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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>French Polynesia environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/french-polynesia/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Small snails make big comeback in French Polynesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/tiny-snails-make-a-big-comeback-in-french-polynesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/tiny-snails-make-a-big-comeback-in-french-polynesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Sep 2024 15:51:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/27154033/Partula-varia-marked-with-dot-of-UV-paint-for-identification-glows-under-UV-light-c-Paul-Pearce-Kelly-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287965</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the tropical island of Moorea in French Polynesia, a species of snail about the size of a Skittle candy is cause for celebration. On September 2024, researchers found adult Partula tohiveana snails that were born in the wild. This is the first time in decades these tiny mollusks, measuring just 1-2 centimeters (less than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the tropical island of Moorea in French Polynesia, a species of snail about the size of a Skittle candy is cause for celebration. On September 2024, researchers found adult Partula tohiveana snails that were born in the wild. This is the first time in decades these tiny mollusks, measuring just 1-2 centimeters (less than an inch) in length, have reproduced naturally in their native habitat. This finding marks a significant victory in a 40-year conservation effort to save these small but ecologically important creatures. “Discovering wild-born adult snails was a great moment. Very few animal species have been re-established back in the wild so this is a fantastic achievement … the fruit of a vast amount of work,” Justin Gerlach from the University of Cambridge, one of the scientists involved in the program to breed the snails in captivity before releasing them back into the wild, said in a statement. Researcher observes an unmarked Partula tohiveana snail, meaning the individual was born in the wild and the species is re-established. Photo courtesy of Paul Pearce-Kelly Partula snails were once abundant across French Polynesia in the South Pacific. However, an introduced predator devastated their populations in the late 1980s. The rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea), brought in to control the invasive African giant land snail (Lissachatina fulica), ended up preying on the native snail species as well, driving them to extinction in the wild. Zoos stepped in and took the last surviving snails they could find to start breeding them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/tiny-snails-make-a-big-comeback-in-french-polynesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/tiny-snails-make-a-big-comeback-in-french-polynesia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287965</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>French Polynesians revive traditional rāhui to protect fish — and livelihoods</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/french-polynesians-revive-traditional-rahui-to-protect-fish-and-livelihoods/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/french-polynesians-revive-traditional-rahui-to-protect-fish-and-livelihoods/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jul 2024 08:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amélie David]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/03090329/Rahui-cemrimony-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284026</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation, Indigenous-led conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia, Pacific Islands, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Culture, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, and Traditional People]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TAHITI — It&#8217;s Mass Day in Fenua Aihere. There are no roads to this part of the island of Tahiti — it’s only reachable by boat. It&#8217;s Monday, not the typical day for Mass in a Catholic community in French Polynesia. But here, everyone is a fisher or the wife, daughter or son of one. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TAHITI — It&#8217;s Mass Day in Fenua Aihere. There are no roads to this part of the island of Tahiti — it’s only reachable by boat. It&#8217;s Monday, not the typical day for Mass in a Catholic community in French Polynesia. But here, everyone is a fisher or the wife, daughter or son of one. And on Sundays, they all head to the market to sell their catch, either in Taravao, the nearest city, or across the island in Papeete, French Polynesia’s capital. Songs in Tahitian and French resonate inside the town’s small concrete church. Everyone listens carefully to the deacon’s speech, even though the temperature and humidity are nearly unbearable. The service lasts just over an hour. After one last song, believers leave the church and move on to the tasks of the day: taking care of the house and the kids, or getting ready to go out fishing. Fishers will head into the clear blue lagoon of Tautira municipality, but they must avoid the waters right off Fenua Aihere. Since 2018, 265 hectares (655 acres), about 10% of Tautira’s lagoon, have been protected with a rāhui. This Tahitian word indicates an area of land or sea where it is forbidden to take any resources, and in some cases even to enter. &#8220;I think it is a very good thing,&#8221; says Célestin Tevarai, a fisher like his father and grandfather, who sits on a bench in the church&#8217;s courtyard after the service, facing the blue lagoon. &#8220;It helps us&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/french-polynesians-revive-traditional-rahui-to-protect-fish-and-livelihoods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/french-polynesians-revive-traditional-rahui-to-protect-fish-and-livelihoods/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284026</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>18 years on, how are sharks faring in French Polynesia’s shark sanctuary?