Nearly 1,554 sq km (600 sq miles) of reef have disappeared each year =
since=20
the 1960s - twice the speed at which rainforest is being lost.=20
The corals are vanishing at a rate of 1% per year, a decline that has =
begun=20
decades earlier than expected.=20
Historically, coral cover, a measure of reef health =
hovered around=20
50%. Today, only about 2% of reefs in the region looked at by the study =
have=20
coral cover close to this historical level.=20
John Bruno and Elizabeth Selig from the University of North Carolina =
- Chapel=20
Hill, US, and colleagues, looked at reefs in a large area of ocean =
stretching=20
from western Indonesia, in the Indian Ocean, to French Polynesia, in the =
Pacific.=20
The Indo-Pacific region, comprising the Indian and Pacific oceans, =
contains=20
75% of the world's coral reefs.=20
The researchers analysed the results of some 6,000 surveys carried =
out on=20
more than 2,600 reefs.=20
The findings show that average coral cover declined from 40% in the =
early=20
1980s to about 20% by 2003.=20
Island impacts
One of the most surprising results was that there seemed to be little =
difference between reefs maintained by conservationists and those left=20
unprotected.=20
Dr Bruno and Ms Selig argue that the consistent pattern of decline =
across the=20
study region adds to mounting evidence that coral loss is a global =
phenomenon.=20
This is probably due to large-scale processes such as climate change, =
they=20
say.=20
This is likely to have a major impact on many island communities, =
which rely=20
on the reefs for fisheries and tourism.=20
"The actions of people in Iowa, for example, have a big effect on =
people in=20
small islands and throughout this whole Indo-Pacific region. It affects =
their=20
livelihoods dramatically," Dr Bruno told the BBC.=20
"When corals died, there were some studies which showed how quickly =
the dive=20
shops and the hotels closed down."=20
The UN says that a third of the world's coral reefs have already =
died. By=20
2030, that figure is predicted to be closer to 60%.=20
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