The world’s largest single coral colony so far recorded has been discovered in the Solomon Islands by scientists on board a National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition.
Dubbed the ‘mega-coral’ and described as ‘pulsing with life and colour’ by the team that found it, the massive coral colony covers a depth range from around 40m-12m (120ft-40ft) and is 34 metres (111ft) wide, 32m (105ft) long – giving it an overall circumference of 183m (600ft).
The block’s height has been measured at 5.5m (18ft), which the researchers estimate ages the coral to around 300 years old – although it could be much older – and is far larger than the previous holder of the title for world’s largest coral, a 22.4m (73ft) diameter Porites coral found in American Samoa in 2019.
‘Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet Earth’ ‘we find a massive coral made of nearly 1 billion little polyps, pulsing with life and colour,’ said Pristine Seas founder, Enric Sala. ‘This is a significant scientific discovery, like finding the world’s tallest tree.’
The newly-discovered giant coral is of the species Pavona clavus, a reef-building stony coral commonly known as shoulder blade coral. The species is widespread across the Pacific and Asia-Pacific regions and is known for its massive colonies, although this is the largest recorded to date.
The coral was discovered almost by accident by the National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition team while they were diving near the Olu Malau – or Three Sisters – Islands in the Solomon Islands.
The team initially thought that the huge shape they first saw from the surface might be the remains of a shipwreck, until expedition videographer Manu San Félix decided to dive down and take a closer look, saying the moment he first realised what he was looking at was ‘enormous – close to the size of a cathedral.’
‘It’s very emotional. I felt this huge respect for something that’s stayed in one place and survived for hundreds of years,’ he said.
‘It is a natural monument that has seen the arrival of the first Europeans to these waters. Illustrious figures of humanity have coexisted with this colony: Newton, Darwin, Curie, Gandhi, Einstein, and it has survived them.
‘It now stores information on how to survive throughout the centuries,’ said San Félix. ‘The genetic code of these simple polyps is an enormous encyclopaedia that has written how to survive multiple climatic conditions, and until now it does so in the face of ocean warming.’
News of the discovery follows the alarming report made by the IUCN Red List at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which revealed that a recent global reassessment of coral reefs found that 44 per cent of warm-water reef-building corals are now threatened with extinction.
The discovery of the giant, flourishing coral colony presents a rare glimmer of good news for coral reefs, which have recently suffered through the fourth global mass bleaching event since NOAA coral monitoring began in 1985.
Coral bleaching occurs when a rise in water temperature causes coral’s symbiotic zooxanthellae algae to be expelled from the host polyp, depriving the coral of a source of nutrients, and its colour.
Bleaching is not an immediate death sentence, and coral will reacquire their symbionts if temperatures return to normal, but the length of time a coral colony can survive is dependent on species and the availability of other sources of food.
Smaller, faster-growing species of coral such as Acropora may survive only a few weeks without their zooxanthellae, which has devastated populations of stag and elkhorn coral in the Caribbean, now listed as Critically Endangered as a result of the 2023 marine heatwave.
Large, slow-growing coral colonies from species of Pavona and Porites, however, are much more resilient to bleaching, and can last several months without their symbionts, filtering scraps of marine detritus from the water column to feed.
‘Large adult coral colonies like this contribute significantly to the recovery of coral reef ecosystems due to their high reproductive potential,’ said Pristine Seas coral scientist, Eric Brown.
‘While the nearby shallow reefs were degraded due to warmer seas, witnessing this large healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope.’
Coral reefs are the most important and biodiverse marine habitats, home to thousands of different species of fish, crustaceans and invertebrates, and a shelter for the juveniles of many more.
They are also one of the most important marine habitats for humans, serving as barriers to storms as well as a source of food and – in today’s world – a major source of tourist income for nations such as the Solomon Islands.
‘The ocean provides for our livelihoods and has contributed so much to our national economy and communities,’ said Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.
‘Our survival depends on healthy coral reefs, so this exciting discovery underlines the importance of protecting and sustaining them for future generations.’
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