Coral reefs support 25% of all marine species on less than 1% of ocean area — their degradation represents the largest scale welfare crisis in the marine environment.
Coral reef degradation represents animal welfare harm at ecosystem scale. The loss of reef habitat directly reduces the welfare of millions of individual fish, invertebrates and marine animals who depend on reef structure for shelter, spawning, and prey acquisition. Mass bleaching events cause coral death that removes the physical substrate on which this biodiversity depends. The welfare argument for reef conservation parallels the welfare argument for any habitat protection: animals cannot achieve positive welfare states in degraded environments that cannot meet their ecological needs.