{"id":99070,"date":"2017-07-30T06:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T10:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=99070"},"modified":"2017-07-26T15:37:51","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T19:37:51","slug":"cuban-coral-reefs-in-excellent-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/science-cuba\/science-in-cuba\/cuban-coral-reefs-in-excellent-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban coral reefs in \u201cexcellent health\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

A research by Cuban and U.S. scientists on the island\u2019s coral reefs revealed their \u201cexcellent health\u201d and the existence of more than 130 species of fish and 260 of sponges living in those coastal zones.<\/p>\n

The expedition, which covered 1,430 nautical miles and lasted more than 20 days between the months of May and June, made it possible to observe the distribution of the communities of mesophotic coral reefs \u2013 ecosystems that depend on light \u2013 at a depth of between 30 and 200 meters, compare their health and connectivity with others in the North American southeast and the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n

In addition, the state of the algae and other species that live in the so-called ocean\u2019s twilight zone was analyzed.<\/p>\n

The scientific head of the investigation was U.S. academician John Reed, with more than 40 years of experience in the study of the coral reefs, who at the close of the trip recognized that the results had surpassed expectations.<\/p>\n

Among the findings of the researchers of both countries, who sailed on board the U.S. F.C. Walton Smith research ship, where the non-common species in the area. They included the brown algae (Sporochnus pedunculatus<\/em>) at a depth of 45 meters in Cayo Sabinal, located in the archipelago to the north of the eastern province of Camag\u00fcey, according to the report in Juventud Rebelde<\/strong> newspaper.<\/p>\n