FOUND: PRISTINE CORAL REEF

GOOD NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

- Samantha Rideout

CONSERVATION An international expedition recently discovered a coral reef stretching roughly two kilometres in the famous marine reserve around the Galapagos Islands near Ecuador-and much of it is thriving. Not only are deepsea reefs like this one, which is likely centuries old, typically far less healthy, but many reefs around the world have been devastated by rising ocean temperatures and damaging fishing practices. In the decade after 2009, the world lost about 14 per cent of these beautiful ecosystems.

Teeming with fish, pink octopus, sharks and other marine life, these reefs could help scientists monitor how climate change affects habitats otherwise untouched by humans.

Lessons in Kindness