 Significant habitat loss is occurring particularly in seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and coral reefs, all of which are in global decline due to human disturbances.Coral reefs are among the more productive and diverse ecosystems on the planet, but one fifth of them have been lost in recent years due to anthropogenic disturbances.Coral reefs are microbially driven ecosystems that rely on marine microorganisms to retain and recycle nutrients in order to thrive in oligotrophic waters.