Did you know that corals cover less than 0.1 percent of the ocean’s surface area?
Despite this small percentage, corals are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet housing thousands of species of organisms.
Corals are invertebrate animals called cnidarians that live in groups and exhibit a variety of colours.
Each individual coral animal is called a polyp which exists in colony forms and can regenerate through a process called budding.
Colonies of polyps can number in hundreds, thousands and even millions.
There are two types of corals namely hard and soft. It was reported that there are around 800 species of hard corals known as reef-building corals.
These corals create a calcareous material or carbonate structure around their body for protection which is a result of extracting calcium from the water.
These carbonate skeletons provide a home for hundreds and millions of organisms.
On the other hand, soft corals exist in colony form and come in a variety of colours – they create a woody structure around their body that resembles bright plants or trees.
Corals have a unique feature of symbiosis that cannot be overlooked. A single-celled plant called zooxanthellae shares space, gas, and nutrients in the polyp. This symbiotic relationship makes corals brighter and more attractive in the sea.
According to Dr Waseem Razzaq Khan, who is Senior Lecturer in Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences and Head of Carbon Programme in Institute of Ecosystem Science Borneo (IEB) at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus, corals are incredibly diverse marine ecosystems that support more species per unit area compared to any other.
He pointed out that corals are home to about 4,000 species of fish and hundreds of other species.
“In fact, scientists believe that there may be thousands of undiscovered species living in and around reefs,” he said.
Waseem said healthy coral reefs are important for both commercial and subsistence fishing, adding that it supports jobs and businesses through tourism and recreation.
As natural barriers, they protect shorelines from 97 per cent of the energy from waves, storms and floods thus preventing the loss of life, property damage and erosion.
“However, when coral reefs are damaged or destroyed, they lose their protective functions. This would result in coastal communities becoming more vulnerable to the effects of normal wave action and violent storms,” he explained.
Waseem said, it is important to consider the role of corals in carbon balance in view of the current climate challenges that the planet is facing.
He pointed out that there is a significant amount of carbon that corals store and release into the oceans.
“Corals are capable of capturing, releasing, and accumulating carbon in various ways, using different mechanisms, such as photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and calcification.
“On one hand, coral reefs fix carbon during the photosynthesis process of their zooxanthellae, as well as through the formation of calcium carbonate skeletons.
“On the other hand, carbon is also released in the form of carbon dioxide during coral respiration and the calcification process,” he explained.
Waseem said coral reefs can continuously accumulate and store carbon in the form of calcium carbonate which forms their calcareous skeletons.
He also said it is estimated that coral reefs serve as a carbon sink with the capability of storing approximately 70 to 90 megatons of carbon per year.
“This makes corals an important source of blue carbon credits. However, it is important to note that more research is needed to fully understand their potential,” he said.
Sharing about his recent trip to Pulau Perhentian, Waseem said he met with Andy Lua, who is a member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), who shared about his remarkable coral propagation techniques.
Lua is an organic coral reef propagator and conservationist. He has developed two plots for coral propagation at Pulau Perhentian using organic techniques that do not harm other ecosystems in the sea.
“As a conservationist, I believe that these techniques are much better than using PVC or reef ball techniques which are not climate friendly. The coral ecosystem is under threat due to climate change, so it is important to promote Lua’s techniques for coral propagation,” he said.
Waseem said a group of scientists from different countries has reviewed sustainability reports made public by the 100 biggest companies worldwide on their coral reef propagation efforts.
The group of scientists discovered that despite many of these businesses claiming to actively restore damaged ecosystems, there is not enough information available to measure their actual achievements.
“The United Nations (UN) has launched a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and in recent years, companies worldwide have collectively pledged to plant billions of trees, hundreds of thousands of corals, and tens of thousands of mangroves.
“About two-thirds of the largest global corporations participate in ecosystem restoration. It is crucial that the corporate sector in Malaysia also takes part in restoring these ecosystems, not only by advertising themselves as climate-friendly sectors but also by taking positive actions,” he said.
For the record, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) has released its yearly report on the Status of Coral Reefs in Malaysia for 2022.
The report covers more than 323 sites across Malaysia and indicates that the Live Coral Cover (LCC), which is a significant indicator of reef health, has slightly increased to 47.59 per cent from the 41 per cent in 2020.
