Sea cucumbers on La Reunion Island fringing reefs: diversity, distribution, abundance and structure of the populations

A broken line of coral formations, about 25 kilometres long, are found off the western coast of La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. As the island’s only reefs, these structures are a few hundred meters wide at most, and have a modest surface area (about 12 km2). La Reunion’s main coral structures are the Saint Leu, Etang-Sale, and Saint Pierre reefs and the Saint Gilles/La Saline reef system; the latter is the most extensive, measuring 9 km. These reefs are very important in terms of natural heritage and tourism and with regards to international, national and regional research. Inventories of the biodiversity of the diverse zoological groups in these coral ecosystems have begun. This needs to be done so that the many types of reef degradation can be monitored, particularly those caused by humans.