Food for thought
"Among terrestrial ecosystems the most diverse are tropical rainforests and this is attributed to the abundance of insect species. But many consider coral reefs to be more diverse than rainforests as the diversity of coral reefs comprises organisms of almost all phyla,' says Rodrigues. One estimate suggests that coral reefs have about one million species, with only 10 per cent described, living in its extensive network of crevices or along the reef.
Reefs provide as much as one-fourth of the fish catch in developing countries and employment for millions of fisherfolk, says the US state department report entitled "Coral Bleaching, coral mortality and global climate change'. Reef damage off the Philippines has already been blamed for fishery losses totalling $80 million per year and the elimination of 127,000 jobs.
The pharmaceutical industry also relies on the coral reef ecosystem for drugs. In recent years, it has been found that a wide variety of toxic compounds
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