More details and information about coral reefs.
The rocky pools of Maine are the centre of attention in the scientific world for once. How the many interactions work gives insight into the most complex ecosystems on earth, like the coral reefs or the terrestrial examples in rainforest. Crab and whelk, winkle and seaweed all collaborate in the winner eats all scenario of these wonderful pools. An artificial mesocosm provides the experimental basis for the investigation of real rock pools, with these food webs providing evidence of the full facts for the first time.
The fight between industrial need, with Australias great 2 exports of coal and iron ore, and possibly the biggest natural wonder we have on Earth has been frantic. The culmination of the argument could come soon as stress grows on all parties concerned.
The science of ocean chemistry tells us much more about carbon in the atmosphere and water. Here a major new technique unveils what happens in every reef. The need to encourage people to understand exactly how important these corals are also appears to be a major factor in battling global warming, climate change and this acidification that is changing the oceans.
What a mess the oceans are becoming. Climate change and surface temperatures currently occupy our thoughts, alongside the acidification so drastically affecting reefs and molluscs. Light pollution on beaches has misled turtle egg-laying habits and now is proved to prevent corals from spawning in this paper. When we finally reduce carbon footprints, it is likely the sea can breathe easier, but human ecologies must soon recover their ethics as far as all of these neglected species are concerned.
How will we help the reefs to remain viable, as global warming overcomes so many of the regions in which reefs form important ecosystems?
Its worrying, because coral is vital to young fish and many predatory organisms that need its shelter, near the surface and full of prey. Hawaiis remote nature reserves should be free from many human-induced problems, but El Nino cannot be denied. This loss of coral in the summer could be the beginning of a horrific scene of local extinctions. It must be carefully monitored.
In the Indian Ocean and the Pacific there are the volcanic islands of the Tahitian and Hawaiian archipelagos. Many other island nations based on coral atolls now live almost beneath the waves as our carbon emissions literally force global warming to drown them.
At last, the Pacific is being reconverted from a plastic waste dump into the original coral island ecosystem we all know it deserves to be. Wake up, the rest of Oceania, and take part in the big oceanscape they are planning in the western ocean.
How can we do something to keep our precious coral reefs? This research helps immensely by noting all the possible natural herbivore (fish) resources we can use to propagate the corals themselves, by getting rid of their algal enemies.
Off the coast of Scotland are northern coral reefs that have now been discovered to be the nurseries of catsharks. Scottish scientists are now hoping to protect these precious areas as reserves, with only line fishermen allowed.
The plight of coral reefs: Those pretty fish and panoramic colours of soft and hard coral that we see on one of those rare undisturbed reefs are down to a complex ecology similar to tropical forest ecosystems.
One of the most important coral building polyps, the Acropora nasuta, has been discovered to call for help. Gobies to the rescue!
As IUCN publish the first of their expert verdicts in various reefs, another nail in the coffin of corals looks likely as the formal 2°C global warming limit is being broken.
The September update from the Panamanian Report on Caribbean coral cover and coral fauna has been published. From starfish to vertebrates, the IUCN and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network have published a number of reports on the health of Caribbean coral.
How does white syndrome destroy coral reefs? Montipora White Syndrome and that of many Acripora and many other corals, is caused or rather associated with multiple infections of ciliates, helminth worms and together they cause multiple lesions and a horrific loss of cells and biomass.
Talk of places like Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia and you tend to think of Pacific coral reefs and the habitat and ecosystems they create. Symbionts (friendly dinoflagellate algae) of hard corals vary according to how resilient the coral host is to change.
Biologist Charles Darwin was right - coral rarely crosses the Eastern Pacific Barrier, new research suggests.
What happened at the 2012 International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia? The aim of ICRS2012 was to discuss the fragile future of our global coral reefs and the fish stocks that depend on them and it was attended by over 2000 people from 80 different countries.
