Coral Reef Thought Dead for 60 Years Found Teeming with Life
A coral ecosystem off the coast of Benin in West Africa, believed to have been dead for more than 60 years, has been rediscovered alive and supporting a wealth of marine life.
The deep-water coral habitat was first recorded during surveys in the 1960s, when researchers detected possible reef structures more than 50 metres below the surface. With no way to visually investigate the site, the corals were presumed to be dead.
More than six decades later, researchers returned to the area using side-scan sonar, an underwater drone and deep-sea camera systems. At a depth of around 54 metres, cameras revealed living coral communities growing on rocky areas of the seabed.
The team recorded at least six types of octocoral and two black coral taxa, together with eight species of reef-associated fish using the habitat for shelter and feeding.
Rather than a continuous tropical reef, researchers describe the habitat as a mesophotic coral garden, made up of patches of coral growing in the low-light conditions found beyond the depth of most shallow reefs.
The discovery is believed to be the first confirmed evidence of living mesophotic coral communities on the Benin continental shelf and highlights just how much remains unknown about the deeper waters of West Africa.
Researchers now hope further surveys will reveal how extensive the coral habitat is — and whether more forgotten or previously undocumented coral communities are waiting to be discovered along the coast.
Source: Frontiers