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/18-years-on-how-are-sharks-faring-in-french-polynesias-shark-sanctuary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/18-years-on-how-are-sharks-faring-in-french-polynesias-shark-sanctuary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 May 2024 12:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amélie David]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/23134859/shark-french-polynesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282445</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia, Pacific Islands, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Elasmobranchs, Endangered Species, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Protected Areas, Religions, Sharks, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[TAHITI — From their perch on the side of a small boat, three divers tip backward into the sea. Once underwater, shoals of fish, including small red-and-grayish humpback red snapper (Lutjanus gibbus), seem to fly above the divers’ heads, while a titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens), yellow and blue with a big mouth, forges its own [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[TAHITI — From their perch on the side of a small boat, three divers tip backward into the sea. Once underwater, shoals of fish, including small red-and-grayish humpback red snapper (Lutjanus gibbus), seem to fly above the divers’ heads, while a titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens), yellow and blue with a big mouth, forges its own path in the opposite direction. Inside craggy corals caves, fishes small and large play hide and seek. Suddenly, large tails and caudal fins appear. They’re right there, nestled in a dark cave on the sandy ground. The diving instructor places his right hand above his head, fingers together like a fin: Shark. Three of them. Diving in French Polynesia means encountering sharks. In 2006, the government of this French overseas territory designated its entire exclusive economic zone as a sanctuary for sharks and rays: 5.5 million square kilometers (2.1 million square miles), an area half the size of Canada, where it’s illegal to kill sharks and rays. French Polynesia is one of the last oases for sharks worldwide, and it has become one of the best places to observe them. After nearly two decades as a shark haven, however, a lack of data has made it hard to confirm whether the sanctuary has had its intended effect. Although sharks still face challenges in French Polynesia, mainly from illegal and accidental capture, scientists recently published the first evidence that sharks may indeed be flourishing there. A blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in a French Polynesian lagoon.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/18-years-on-how-are-sharks-faring-in-french-polynesias-shark-sanctuary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/18-years-on-how-are-sharks-faring-in-french-polynesias-shark-sanctuary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282445</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reef damage from 2024 Olympics surfing venue is avoidable (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/reef-damage-from-2024-olympics-surfing-venue-is-avoidable-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/reef-damage-from-2024-olympics-surfing-venue-is-avoidable-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Dec 2023 02:19:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Georgina Seal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/08011455/surfing-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276446</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[France, French Polynesia, and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Commentary, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Greenwashing, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From increased metro prices to severe security measures, the Paris 2024 Olympics have been coming under increasing pressure from Parisians. Yet its citizens are not the only locals who are critiquing the games. Residents of Tahiti, French Polynesia, where the Olympic surfing event is to be held, have been engaged in discussions with the Paris [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From increased metro prices to severe security measures, the Paris 2024 Olympics have been coming under increasing pressure from Parisians. Yet its citizens are not the only locals who are critiquing the games. Residents of Tahiti, French Polynesia, where the Olympic surfing event is to be held, have been engaged in discussions with the Paris 2024 Olympic Committee for months over the environmental impacts of the event venue construction in the town and bay of Teahupo’o. Located 10,000 miles from Paris, the small town of 1,500 inhabitants will host the Olympic surfing event from July 27-30, 2024. Unsurprisingly there are mixed reactions to the event that will bring hordes of spectators, officials, staff, and security details to the island. Design concept for the new surfing tower. Image via Paris 2024 Olympic Committee. But plans to build a new judging tower for the surfing competition are being met with strong resistance from local surfers and fishermen. Earlier this year, the Olympic Committee released plans for the $5 million aluminum tower, to be built in place of an existing wooden tower. Efforts to protest the plans for the tower have come from the locals themselves, primarily through a community group called the Vai Ara o Teahupo’o Association. Social media campaigns led by Tahitian big wave pro surfer Matahi Drollet have garnered much support on Instagram and TikTok. One protest which drew 400 supporters was explicitly not against the games but only against the plans to build the tower. “It is a heritage&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/reef-damage-from-2024-olympics-surfing-venue-is-avoidable-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/reef-damage-from-2024-olympics-surfing-venue-is-avoidable-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276446</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Extinct’ snails return to Tahiti in largest wildlife reintroduction ever</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2023 14:58:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/28144741/Partula-snail-reintroductions-c-London-Zoo-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268084</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extinction, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Invasive Species, Molluscs, Rediscovered Species, Reintroductions, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Polynesian tree snail, a tiny mollusk about the size of an aspirin pill, used to be found in abundance on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia. But about 30 years ago, the little snail was eaten out of existence by two larger snails — the giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica) and the rosy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Polynesian tree snail, a tiny mollusk about the size of an aspirin pill, used to be found in abundance on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia. But