Latest Coral reefs Stories
Researchers at Australia's leading coral reef research centre have developed a way to protect both coral reef fish - and the interests of fishers.In pioneering research carried out in Fiji in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the CoECRS team has reported a new approach that enables communities to balance the need to protect the environment with the need to maintain local food supplies and incomes.Concern over the worldwide decline of coral reefs has prompted many...
Finding could help scientists monitor how corals adapt to global warmingYoung staghorn coral that fluoresce redder are less likely to settle and develop into coral polyps than their greener peers, University of Texas at Austin biologists have discovered.The finding may help scientists monitor how corals adapt to global warming because the less likely coral larvae are to settle, the more likely they will disperse from their reef of origin."By simply looking at the color of a larval...
The key to preserving the extraordinary richness and beauty of the world's coral reefs through the coming period of fragmentation caused by climate change lies in a better understanding of how newborn coral larvae disperse across the oceans to settle and grow on new reefs.Research by scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies is throwing new light on the survival and settlement rates of larvae from different coral species, as a basis for predicting how fast coral...
Wildlife Conservation Society confirms sea urchins destroy reef building algae in overfished sites on Kenya's coastAn 18-year study of Kenya's coral reefs by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of California at Santa Cruz has found that overfished reef systems have more sea urchins"”organisms that in turn eat coral algae that build tropical reef systems.By contrast, reef systems closed to fishing have fewer sea urchins"”the result of predatory fish keeping urchins under...
The world's corals not only display stunning beauty and diversity "“ they also have rhythm, man. And that helps to keep them going through the lonely low-Â"point of the night, when their partner robs them blind.That corals, among the simplest of Earth's creatures, have some curiously human-Â"like attributes is emerging in a fresh set of revelations from by an international team of Australian and Israeli coral geneticists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies which...
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are vowing to protect newly located coral reefs found in a 12 mile span off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico, hoping that their discovery could lead to the revitalization of the area's coral ecosystem.The new reefs, located at depths of between 100 and 500 feet, were discovered by Richard Appledoorn, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, and divers participating in a one-year training course, according to...
The Edge Coral Reefs project announced this week that it has identified 10 of the most at-risk coral species for protection. Conservationists have unveiled plans to preserve and protect the world's most important species of coral, helping to fight increasing threats that they say will lead to the species being "functional extinct" within decades. Scientists at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) lead the project, which has identified 10 coral species in most urgent risk of...
An expert said Wednesday that Australia's spectacular Great Barrier Reef is under threat from massive floods swamping the country's northeast, which are pouring harmful debris and sediment into the sea. Michelle Devlin said that the full impact of the floods is not yet known, but the influx will stress the colorful corals. "This does impact on the reef. It just impacts on the reef's resilience so you get very stressed corals, you get stressed sea grass," Devlin, a researcher at...
Hawai"˜i Institute of Marine Biology Celebrates its Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Research PartnershipLast week, managers from the 43 marine sites on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) met in Hawai"˜i to explore ways of strengthening marine conservation. This engagement also coincided with the official inscription ceremony for the new PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument World Heritage site. The manager's...
Coral reef ecosystems are one of the most diverse habitats on the planet, providing habitat for a wide variety of marine animals. Unfortunately, coral reefs and their associated fish, algae, and invertebrate species are in worldwide decline. In 2009, 83 rare corals were petitioned to be listed under the United States Endangered Species Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service is currently reviewing the status of the coral on the...
Latest Coral reefs Reference Libraries
Coral reefs are submerged structures consisting of calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of small animals found in marine waters that enclose few nutrients. The majority of coral reefs are constructed from stony corals, which then consist of polyps that come together in groups. The polyps are like small sea anemones, to which they are very closely related. Unlike the sea anemones, coral polyps secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which provide support and protections...
Knotted Fan Coral, (Melithaea ochracea), is a species of colonial soft coral that is found in tree-like fans on shallow reefs in the South China Sea between Taiwan and Indonesia, including Singapore and Malaysia. In Taiwan, it is the most widespread coral in its family Gorgonacea. It is found on the higher parts of reef fronts where its numerous small polyps can feed at water flow rates varying from 1.6 to 16 inches per second. This species usually grow to about 8 inches in length, with...
Leaf Plate Montipora, (Montipora capricornis), also known as Vase Coral, Cap Coral, or simply Montipora, is a species of stony coral found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is also found in reefs in the Red Sea. It usually inhabits the top half of the reef where photosynthesis can occur. It branches out from the foundation into an area with adequate sunlight. This species forms flat, plating colonies. The colonies expand by adding to their foundations and further spreading out....
Nephtheidae is a family of soft corals known as carnation corals, tree corals or colt soft corals. These corals are very striking and show a wide range of rich colors including red, pink, yellow and purple. These corals are mainly tree-like in that they branch out and have little knobs on the end of their rubbery branches. Another name given these animals are broccoli corals, due to the fact that their polyps retract in the daytime, giving them the resemblance of the vegetable. The polyps...
Fungia scutaria is a species of mushroom coral in the family Fungiidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific oceanic region. It occurs on upper reef slopes especially where there is considerable water movement. It is typically found on sand beds or coral fragments. It lives as a single individual rather than as a colony and is detached from the seabed. It has an elongated shape and can grow quite large. The polyp can be up to 6.7 inches long and is embedded in a cup-shaped hollow known as a...
