Healthy coral communities are vital to the nature and people – they can enhance marine biodiversity, protect coastlines, enrich fisheries resources, and much more.
On May 13, the Group organised the “Coral Community Survey” at Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre in Hong Kong. 28 Jebsen colleagues and their family members/friends from Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen explored the beautiful world of corals together.
Here we would like to share some notes with you about the coral community.
We have learned about marine ecology and coral communities through the lectures and corals specimens.
Why coral matters?
Coral reefs are the most diverse habitats on the planet. Reefs occur in less than 1 percent of the ocean, yet are home to nearly one-quarter of all ocean species.
We have learned about marine ecology and coral communities through the lectures and corals specimens.
How many species of hard coral in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong’s oceans are home to 84 species of hard corals – even more than the Caribbean Sea, with Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park alone hosting more than 70 per cent of our local species.
All the participants took the glass bottom boat to watch the coral community. Although it was rainy and there were only few corals visible, several little captains were trained up.
How baby corals grow up?
Now the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre also has a special role as a coral nursery for baby corals! Most of the coral babies in the nursery tanks are CoPs (Corals of Opportunity), which are coral fragments with low survival rates that have fallen to the seabed after being naturally or artificially damaged.
Coral babies in the nursery tanks attracted everyone’s attention. We observed the plankton through the microscope to identify the plankton species which were the main food sources for corals.
How to protect corals?
Hong Kong has amazing coral diversity, but it is threatened and corals need our help to recover. Knowing about coral reefs and the organisms they support is the first step to getting involved in coral conservation. We are going to join hands with WWF-HK to launch a series of eco activities and we encourage your support to protect our planet!
