Shipwrecks on coral reefs harbor unwanted species

Shipwrecks on coral reefs may increase invasion of unwanted species, according to a recent US Geological Survey study published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. These unwanted species can completely overtake the reef and eliminate all the native coral, dramatically decreasing the diversity of marine organisms on the reef. This study documents for the first time that a rapid change in the dominant biota on a coral reef is unambiguously associated with man-made structures.