Two-year voyage finds Pacific coral reef biodiversity is far greater than we know

The diversity of the Pacific coral reef microbiome—microorganisms which help drive and maintain reef productivity and biodiversity—may approach the current estimated total microorganism diversity on Earth according to new research. The findings, published in Nature Communications and using data collected by the Tara Pacific Expedition during its more than two-year voyage, represent the largest investigation of coral reef microbiome diversity to date, and suggest that the global number of microorganisms may have been significantly underestimated.

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