Featured Image Credit: FamilyVacationHub
By Lindsay Edgar
Diverse, tropical, vibrant; just a few words to describe the brilliance of coral reefs. As valued wildlife habitats, these underwater ecosystems protect the fish that call them home and also protect the coastlines. Coral reefs cover less than one percent of Earth’s surface and are a blip on the ocean’s radar. But however small they may be, their impact on the surrounding environment is quite large. In recent years, warming oceans have led to destruction of these natural habitats and scientists are struggling to keep up. But the Birch Aquarium’s new coral reef exhibit might just be the key to preserving the natural reefs elsewhere.
This new exhibit has everyone talking, and so far the comments are quite positive. With its colorful fish and tropical, exotic vibe, it has guests ooh-ing and aah-ing. It hosts a menagerie of over 500 fish! But below the surface it doubles as a research lab for scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Using the indoor reef as a simulation for a natural reef, researchers plan to improve their underwater research techniques. They are testing underwater robots and cameras in the exhibit – and visitors can see all the action!
Ultimately, the scientists would like to better understand how the tropical reefs are faring against a changing climate and human interference. The knowledge they gain from using the new aquatic exhibit will help them with field research in Hawaii and the South Pacific.