Corals: who are these architects of the sea?

This article examines the corals found in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, often located in areas subject to strong wave action. Among these corals, Acropora humilis, Acropora digitifera, Acropora cytherea, Acropora nasuta, Acropora secale, Acropora hyacinthus and other similar species are being affected by warming waters and anthropogenic pollution, leading to a global bleaching phenomenon. According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), these corals are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the Red List of Threatened Species classification scale.

Vulnerable’ (VU) classification: This status indicates that a species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. The IUCN Red List scale includes several categories of increasing risk: Least Concern (LC), Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), Critically Endangered (CR), Extinct in the Wild (EW), and Extinct (EX). The conservation of these species is crucial to maintaining the biodiversity of coral reefs.