Since 2004, researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), USA, have been monitoring the Moorea Coral Reef to observe and gather information on the coral and its creatures.
UCSB Marine Science Institute research associate Keith Seydel said the programme involved a core group of 19 professors with another ten to twelve working alongside them on a short-term basis.
"We're encompassing everything – the fish, the coral, the water, the light, the algae; we're studying the whole eco-system, not just one component of it," Mr Seydel said. "Instead of just a little section of the pie, you get to see the whole pie."
The Moorea Coral Reef was the 26th site to be monitored as part of the Long Term Ecological Research network set up by the USA's National Science Foundation in 1980 to help scientists forecast the impact of environmental changes.
"It would be nice to have lots more of these sites around the world," noted Mr Seydel.
To conduct their research, scientists use a fleet of ten Stabicraft boats, ranging in size, from the 389 Frontier to its larger 509 and 609 counterparts.
New Zealand-based Stabicraft Marine's Managing Director Paul Adams said the company was proud to provide researchers with the tools needed to conduct their important work.
"There are enormous mysteries out there. It's vital research which will undoubtedly have an impact in the future and it's rewarding to play a role in that," he said.
