11th April | 13:00 – 14:00 | Room 9.1.1 (DEMaC)

Bibiana Nassongole (Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique and CESAM & DBio)

Hidden diversity of soft corals on Mozambique coral reefs

Mozambique has the third-largest coastline in the Western Indian Ocean and extensive coral reef areas, yet its soft coral diversity remains poorly studied. This study updates Mozambique’s soft corals’ taxonomic and ecological knowledge by integrating morphological and genetic approaches to assess biodiversity, species distribution, and community structure. Sampling along the coast using SCUBA and underwater vehicles revealed important insights: in shallow waters, the number of species known for the country increased from 53 to 84, and the number of genera nearly doubled from 12 to 23, whereas in deep waters, we documented 33 families and 70 genera, the first report in Mozambique. Our findings indicate distinct communities between northern and southern Mozambique and across depth zones, and we also report for the first time the genus Plumigorgia in East Africa, potentially representing a new species. Our results underscore the urgent need for further exploration and highlight the importance of combining molecular and morphological analyses to uncover hidden biodiversity and refine taxonomic classifications. Understanding the full richness of Mozambique’s soft corals is not just about scientific discovery – it’s about conservation and management of a fragile marine ecosystem facing growing threats from human activities and climate change.