Coral reefs all are in a crisis. A new research paper in the journal Science says 1/3 of the world’s coral species are heading towards extinction and the culprits range from damaging fishing boats to warming ocean waters temperatures.

Coral reefs are home to 25% of the world’s marine species including lobsters, turtles, shrimp and sharks.   In an NPR story today, Philip Munday, a reef expert at Australia’s James Cook University, says coral reefs are often called “the rain forests of the ocean.”

“This is a whole ecosystem that we potentially could be losing,” he said.

Read the story and listen to the podcast.

takepart and learn 10 East Steps to Help Protect Coral Reefs

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