The Southern Ocean: A Potential for Coral 



Studies 



By Donald F. Squires 



Curator, Division of Marine Invertebrates, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian 



Institution 



[With 4 plates] 



It is always amazing to me to find persons who are surprised by 

 the presence of corals in the colder regions of the world. But then, 

 as a specialist in the study of corals, I must admit to some personal 

 prejudice by reason of a long-standing interest in the corals of these 

 regions. However, it is unfortunate that some inkling of the greater 

 distribution of these interesting animals has not leaked out into the 

 scientific world, if not to the public at large. Lack of publicity is 

 quite clearly the answer. So much popular and scientific material has 

 been written about the coral ramparts of the atolls and barrier reefs ; 

 their beauty has long been praised, and the coral island paradise is 

 a familiar symbol of the idyllic life. Today, through the personal 

 experience of skindiving, hundreds and thousands of people are enter- 

 ing the sea and seeing the living coral reefs under ideal conditions, and 

 comprehending its diversity of life. Even at the turn of the century 

 the spotlight of notoriety was focused on coral reefs, as the contro- 

 versy among such scientific greats as the four "D's" — Darwin, Dana, 

 Daly, and Davis — concerning the origin of coral islands and atolls 

 went far beyond academic walls, and captured the fancy of the public. 

 The corals from the colder regions, having no monumental structures 

 composed of their skeletons, no large masses brilliantly and differ- 

 entially colored to attract attention, have not caught the Imagination 

 of the scientist or the interested layman. 



Then, what about these corals? Are they sufficiently interesting 

 to warrant study? Do they, in their aggregate, represent hazards 

 to navigation? Do they represent potential sources of fishing 

 grounds? Is it worthwhile to study corals which are difficult to ap- 

 proach, can be studied only under some special conditions, and with 

 discomfort resulting from heavy seas, cold weather, and other me- 

 teorological vicissitudes far removed from the amenable tropical con- 



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