Overview
- The Frontiers in Marine Science paper, published Wednesday, reports results from a 2023 expedition that documented 266 reef-fish taxa, 138 deeper-water taxa to about 275 meters, 79 deep-sea fish groups, extensive seabird colonies and concentrated turtle nesting.
- Two years after the 2023 survey the Marshall Islands established roughly 48,000 square kilometres around Bikar and Bokak as the country’s first national marine sanctuary to protect those ecosystems.
- The two atolls differ ecologically with Bokak showing higher reef-fish biomass and coral-dominated reefs while Bikar supports more green sea turtle nesting and a greater diversity of algae.
- Researchers recorded introduced Polynesian rats on both atolls and warned that global threats such as ocean warming, coral bleaching and acidification leave these remote sites vulnerable despite low local human pressure.
- Scientists and Marshallese custodians frame the atolls as living laboratories that will guide regional conservation, call for ongoing monitoring and targeted study of habitat connectivity and deep-sea communities, and reinforce community-led Reimaanlok stewardship.