Eight of the 10 coral reef hotspots are adjacent to a terrestrial hotspot, those regions of the world that harbor the highest concentrations of species on land and are also at the greatest risk. The phenomenal overlap of the coral reef hotspots and the terrestrial hotspots shows that were in the right places for lizards and lizardfish alike, said report co-author Tim Werner, Senior Director with CI Marine Conservation. The reward for pursuing an integrated conservation strategy for land and sea will be high returns on conservation investments in these regions.
Activities destroying habitat in the terrestrial hotspots are also contributing to coral reef destruction. Some 58 percent of the worlds reefs are reported as threatened by human activities.
Agriculture, deforestation and development resulting in large quantities of sediment, nutrients and other pollutants going into coastal wasters, as well as intense fishing and climate change, are listed as the leading causes of reef ecosystem destruction. A quarter of the worlds coral reefs have already been destroyed or severely degraded through global warming, according to the paper. Reef degradation in these hotspots could cost some of the worlds poorest people an important source of nutrition, and in many cases their livelihoods. In the Philippines, for example, people derive some 70 percent of their animal protein from seafood.
The study mapped the geographic ranges of a total of 3,235 species, including reef fish, corals, snails and lobsters, four separate animal groups that all require healthy reef environments in order to survive.
The creation of marine reserves off limits to fishing is one of the steps that should be t
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Contact: Brad Phillips
b.phillips@conservation.org
202-912-1532
Conservation International
14-Feb-2002