building corals in Zhongsha Qundao one by one based on the latest research results of international reef-building coral taxonomy, and describes the biological characteristics, habitat and distribution of each coral in detail, conservation and endangered status, and displays underwater in situ ecological photos.
In addition, the comprehensive scientific expedition voyage of Zhongsha Qundao also found the phenomenon of the outbreak of natural coral predators, the long-spined starfish, which caused a large number of coral deaths in the northern area of the Great Atoll, indicating that the impact of the long-spined starfish on the coral reefs in the South China Sea has spread from the Paracel Islands and Nansha Islands to the Zhongsha Islands.
Therefore, the South China Sea Institute called for the urgent need to strengthen the monitoring and conservation of the coral reef ecosystem of Zhongsha Qundao to protect this precious offshore coral reef resource. (End)