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View the next Pohnpei postcard

You can help save the last great places in Micronesia. Donate now! View photos of Pohnpei Diver surveying corals in Pohnpei Photo © Emre Turak See a larger version of this photo Porites corals thought to be several hundred years old Photo © Emre Turak See a larger version of this photo Soft coral Photo © Emre Turak See a larger version of this photo View Louise's next photo postcard from Pohnpei

Day 1: The Survey Starts

Into the Deep Blue Water

I’ve been in beautiful Pohnpei, one of the wettest and greenest places on Earth for a week. I’m helping coral specialists Emre Turak from France and Lyndon DeVantier from Australia, who are checking the health of the coral reefs and looking for new coral species communities.

Emre and Lyndon have been diving around Pohnpei almost every day looking for new coral species and checking the health of the reefs. They’ve been diving in crystal clear waters outside the lagoon, as well as the muddy waters close to the mangroves that fringe the island, and everywhere in between.

Emre and Lyndon have already found corals growing like they have never seen before. In one place, the Porites corals were growing in towers that they estimated to be at least several hundred years old. They have also found corals growing thousands of miles beyond where they were known to live. One coral they found was previously only recorded in Madagascar.

Emre Turak specialises in rapid assessments of coral reefs and has undertaken assessments in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and throughout Australia.

Lyndon DeVantier has lots of experience in biodiversity and ecological assessments and has worked extensively in reefs in Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Red Sea and Yemen as well as the Great Barrier Reef.

Next: Corals suffering from deforestation...

For more information about our work in the Federated States of Micronesia:

• The Nature Conservancy in the Federated States of Micronesia
  Scattered across a million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, the Federated States of Micronesia is comprised of 607 tropical islands.
• How You Can Help: Donate Online
  Support conservation by helping to save the last great places in the Federated States of Micronesia.
• Global Marine Initiative
  Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's marine conservation efforts. Currently we have over 100 marine projects in 21 countries and 22 U.S. states.
• How We Work: Global Marine Initiative
  Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's marine conservation efforts. Currently we have over 100 marine projects in 21 countries and 22 U.S. states.