Biologist Adriana Gomes and volunteer divers remove invasive sun coral by hand near Ipanema Beach

A biologist and volunteer divers in Brazil are removing invasive sun coral by hand from an oil platform to protect a marine protected area near Ipanema.

Brazilian biologist Adriana Gomes and a team of volunteer divers are manually removing sun coral from an offshore oil platform near Ipanema Beach in Brazil, ua.news reports. ua.news The aim is to protect the marine protected area located near the beach.

Sun coral is an invasive species first spotted in Brazil more than 40 years ago. It has no natural predators in the region and has already spread along the country's coast.

According to Mongabay, further spread of the coral could threaten Brazil's marine fauna, as it is capable of smothering it. The team uses a simple method: divers remove the coral from the platform by hand.