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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

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Solomon Islands Postcard from the FieldCollecting information during the survey.

They have also found more than 100 corals in the Solomon Islands that are thousands of kilometres beyond where they were known to live. According to Charlie, these amazing discoveries mean that many of his maps showing the distribution of corals are in tatters.

So far, Charlie and Emre have found 474 species of corals in the Solomon Islands as well as nine species which could be new to science. This is the second highest diversity of corals in the world, second only to the Raja Ampat Islands in eastern Indonesia. This incredible biodiversity places the Solomon Islands into the ‘Coral Triangle’ – a region with more coral species than anywhere else in the world. The Coral Triangle was thought to extend from Indonesia only to Papua New Guinea. The survey has shown that the Solomon Islands also belong within the Coral Triangle. But the news is not only exciting for corals……

So far, Gerry Allen has found more than 900 species of reef fish during the survey, which means that the Solomon Islands is one of the ‘big five’ for reef fish species, ranking with Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Gerry has also found some sites in the Solomon Islands that have extremely high biodiversity. During a single dive at Njari near Gizo, Gerry found 278 species of reef fish! In 35 years of diving and with more than 7,000 hours underwater, he has only found higher biodiversity at a few sites in Raja Ampat in Indonesia where the most he has ever found was 284 species of fish on a single dive…only six species less than he recorded in the Solomon Islands.

This incredible biodiversity is exciting news for the Solomon Islands. But also brings an enormous challenge. With rising populations in the Solomon Islands, the challenge will be to ensure that this bountiful marine life is protected for future generations.

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