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Previously, only one Galapagos reef was thought to have survived the 1982-83 “El Niño” weather phenomenon that devastated the archipelago’s ecosystem.
A coral reef teeming with marine life has been discovered off the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.
A scientific expedition traced a 1.2-mile (2-kilometer) coral reef to an underwater mountaintop formed by volcanic activity – down to a depth of 400 meters (1,300 feet).
Ecuador Environment Secretary Jose Davalos said the exploration team “discovered the first completely pristine coral reef … on a seamount”.
A previously unknown underwater colony has surprised scientists who thought there was only one reef in the volcanic archipelago – Wellington – along the coast of tiny Darwin Island.
Coral reefs in the region were severely degraded during the 1982-83 El Niño weather, when ocean surfaces warmed to devastating levels.
However, the newly discovered reef survived the event and is more than 50% live coral.
“The Galapagos surprised us again,” Mr Davalos tweeted.
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“This is very important globally because many deep-water systems have been degraded,” said Stuart Banks, a senior marine researcher at the Charles Darwin Foundation and a participant in the expedition.
Corals date back thousands of years, he added.
Ecuador expanded the Galapagos Marine Reserve by more than 20,000 square miles last year to protect endangered migratory species between the archipelago and Costa Rica’s Cocos Island.
Many endangered animals live on the island, including giant tortoises, albatrosses and cormorants.
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