Author: Megan Gannon
Source: Yahoo News/LiveScience.com [1]
September 20, 2012

"The coral diversity in the West Indian Ocean, especially around Madagascar, is greater than previously believed and it may even rival parts of the Great Barrier Reef, new research shows.

The study, published Sept. 19 in the journal PLoS ONE, is based on surveys of reef-building corals conducted from 2002 to 2011 by scientists with the Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO).

The researchers identified 369 coral species in the West Indian Ocean, but estimated that further studies may show up to 450 species residing there, which would put it on par with India's Andaman Islands or the northern Great Barrier Reef."

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