Every month, New England Aquarium President and CEO Vikki Spruill takes to Facebook Live for a casual conversation with a member of our team.
For her August 29, 2019, Harborside Chat, Vikki spoke with Giant Ocean Tank Supervisor Mike O’Neill.
Harborside Chat with Vikki Spruill: August 2019
The Giant Ocean Tank features a four-story replica Caribbean coral reef teeming with hundreds of animals, including sharks, eels, rays, sea turtles, and fish. It is the home of Myrtle, the 550-pound green sea turtle.
Learn more about the Giant Ocean Tank!
Conservation Context
Appreciated for their beauty and spectacular biodiversity, coral reefs are also critical components to ocean health. They are nurseries to thousands of fish species, many of which could not survive without these unique habitats. Earth’s coral reefs support more than 4,000 species of fishes, 800 types of hard corals, and hundreds of other species of marine life.
Unfortunately, coral reefs are rapidly disappearing worldwide, primarily due to climate change and other human impacts. The loss of coral reefs to bleaching has dire consequences for marine animals and humans alike. Coral reefs have the best chance to adapt if humans slow climate change and reduce other human-caused stresses.
