A plan to preserve the very deep reefs of the Indian Ocean
Coral ecosystems are highly threatened by human activities and environmental disturbances associated with global climate change. The shallow part of these habitats has been well studied, while the mesophotic zone (“medium light”) between 30 and 150 m depth remains very little known. Although these mesophotic ecosystems represent up to 80% of the potential area of reef habitat worldwide, knowledge of their distribution, biodiversity, community composition and ecological processes remains limited. This observation is even more marked in the Indian Ocean where very few studies have been undertaken on these so-called mesophotic reefs. The Grand Port Maritime de la Réunion, with the Research Institute for Development (IRD), leading the ECOMER project (Esophotic COrallian Ecosystems in Reunion), has launched an exploration, inventory and experimentation phase on these mesophotic ecosystems, in order to preserve these unique habitats with high ecological value and to pursue a responsible policy of developer/manager of natural environments, complementary to the development of port activities.
