Cambridge, International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Shen, G. 1996. Rapid change in the tropical ocean and the use of corals as monitoring systems. Corals may provide useful means of monitoring the dispersal of river sediments and pollution in coastal areas. Environmental threats to living coral reefs are widespread, and there is a considerable body of knowledge devoted to monitoring reefs in order to protect and conserve them.
Corals constitute a very effective recorder and a rich natural archive of environmental change.