Coral reefs provide habitats for more than just clownfish, like the popular title character of Finding Nemo. They also provide food and shelter to oysters, clams, crabs, shrimp, starfish, jellyfish, sea turtles and more.
As reported this week in the journal Science, an international team of researchers surveyed more than 700 species of coral around the world and found that over 230 of them should be classified as "critically endangered," "endangered" or "vulnerable" to extinction.
Kent Carpenter, an author of the report and director of global marine species assessment for Conservation International, talks about the plight of corals and whether anything can be done to turn back the tide.
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