Sir David Attenborough endorses Heriot-Watt website

A new website about cold-water corals created by Heriot-Watt University professors has been recently designed as a result of increased popularity and support from key figures like broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

Unlike their tropical counterparts, cold-water corals are not well known, even though research has shown them to be a very diverse group which plays an important role in ecosystems. They are found all around the world’s oceans, including in the Hebrides in Scotland.

The Lophelia.org website provides a wealth of information about cold-water corals and the threats they are facing, such as ocean warming and acidification or deep-sea trawling fishing techniques.

Dr Murray Roberts, from the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, told The Journal: “The Lophelia.org website is aimed at anyone from around the age of 7-8 upwards.”

The website has been designed in a way that allows everyone to find adequate information about these sea creatures.

“The first page of each section is free of scientific jargon” for the general public, Dr Roberts explained, “then the ‘Go Deeper’ sections take readers through progressively more detailed information until they arrive at a list of primary information sources, mostly peer-reviewed scientific papers and technical reports”.

Although the website was originally launched in 2005, Dr Roberts explained: "Recent advances in social media such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook have revolutionised the Internet, so the website had to be totally redesigned in 2010 to include these features."

Informing people about this group of very diverse yet poorly known organisms is “the first vital step for people to care and take action toward its conservation”, remarked Dr Roberts.

“Raising public awareness will also help swing the democratic process into action and encourage politicians to take measures to prevent damage to the corals”.

The website has obtained the support of the most popular naturalist in the UK, Sir David Attenborough, who recorded two videos for the website.

Speaking of Mr Attenborough’s videos, Dr Roberts commented: “His support certainly attracted many more people to the website.”

The website is now widely used by researchers as a source of information.