Mo'orea, French Polynesia
French Polynesia’s coasts are home to approximately 12,800 km2 of coral reefs 1. Because of their isolation and complex surrounding geography, these remain some of the most diverse and pristine reef habitats in the world 2 with a single reef hosting upwards of 2,000 species, including many endemics found nowhere else in the world 3. In addition, to generating and maintaining high diversity, French Polynesia’s reefs also support extraordinarily abundant populations of many orgnamisms, including giant clams 4.
Virtually extinct in many other regions due to overharvesting, giant clams in French Polynesia can be found in dense aggregations of up to 500 individuals m-2 especially in regions such as the Tuamotus where collection pressures are currently low 4,5. Over time, these dense populations accrete enough shell material to form permanent reef structures that are identifiable on a geographic scale and which are known locally as mapikos.
I conduct my field research in French Polynesia from the islands of Tahiti and Mo'orea, the latter of which houses both the UC Berkeley Gump Field Station and the French operated CRIOBE research station.
References: 1. ReefBase, 2014. 2. Vieux CA et al (2004). A Century Of Change In Coral Reef Status In Southeast And Central Pacific: Polynesia Mana Node, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna. Status of Coral Reefs of the World. 2:557. 3. www.cepf.net/Documents/final.polynesiamicronesia.ep.pdf 4. Gilbert A et al (2005).Coral Reefs 24(3): 495 5. Andrefouet S et al (2205). ICES Journal of Marine Science 62(6): 1037-1048
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