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• Arguably the world’s highest diversity ecosystem, with high species numbers, and representatives of almost every major animal phyla. Some 90,000 species have been described from reefs, while estimates suggest that the total could range between 1-2 million
• One quarter of all marine fish species are found on reefs.
• One sample of burrowing animals revealed 8265 animals, representing 220 species, from a single dead coral
• Southeast Asia is the greatest focus of biodiversity, with higher numbers on single reef systems than may be observed in the entire Caribbean. The map here shows this massive concentration of biodiversity for corals themselves
• Bioprospecting, the search for chemically active and commercially valuable natural compounds, is underway on many reefs, with potential compounds including:
  • Anti-cancer properties in blue-green algae
  • Skin-care and anti-inflammatory properties in Caribbean sea-whips
  • Anti-inflammatory properties from a Pacific sponge
  • Painkilling properties from a neurotoxin in a Pacific snail