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These divers are killing a beautiful coral to save Brazil’s marine life

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 07/11/2026, 11:39:24 UTC.

Briefings

Brazilian marine biologist Adriana Gomes and volunteer divers are manually removing invasive sun coral from the Cagarras Islands to protect native reefs. The invasive species, native to the Indo-Pacific, spreads at an estimated 2 km per year and now covers approximately 3,500 km of the Brazilian coast. Once it reaches 45% of a reef, its ecosystem is considered profoundly altered, yet Brazil has launched a National Plan to control the invasion since 2018.

Key points

• Invasive sun coral (Tubastraea coccinea and Tubastraea tagusensis) spreads at an estimated 2 kilometers per year along approximately 3,500 kilometers of Brazil's coastline.
• Adriana Gomes, a marine biologist with ICMBio, leads volunteer divers in manually removing sun coral colonies from the Cagarras Islands to prevent ecosystem disruption.

Context

This report details a conservation effort in Brazil where Adriana Gomes and volunteers remove invasive sun coral from the Cagarras Islands. The invasion, native to the Indo-Pacific, threatens native species and has been spreading rapidly since the 1980s.

Limitations

Coverage is limited to the Cagarras Islands and Rio de Janeiro state. The article does not provide specific dates for the removal operations, nor does it include data on the total number of colonies removed or the specific impact on fish populations.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 07/11/2026, 11:41:08 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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