about 30 years ago, the little snail was eaten out of existence by two larger snails — the giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica) and the rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea) — that humans introduced to the islands. In 1994, the Polynesian tree snail (Partula nodosa) was declared extinct in the wild. Other Partula snail species have also been marked as extinct in the wild or critically endangered. However, some Partula snails lived on in captivity. In the 1990s, conservation experts from various zoos — including London and Whipsnade zoos (which are part of the ​​Zoological Society of London, or ZSL), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and Saint Louis Zoo in the United States — had rescued some of the last remaining individuals of several Partula species. And over the past decade, they’ve been slowly reintroducing them to the wild. In April, zookeepers organized yet another reintroduction, this one involving the transport of 5,522 extinct-in-the-wild and critically endangered Partula snails to the French Polynesian islands of Moorea and Tahiti. According to ZSL, this was the largest-ever release of extinct-in-the-wild species. In April, zookeepers transported 5,522 extinct-in-the-wild and critically endangered Partula snails to  French Polynesian islands Image by RZSS. “Despite their small size these snails are of great cultural, ecological and scientific importance — they&#8217;re the Darwin’s finches of the snail world, having&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268084</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rat killers in paradise: An eradication program remakes a tropical atoll</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/rat-killers-in-paradise-an-eradication-program-remakes-a-tropical-atoll/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/rat-killers-in-paradise-an-eradication-program-remakes-a-tropical-atoll/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Nov 2022 06:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Helvarg]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/09134530/Jayna-DeVore-and-Simon-Ducatez-approaching-Hiraanae-motu-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262418</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia, Oceania, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat, Invasive Species, Islands, Predators, Research, Rodents, Solutions, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The black-and-white motion-triggered video looks like an outtake from a cheap horror movie: A handful of rats circle a smooth, platter-sized mound of sand. Suddenly a sea turtle hatchling appears, digging out of the nest. A rat grabs it by its head and quickly drags it off-camera. A second hatchling is snatched by another rat, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The black-and-white motion-triggered video looks like an outtake from a cheap horror movie: A handful of rats circle a smooth, platter-sized mound of sand. Suddenly a sea turtle hatchling appears, digging out of the nest. A rat grabs it by its head and quickly drags it off-camera. A second hatchling is snatched by another rat, flipped on its back and dragged off. The video ends. But there’s more. In 2007 the first yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) were identified on one of the same islands, or motus, of Tetiaroa Atoll in French Polynesia. There are some 200 species of ants in Polynesia, all nonnative, but the yellow crazies are the worst. “They spray formic acid that can blind or else deform the wings and legs of seabirds,” says Jayna DeVore, one of the scientists working out of the Tetiaroa Society’s eco-station on the main resort island of Onetahi. “I’ve seen chicks dancing in their nests to get the ants off them.” DeVore extends a collapsible pole with a GoPro camera atop it to peek into a nest high up a mikimiki tree (Coprosma linariifolia). She’s looking to see if there’s a chick in it. The red-footed booby (Sula sula) parent flaps its wings and pokes at the camera with its long blue beak. Dozens more boobies and frigatebirds (genus Fregata) circle in the cerulean blue sky and occupy nearby trees and bushes in the seabird colony we’ve waded and hiked to on Hiraanae motu. Her seabird ecology study, along with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/rat-killers-in-paradise-an-eradication-program-remakes-a-tropical-atoll/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/rat-killers-in-paradise-an-eradication-program-remakes-a-tropical-atoll/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262418</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Corals are struggling, but they’re too abundant to go extinct, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/corals-are-struggling-but-theyre-too-abundant-to-go-extinct-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/corals-are-struggling-but-theyre-too-abundant-to-go-extinct-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Mar 2021 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/02152211/Amphiprion-on-the-drop-off_Credit-to-David-Williamson-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240111</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia, Indonesia, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coral Bleaching, Coral Reefs, Extinction, Global Warming, Marine, Population, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study that counted half a trillion coral colonies between Indonesia and French Polynesia found that most corals are not in imminent danger of being wiped off the planet. Desolate reefs ravaged by heat waves and eroded by acidic ocean waters are the stuff ecological nightmares. But coral reefs are not homogenous wholes; they are conglomerations [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study that counted half a trillion coral colonies between Indonesia and French Polynesia found that most corals are not in imminent danger of being wiped off the planet. Desolate reefs ravaged by heat waves and eroded by acidic ocean waters are the stuff ecological nightmares. But coral reefs are not homogenous wholes; they are conglomerations of coral species. For these species, there might be safety in numbers and wide ranges. &#8220;Most species have such large population sizes that even if they lose 90% of individuals, they will still be found in some pockets and persist for the time being,&#8221; said Andreas Dietzel, lead author of the study, &#8220;it gives us a chance to get stressors like climate change under control, and hope that the diversity that we&#8217;ve seen for millions of years will recover.