Sediments from urban and agricultural run-off can cause stress and kill corals.

However, specific kinds of corals that live in sheltered locations may tolerate the naturally higher levels of dissolved and suspended matter that color the water.

Corals on these sheltered reefs can benefit from the screening of sunlight by suspended particles that scatter light, and by colloids and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOMs) that absorb light.

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Rodney Salm, Director of Transforming Coral Reef Conservation, The Nature Conservancy. Rod has launched a global program to build resilience in the face of change into marine protected areas and has developed the Reef Resilience toolkit concept.