Coral reef in Apulia: are we sure this is good news?

Unexpected and surprising is the recent discovery made by the Biology Department of the University of Bari: a reef reef a few kilometers off the coast of Monopoli, a city in Puglia, between 40 and 55 meters deep.

DIFFERENT FROM THE “CLASSIC” BARRIER
A reef that, according to studies, could extend well beyond the Apulian capital on the one hand, and as far as the city of Otranto on the other, and, although different in color and composition, would therefore have nothing to envy the renowned beauties of the Red Sea and the Maldives islands.

It was Prof. Corriero who supervised the research, revealing to Republic the details of this new discovery: “In the case of Maldivian or Australian reefs, symbiotic processes among madrepores (responsible for the establishment of coral reefs, ed.) are facilitated by light, whereas our reef lives in semi-darkness and so the madrepores form these massive calcium carbonate structures in the absence of algae,” Corriero says, giving an explanation for the softer, less garish colors of the corals in the reef.

WE ARE BEING “TROPICALIZED”
When something is “born” it is always good news, but there is also a downside. In fact, the steady increase in the temperature of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea (we are talking about an increase of about 4-5° from 1979-2000) resulting from global warming poses a serious danger to the development and maintenance of natural marine habitats. In particular, this rise in temperature increasingly causes the phenomenon of “bleaching” of coral reefs, a process that causes the loss of vital algae and typical coral pigment, weakening and embrittling the entire structure. Harmful harm not only to the corals themselves, but also to all creatures that find shelter and nourishment through them.

Elettra Poggi

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