&#8221; Dietzel and his colleagues are calling for a revision of the IUCN Red List, according to which a third of all reef-building corals face some degree of extinction risk. The list draws on a landmark 2008 study that assessed the status of 704 species for which enough data were available. Pocilloporid coral in the Coral Sea off the northeastern coast of Australia. Image by Andreas Dietzel. The new study published in the journal Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution focused on 318 species across 900 reefs in the Pacific Ocean, stretching from Indonesia to French Polynesia. The data used in the new analysis conducted over five years were collected between 1997 and 2006. The researchers chose the region because of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/corals-are-struggling-but-theyre-too-abundant-to-go-extinct-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240111</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Largest coral reef survey in French Polynesia offers hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/largest-coral-reef-survey-in-french-polynesia-offers-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/largest-coral-reef-survey-in-french-polynesia-offers-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2019 09:56:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/12/23094033/Acropora-branching-coral-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=225675</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia, Pacific Islands, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Environment, Fish, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Islands, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the course of seven months in 2012 and 2013, more than 70 scientists collaborated to study and map the coral reefs around the islands of French Polynesia in the South Pacific. This was a huge undertaking. Researchers covered over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), including places never studied by scientists before. They conducted nearly 4,000 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Over the course of seven months in 2012 and 2013, more than 70 scientists collaborated to study and map the coral reefs around the islands of French Polynesia in the South Pacific. This was a huge undertaking. Researchers covered over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), including places never studied by scientists before. They conducted nearly 4,000 coral reef and fish surveys in 264 dive sites across 29 islands, and mapped over 9,300 square kilometers (3,590 square miles) using satellite imagery. No other coral reef survey in French Polynesia has been conducted at this scale, said Renée Carlton, a marine ecologist with the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. Findings from this massive expedition, published in a new report, offer hope. At the time of the surveys, French Polynesia had one of the world&#8217;s healthiest coral covers, and some of the highest diversity and density of reef fish on the planet. The surveys were part of the Global Reef Expedition (GRE), a global mission supported by the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation that aimed to map coral reefs around the world. &#8220;The goal of the Global Reef Expedition was to collect as much data as possible on the status of coral reefs, given the rapid changes we are seeing to reefs around the world,&#8221; Carlton told Mongabay. &#8220;Having a baseline understanding of the status of coral reefs is important for scientists and managers alike.&#8221; Researcher surveying a reef. Image © Michele Westmorland/iLCP. The French Polynesia surveys threw some surprises. The live&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/largest-coral-reef-survey-in-french-polynesia-offers-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-225675</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giant clam = giant impact: study compiles how mega-clams impact seas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/giant-clam-giant-impact-study-compiles-how-mega-clams-impact-seas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/giant-clam-giant-impact-study-compiles-how-mega-clams-impact-seas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Feb 2015 16:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jose Hong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/02/giant-clam-giant-impact-study-compiles-how-mega-clams-impact-seas/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coral Reefs, Ecology, Environment, Green, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[These charming bivalves of tropical reefs have myriad purposes, but just how many and to what extent are now more easily knowable The world’s biggest bivalves are the aptly named giant clams. Inhabiting the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific, the largest of these species, the eponymous giant clam (Tridacna gigas), can reach up to 1.2 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[These charming bivalves of tropical reefs have myriad purposes, but just how many and to what extent are now more easily knowable The world’s biggest bivalves are the aptly named giant clams. Inhabiting the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific, the largest of these species, the eponymous giant clam (Tridacna gigas), can reach up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) in length and weigh over 230 kilograms (500 pounds). Historically known as the killer clam for its supposed ability to trap careless divers, these harmless and colorful bivalves are favorite animals for divers and snorkelers to spot, but they may also be big players in the ecosystem. Giant clams, regardless of species, are among the most immediately recognizable animals on coral reefs, yet their ecological roles in these complex ecosystems have not been studied in depth. Realizing this, both Mei Lin Neo and Peter Todd of the National University of Singapore recently released a paper to bridge the gap. Fish sheltering within the mantle of a fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa) specimen in Malaysia. Photo by: Mei Lin Neo Trawling through nearly 500 published papers covering over ten years’ worth of research, their study is the first to quantify and highlight the many roles of this charismatic marine animal. From reef backbone to food All organisms contribute differently to their ecosystems from birth to death, and it is no different for the giant clam. Young clams grow quickly compared to corals, the other primary producers of a reef. Depending on clam and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/giant-clam-giant-impact-study-compiles-how-mega-clams-impact-seas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24126</doi>				</item>
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