Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition | WWF Malaysia

Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition



Posted on 19 March 2012
Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition
© WWF-Malaysia
The Semporna reef complex is located within the Coral Triangle region, where the highest numbers of marine species are found. Semporna has the largest concentration of reefs within Malaysia. Semporna is unusual because of its rich mix of reef types, representing 5 major geomorphological  reef  types,  which  include  a  proto-atoll,  an  offshore  seamount,  fringing reefs,  patch  reefs,  and  a  barrier  reef  formation.  Such  areas  usually  have  high  levels  of biodiversity because of the mix of habitat types and ecosystems. 

Marine biologists from Malaysia, the Netherlands and the USA assessed the marine biodiversity and coral reef health during the expedition on-board MV Celebes Explorer from 29 November to 18 December 2010. The expedition was organized by WWF-Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaya (UM) and the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity (NCB) Naturalist.

The results show that Semporna rivals the top spots in the Coral Triangle in terms of coral fish and shrimp taxa. However, the state of the reefs is worrying.
Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition
© WWF-Malaysia Enlarge

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