Distribution
Locations
of coral reefs.
Coral reefs are
estimated to cover 284,300 square kilometres,
with the Indo-Pacific region (including
the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Southeast
Asia and the Pacific) accounting for
91.9% of the total. Southeast Asia accounts
for 32.3% of that figure, while the
Pacific including Australia accounts
for 40.8%. Atlantic and Caribbean coral
reefs only account for 7.6% of the world
total (Spalding et al., 2001).
Coral reefs are either
restricted or absent from along the
west coast of the Americas, as well
as the west coast of Africa. This is
due primarily to upwelling and strong
cold coastal currents that reduce water
temperatures in these areas (Nybakken,
1997). Corals are also restricted from
off the coastline of South Asia from
Pakistan to Bangladesh (Spalding et
al., 2001). They are also restricted
along the coast around north-eastern
South America and Bangladesh due to
the release of vast quantities of freshwater
from the Amazon and Ganges Rivers respectively.
