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Called "the rainforests of the sea," the world's coral reefs are home to millions of species. But these underwater ecosystems are in grave danger. This program travels to Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar; Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania; and Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, to study the fragile ecology and amazing biodiversity of coral reefs-and the impacts of tourism, pollution, overfishing, sedimentation, and climate change. Commentary is...

Florida's fragile coral reefs are in crisis. Once vibrant cities of the sea, these biodiverse ecosystems have declined over the past few decades. Fishing pressures, pollution, development, and climate change have all left their mark. Now, a new ailment known as "Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease" may be the last nail in the coffin. This disease is infecting over half of the reef-building corals at an unprecedented scale, killing most of the corals that...

Far out in the South Pacific, there's a tropical island paradise. Known as the "Islands of Sacred Earth," the territory of American Samoa is one of the United States' most remote outposts. Its waters are home to stunningly beautiful coral reefs, including two of the world's oldest and largest coral colonies on record. Many of these sites are protected inside America's only National Marine Sanctuary and National Park south of the equator. Coral reefs...

The research team of Dr. Mark Hay, from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, has found that the herbivorous fish that eat algae from coral reefs are crucial for the conservation of these major barriers.

In this PBS NewsHour program, the threat to coral reefs by overfishing, pollution and global warming is examined.