Scientists find active coral communities in reef system presumed dead decades ago

Key Points:

• Scientists have discovered an active coral community off the coast of Benin, West Africa, at about 54 meters deep in the Gulf of Guinea, challenging previous assumptions that the reef system was dead.
• Using modern technology including side-scan sonar, deep-sea cameras, and underwater drones, researchers observed a vibrant coral garden with multiple coral species and associated reef fish, showing no signs of bleaching.
• This finding represents the first confirmed mesophotic coral reef system on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Guinea, a type of reef that survives in deeper waters with limited sunlight.
• The reef ecosystem includes six types of soft octocorals and two types of black corals, forming a coral garden rather than a structured reef, and highlights an undisturbed marine environment.
• Researchers plan to collect physical samples to study the reef's resilience, especially in light of climate change and marine warming threats affecting coral reefs globally.