Canopies of Coral
Fiji’s coral reefs house some 333 species of corals of all shapes, sizes and colors, many of which we’ve seen in Lau Province. We’ve examined many reef types, some which fringe the shore (fringing reefs), some in the center of …
Scientific Surveys
Global Reef Expedition
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation completed one of the largest coral reef studies in history: the Global Reef Expedition. Over the course of 10 years, the Expedition circumnavigated the globe aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow surveying some of …
Scientific Surveys
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducts scientific surveys on coral reefs to determine the status, health, and resiliency of the coral reef ecosystem. At each site we study, we bring a full team of scientific divers to conduct …
Totoya’s Sacred Marine Protected Area
Decades ago on the Fijian island named Totoya, Roko Sau Kubunanavanua and his wife had a stillborn baby. The baby was buried at sea and henceforth the channel leading to the island was labeled as “sacred passage” or Daveta Tabu. …
Mission Fiji Begins
Departing from Nadi yesterday afternoon, we began our 17 hour transit to the remote islands of the Lau Province for our Fiji research mission. Lau Province is one of 14 provinces in Fiji. It is located in the South Pacific …
Coral population trajectories, increased disturbance and management intervention: a sensitivity analysis
Coral reefs worldwide, even remote reefs, are impacted by global change – a combined multitude of large-scale and local stressors. COTS impacts and bleaching are key drivers of coral degradation. This scientific article on coral population trajectories looks at increased …
Ocean Science
Lagoon Life
One of the most exciting aspects of this expedition is that every morning we get in the water having no idea what we’re about to find. There’s always something interesting to see, but sometimes the reefs we find are a …
How to Conduct a Coral Reef Survey
By learning how to conduct a coral reef survey, you can make your own observations about aquatic resources near you. You may not live near a coral reef, but you can still use these methods to measure other important plants …
Brian Beck sets up the current meter
Coral Reef Ecologist Brian Beck sets up the current meter during the Global Reef Expedition.