Undergraduate Prospectus 2011 - University of Southampton

Conserving our coral reefs.
Galapagos project to
protect coral ecosystems
Some of the world’s rarest coral reefs and the economies that depend
on them will be better protected thanks to a major international
marine project led by the University of Southampton.
The project was funded by the UK government’s Darwin Initiative and led
by Professor Terry Dawson from the School of Geography. The research
team studied the effect of climate change on the reefs of the Galapagos
Islands, as well as engaging with the local fishing and tourism industries on
how to manage the reefs in a sustainable way.
Terry comments: “It’s encouraging to note that the corals are adapting
to global warming. Nature has a habit of surprising us by being capable of
looking after itself, as long as the industries linked to it – such as fishing
and tourism in the case of the reefs – treat it with care.”
The research is published in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal
Galapagos Research.