Researchers seek worldwide solutions to conserve coral reefs

Coral reefs, the "rainforests of the sea," provide habitats for 25% of all marine life. Critical to global biodiversity, they are essential for food supply, culture and recreation and coastal protection from hurricanes for communities around the world and even contain a vast array of bioactive chemical compounds that could be critical to medical advances. But half of the world's coral reefs have been lost in the last 50 years and scientists fear that warming seas from climate change will decimate 70–90% of what remains by the end of this century.