Coral Reefs: Cradles of Evolution

January’s Science roundup included interesting work on coral reefs:

Compiling geological and biological data from fossils, a team of evolutionary scientists has found indications of the following:

• reefs are important evolutionary cradles independent of their preferred habitat in shallow, tropical environments
• in nonreefal ecosystems, shallow-water environments represent the most important evolutionary cradles

Understanding reefs will help us understand populations of sea turtles and other marine wildlife as reefs face the threats of pollution and climate change.