African coral reefs

African coral reefs are coral reefs mainly found along the south and east coasts of Africa. The east coast corals extend from the Red Sea to Madagascar in the south, and are an important resource for the fishersmen of Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar.

As with coral reefs elsewhere, African coral reefs are more biologically diverse than the surrounding ocean,^[1] and support species such as the mantis shrimp, potato grouper, humphead wrasse and maxima clam, as well as many seaweeds and corals.

On the east coast, temperatures average about 26 °C (79 °F) over the year. The average rainfall is highest between January to April, at about 300 millimetres (12 in), and lowest during August to November, at about 100 millimetres (3.9 in).

There are multiple threats to the reefs, such a tourist diving and damaging the corals, or taking samples. Then there are industrial run-offs and pollutants, untreated sewage and the increasing sediment flows in rivers that threaten all of the coastal ecosystems. The reef is also threatened by climate change. Due to global warming, the sea surface temperature increases and in 1997/98 a particularly severe 'El Nino' killed 90 percent of corals on the reef. The CORDIO (COral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean) NGO have set up an East African task force to monitor the reef's management.^[2]

See also

• List of reefs

References

'The Encyclopedia of Wildlife, Weldon Owen'

Corals and coral reefs
Stony corals	Scleractinia Blue coral Brain coral Elkhorn coral Hermatypic coral Chalice coral Pillar coral Staghorn coral Table coral
Soft corals	Alcyonacea Black coral Bamboo coral Organ pipe coral Sea fans Sea pens
Coral reefs	Atoll reef Cay Fringing reef Microatoll Coral reef fish Census of Coral Reefs The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs Catlin Seaview Survey
Coral regions	List of reefs Deep-water coral African coral reefs Amazon Reef Andros, Bahamas Belize Barrier Reef Coral Sea Islands Coral Triangle Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Great Barrier Reef Maldives Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System New Caledonia Barrier Reef Pulley Ridge Raja Ampat Islands Red Sea Southeast Asian coral reefs
Coral diseases	Coral bleaching Black band disease Skeletal eroding band White band disease White pox disease
Protection	Coral Reef Alliance Coral reef protection Green Fins International Society for Reef Studies Project AWARE Reef Check Reef Ball
Other	Artificial reef Aquaculture of coral Coral dermatitis Precious coral Coral rag Coral reef organizations Coral sand Coralline alga Environmental issues with coral reefs Fire coral Reef resilience Rugosa (extinct) Symbiodinium Tabulata