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This stunning place is a triangular area that surrounds parts of the water from Indonesia, Timor Leste, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands. This major reef is also known as the Amazon of the seas due to its extensive biodiversity such as similar to a forest in Latin America.
Though it is the house of 30% of the current world coral reef, it just covers 1.5% of the planet's surface. It contains more than 70% of the re-built coral reef ever existed and has one of the largest collections of the law-trees forests.
The Coral Triangle is a global center of biodiversity
This reef is highly recognized for having great coral diversity such as no other place in the world. Specifically, 76% of the coral species are here and they are about 600 different kinds of coral. Even though the Caribbean area is bigger, it has just 1/10 of the existing coral amount already present in the Coral Triangle. Some scientists have thought about this place as the origin of reefs now spreading on the planet.
The area contains more than 3,000 different species that swim between the coral, and almost 40% of the coral reef fishes. From there, around 8% of those fishes are native to the Coral Triangle, then, you won't be able to find them in any other place in the world.
It can also be found 6 of the 7 known sea turtles species, a ¾ of mollusk species (including giant clams, cuttlefish, sea slugs, and octopuses. Blue whales (the largest mammal on the earth), dolphins, and whale sharks also consider this area as a home.
The diversity not only applies to the animal kingdom but to the human citizens as well. In fact, the dwellers that live on the coastal shores of the Coral Triangle speak over 2,000 different languages. They depend on the reef to protect them from natural disasters and ensure their feeding and economical subsistence through tourism activities.
Even paradise has troubles
Despite all its beauty, the Coral Triangle is threatened by many reasons, starting from overharvesting to the warming waters. Due to changes in water temperature, the coral has experienced discoloration. When that happens, the reef looks white due to the expulsion of protecting algae.
As almost everything on this planet, coral health is closely related to the whole area ecosystem, and it is pretty important to work on reducing climate change effects to mitigate the affection to the coral reef and guarantee its survival.
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- 10 of the Largest Living Sea Creatures
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