Latest Coral reefs Stories
Wildlife Conservation Society and partners document large-scale coral bleaching and death in wake of sea surface temperature riseThe Wildlife Conservation Society today released initial field observations that indicate that a dramatic rise in the surface temperature in Indonesian waters has resulted in a large-scale bleaching event that has devastated coral populations.WCS's Indonesia Program "Rapid Response Unit" of marine biologists was dispatched to investigate coral bleaching...
Scientists in Australia have found a cluster of dazzling shallow-water corals that could help with the production of possible cancer-fighting drugs and may help to understand global warming, a researcher frmo the University of Western Sydney said Saturday. The fluorescent cluster of corals was found off Lord Howe Island, 400 miles east of the Australia. Some displayed rich reds that proved hard to find and are in high demand for cancer cell studies, said researcher Anya Salih. The underwater...
The growing amount of human noise pollution in the ocean could lead fish away from good habitat and off to their death, according to new research from a UK-led team working on the Great Barrier Reef.After developing for weeks at sea, baby tropical fish rely on natural noises to find the coral reefs where they can survive and thrive. However, the researchers found that short exposure to artificial noise makes fish become attracted to inappropriate sounds.In earlier research, Dr Steve Simpson,...
University of Guam Marine Lab associate professor, Alexander Kerr, is senior author of a paper on the evolutionary origins of coral sex published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The paper, "Correlated evolution of sex and reproductive mode in corals" finds that ancient corals consisted of mostly separate sexes and needed to pass through an evolutionarily period in which they brooded their young before they could become spawning hermaphrodites."Most species of corals...
An Australian scientist has discovered what could be the world's rarest coral in the remote North Pacific Ocean.The unique Pacific elkhorn coral was found while conducting underwater surveys of Arno atoll in the Marshall Islands, by coral researcher Dr Zoe Richards of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS).The coral bears a close physical resemblance to the critically endangered and fast-vanishing elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) of the Atlantic Ocean, but genetic...
Concrete evidence foundImproving the quality of local water increases the resistance of coral reefs to global climate change, according to a study published in June in Marine Ecology Progress Series. Florida Institute of Technology coral reef ecologist Robert van Woesik and his student Dan Wagner led the study, which provides concrete evidence for a link between environmental health and the prospects for reefs in a rapidly changing world.Van Woesik and his team showed that when waters in the...
At first glance it may seem like a good idea to be a fish living the quiet life on a small and isolated reef.But a team of researchers has found that the opposite is the case on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.Using 15 years of long-term monitoring data collected from 43 reefs by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the researchers from AIMS and the University of Adelaide have found that fish living on small, isolated reefs face a greater risk of local extinction.The results have...
International law failing to protect coral reefs and tropical fishInternational law has failed to protect coral reefs and tropical fish from being decimated by a growing collectors market, but U.S. reforms can lead the way towards making the trade more responsible, ecologically sustainable and humane.That's the view of 18 experts, including Washington State University marine ecologist Brian Tissot, writing in the journal Marine Policy."Our actions have a big impact on what happens in...
Biologist Mikhail Matz uses next-generation sequencers and a massive, NSF-supported supercomputer to study corals at the genomic level and look for evolutionary changesOur oceans are getting warmer and more acidic every year; as a result, coral reefs are rapidly declining. Biologist Mikhail Matz is monitoring this process at the genomic level, in anticipation of evolutionary developments that may signal better news."Corals have a substantial potential to evolve, and this is the high time...
Discoveries about tropical coral reefs, published on June 23, 2010, are expected to be invaluable in efforts to restore the corals, which are succumbing to bleaching and other diseases at an unprecedented rate as ocean temperatures rise worldwide. The research gives new insights into how the scientists can help to preserve or restore the coral reefs that protect coastlines, foster tourism, and nurture many species of fish. The research, published in the journal PLoS One, was accomplished by...
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...
