delicate and valuable ecosystems along
the coastlines of the world. Even
though they cover less than 1% of the
ocean floor, they provide habitat for
close to 2 million species. Known as
'the rainforests of the ocean', owing to
their rich and diverse biodiversity, now
a recent study suggests that Coral reefs
reduce wave energies by 97 percent
which would otherwise have a harsh
impact on the coastlines affecting lives
of hundreds and thousands of people
living in the area.
The findings were the results of studies
by an international team of researchers
from The University of Bologna, The
Nature Conservancy, U. S. Geological
Survey, Stanford University and
University of California, Santa Cruz.
The researchers also added that
restoring and saving these natural
barriers was a better way to safeguard
lives of millions of people living near
coastlines than building artificial
barriers to protect them from harsh
oceanic natural hazards like Tsunami
and storms.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.