Researchers Confirm Living Coral Reef Off Benin After 60 Years at 50-Meter Depth
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 28
Researchers Confirm Living Coral Reef Off Benin After 60 Years at 50-Meter Depth
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 28
Summary
More than 50 meters off Benin, underwater cameras confirmed a living mesophotic coral community that 1960s surveys had judged probably dead.
Using historic records, researchers mapped 11.5 kilometers of seabed with sonar, flagged two possible reef signals, and verified the strongest site with a drone and deep-sea camera system.
Footage showed an apparently healthy ecosystem with eight coral types and eight fish species, spread in separate patches across rocky seafloor rather than one continuous barrier.
Scientists have not collected physical coral samples, so species identifications remain unconfirmed and the team cannot yet tell whether the reef recovered or was misjudged decades ago.
The find is described as the first confirmed living mesophotic coral ecosystem on the Gulf of Guinea continental shelf, and suggests more undocumented reefs may remain in West African waters.