609068 external_news 1532731108 1532731108 The last hope for degraded coral reefs is under attack. A new survey of Fiji Island reefs has revealed the significant damage being caused by small sea snails, previously ignored by marine biologists. Scientists have dubbed the tiny snails "coral ticks" because they suck the fluid from young Porites cylindrica coral. Porites cylindrica is one the hardiest coral species and it plays an important role in the regrowth of shallow reefs -- that is if they can survive the onslaught of coral ticks. "Once the reefs are down and nearly out, these snails are piling on," Mark Hay, a professor of biological sciences at Georgia Tech, said in a news release. 

 

]]> 2018-07-26 1278 1275