A new study investigates how coral bleaching changes competition between fish. The behaviour of two different species of damselfish were studied as a healthy coral reef ecosystem habitat degraded.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has told the Australian government that it can help patrol and protect the new Coral Sea marine reserve.
Australia announced new protected areas of ocean and huge marine reserve in the Coral Sea this week. Unfortunately the oceans are dying and we must start protecting them before it is too late.
Gulf of Mexico coral has been affected by the Deepwater Hoizon oil spill. Macondo well oil has damaged deep-water corals up to 11km away from the blowout site.
A new study has shown how co-managed fisheries prove quite successful. To protect fish stocks from overfishing co-management schemes have been evaluated by the Wildlife Conservation Society and various universities.
A new study looks at how coral responds to climate change. Living corals at risk are urgent problems for scientists struggling to cope with our growing coral reef conservation problems.
By using sophisticated satellite mapping, the decline in coral reefs can be identified and measures put in place to help prevent it, says an American marine ecologist.
Scientists are discovering the truth about the potential fate of coral reef ecosystems in relation to how ocean acidification is affecting them.
A new, more effective diagnostic method for coral reef diseases. Scientists and managers have been spending quite a lot of time researching the causes of coral reef mortality and trying to come with appropriate strategies.
The loss of coral reefs and their attached biodiversity. A study from the Smithsonian, using new techniques such as DNA barcoding, discovered a larger variety of crustacean species in coral reefs than anyone had ever anticipated.
A book has been commissioned by the WWF to highlight the importance of the Coral Triangle. Covering approximately 6 million square kilometres of land and sea, the Coral Triangle is one of the world's most important natural habitats. It includes several nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines and provides sustenance for over 120 million people.
As corals go, Seriatopora hystrix, the bird's nest coral, is one of the attractive stony (scleractinian) corals that people love to see on the reef. The fact that it has different varieties (is 'genetically partitioned') on the northern Barrier Reef, means that for the first time, we can study the mechanisms of the natural selection of their symbiont algae and the corals themselves.
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Miami University have researched the protection afforded by marine reserves over a 10 year span. They used 87 patch reefs in and around the world famous Belize location of Glover's Reef Reserve.
A look at historical connections between human behaviour and coral reef degradation and recovery shows considerable resilience. Natives of the Hawaiian Islands, like many island peoples, have traditionally obtained a large proportion of their protein intake from seafood obtained in the waters around them.
Coral reefs can appear healthy, until it's too late and they collapse. But new research outlines specific reef-fishing thresholds that must not be crossed, or collapse of the reef ecosystem becomes inevitable.
A United Nations top scientist believes that coral reefs will potentially be the first ecosystem that human activity effectively destroys. A new book released this week in the United States, Professor Peter Sale, who leads the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, states his concern that the world's coral reef ecosystems are likely to disappear this century.
Earthquakes launched half of the Belizean Barrier Reef into deeper waters. Studying the possible effects of natural disasters must play a role in protecting ecosystems, researchers assert. The Belizean Barrier Reef is the second largest reef ecosystem in the world, second only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Three year study discovered a chemical providing a natural sunscreen which could be manufactured for humans. The role of photosynthesis within the process means the coral needs to live close to the surface of the water, raising the risk of sunburn and damage from direct sunlight.
Humans can't dodge the charge of endangering corals in Florida, say scientists - it is our feces that are spreading a coral-destroying white pox disease there. A paper out on the online journal PLoS ONE today finds the smoking gun at the sewage treatment plant; but Florida is racing to fix the problem at source.
Previously believed to be mere decorative carpets, soft corals play a vital role in reef ecosystems, scientists find. Previously, scientists believed soft corals simply disintegrated, their sclerites scattering to the sea floor.
WWF announced that scientists have found over 600 new species in Madagascar between 1999 and 2010. Species evolved on Madagascar that are found nowhere else. In addition, there is a high diversity of habitats found on the island, from coral reefs to spiny forests.
