As they are poorly studied, very few people are aware of their existence. Consequently, they are rarely taken into consideration during management plans like the establishment of Marine Protected Areas for example. But they host their own biodiversity and they are important for many marine organisms, at various stage of their life cycles. Some animals can only be found there, they are endemic to MCEs.

A vertical connectivity exists between MCEs and the more famous shallow reefs. Because of this vertical connection, some fish might find in MCEs a refuge from human pressure in the shallower waters (e.g. fishing, diving, pollution). Indeed, human pressure tends to diminish with depth. Because they are deeper, the water is also usually cooler. So the deep coral colonies can be less impacted by bleaching events linked to high temperatures… Thanks to this, MCEs can in some cases act as a lifebuoy for degraded shallow water reefs. Indeed, corals that are found both in shallow reefs and MCEs can survive the bleaching periods in the deeper cooler part of the reef, and regrow the degraded shallow water part once the water temperatures are back to normal.

There are many more reasons to learn more about those crucial ecosystems. We believe that by showing those natural wonders to public, people will be more likely to feel connected to them and willing to protect them. We believe at UNSEEN that conservation can come from awareness, as the better we know, the better we can preserve.