Did you know that corals are animals?

One of the ecosystems found in Mayakoba are the coral reefs, many people visit us and take our snorkeling tours to get to know this incredible ecosystem. 

The reefs of Quintana Roo are part of the second most important barrier reef in the world: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), they extend for about 1000km and provide numerous benefits to the area.

Corals are made up of hundreds of animals called polyps and share a kinship with anemones and jellyfish. They have a hard skeleton and do not really have any color, we see them colorful thanks to an algae called zooxanthellae which has a symbiotic relationship with the corals: the corals protect them and in return they get energy produced by the algae through photosynthesis. Corals not only obtain energy in this way, they also have mouths and eat particles suspended in the water.

It´s time to help the coral reefs.

Reefs around the world are bleaching and disappearing due to different causes, such as climate change, ocean acidification, pollution and human activities. In the last 30 years, 50% of reefs have disappeared, by 2030 up to 90% could disappear.

This represents a serious environmental, social and economic problem, corals represent 0.1% of the marine surface, but host 25% of all ocean biodiversity, as well as billions of people depend on reefs as their main source of protein and income. They are also of great importance to humans, as they help us absorb the impact of hurricanes, regulate the carbon dioxide absorbed by the oceans (they absorb 30% of the CO2 emissions we generate) and promote better water quality.

At Fairmont Mayakoba we are working to restore the coral reefs found along our coasts through the association OCEANUS A.C., the goal is to plant 5000 colonies of the Acropora Palmata species in 5 years with the help of donations from our guests.

You can approach our sustainability team to learn more about this cause.

By Michelle Hernandez.