Scientists look to volcanic fissures to examine the effects of rising acidification in the world's oceans. As the seas become more acidic through global warming and increased carbon dioxide levels, there's a real possibility that coral reefs and the sea life that relies coral reef habitat could become extinct by the end of the century.
The Senate voted down yesterday the McConnell measure to coral the EPA, and prevent it from tackling US-sourced greenhouse gas pollution. The vote, split evenly at 50-50, was ten short of the 60 majority needed. That left the EPA free to continue its attempts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from major emitters such as power plants and refineries.
WWF forms new partnership with handline fishers in the Coral Triangle in an effort to lead them into the sustainable fishing market. Our oceans have long been regarded as limitless suppliers of food, but the technological advances in our fishing techniques allow us to harvest fish at an unnatural and devastating rate.
Warming seas could spell death for much of the planet's coral and it's time to prioritise those reefs which have a long-term future says a leading conservation charity. Coral reefs have been stress-tested by a conservation charity to find those which are most likely to survive the changes of global warming and on which conservationists should target their efforts.
A new tool has been developed to take the pulse of coral reefs; giving insights into how climate change is impacting their health. An important part of understanding the impacts humans are having on coral reefs is gaining knowledge of their biological productivity. However, in the past measuring how productive coral reefs are has been time-consuming and expensive, requiring ongoing measurement as scientists need to trace the changes in the dissolved oxygen of seawater as it moves over the reef.
In the Dutch Caribbean, special Lion Fish Eliminating Devices are now being implemented in an effort to halt the alarming spread of this voracious intruder. The Lionfish is creating an ecological disaster on the Caribbean coral reefs. The devices, which are not actual harpoons, have been specially developed to enable divers to capture the highly poisonous lionfish from a safe distance.
Reefs at Risk Revisited finds that three quarters of the world's coral reefs are under threat. Reefs at Risk Revisited, a World Resources Institute (WRI) project, is a groundbreaking analysis of threats to the world's coral reefs. This comprehensive assessment found that three quarters of the world's coral reefs are under threat from pollution, overfishing and climate change.
Growth rings in fossil and living deep sea corals tell scientists about Atlantic Ocean currents and may provide clues to links between these and global warming. Like tree rings and ice cores, the annual growth rings in deep sea gorgonian corals can tell us about the past environment, and are a new and dependable source of data about the deep ocean. Dr Owen Sherwood, a biogeochemist and lead author of a new study spoke to Earth Times today
Coral reefs around the world are in danger of disappearing in our children's lifetime, according to a leading expert. The combination of ocean acidification and rising temperatures could mean the end for some of the planet's most diverse ecosystems.
Seven miles south west of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead a remotely controlled underwater vehicle called Jason discovered oil-fouled dead and damaged corals at 1400 metres deep.
New research puts the entire life cycle of coral reefs at risk from acidification of the oceans. This is the first study to look at the impact of acidifying oceans on the reproductive cycle of corals, though its disastrous effects on the ability of marine creatures to build their calcium carbonate skeletons and shells is well known.
We present some business ideas for those of you who think that the future is greener than the present- we can think of some who don't ---. The advice is general and does not apply exclusively to any one nation.
We use the tiger (this is a prime Siberian example) to show up our failure to conserve wild species, but while we monopolise all the food that animals require, we could remember that it is not only their conservation we urgently need to cover. It is also our own indulgences.
How can you describe the threats existing to species, both large and small? Using the highly-threatened primates, we can perhaps see how they have contrived to exist until the current time. Then we can better understand just how we can prevent factors simply wiping them from the face of the earth, often through ignorance, lack of care, prejudice and of course the universal profit motive. Conservation begins in our minds, but demands much more than that.
The future is certainly renewable, but are we too late to prevent future centuries problems of global warming- and the rest! Here are some current US solutions to waste and warming for you to enjoy---there are some ads in this piece but weve allowed them for one blog only.
Need to save money after the spending boom to end them all? Here are 2 sets of opinions on how to pull out the plugs at night at least.
When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.
