Latest Coral Stories
More than 300 eminent scientists from 21 other countries around the world today urged the Australian Federal Government to create the world’s largest no-take marine reserve in the Coral Sea. “Marine reserves are an important tool for managing and restoring ecosystems. They protect brood stocks for sustainable fisheries and rebuild distorted foodwebs. We know how well they work because of the differences that we observe again and again between different marine zones under existing...
One of the greatest biological threats to tropical coral reefs can be a population outbreak of crown-of-thorns (COT) sea stars (Acanthaster planci). Outbreaks can consume live corals over large areas, a change that can promote algal growth, alter reef fish populations, and reduce the aesthetic value of coral reefs, which in turn negatively affects tourism. Despite more than 30 years of research, the triggers and spread of COT outbreaks are not fully understood. Human impacts such as...
Northernmost location in the world for transplantation of endangered coral HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a delicate operation at sea, healthy staghorn coral were transplanted Friday to a threatened reef off the Broward County coast by researchers at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center and its internal National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI). "This is the northernmost location on the planet for transplanted staghorn corals," said Abby...
When it comes to choosing a place to hang out, big reef fish like coral trout, snappers and sweetlips have strong architectural preferences. The choices big fish make on where to shelter could have a major influence on their ability to cope with climate change, say scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. In research aimed at understanding the process of fish population decline when coral reefs sustain major damage, PhD student James...
First-of-its kind study of extreme temperature shock reveals complexities of climate-induced threats Around the world coral reefs are facing threats brought by climate change and dramatic shifts in sea temperatures. While ocean warming has been the primary focus for scientists and ocean policy managers, cold events can also cause large-scale coral bleaching events. A new study by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego compared damage to corals exposed to heat as...
Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover’s Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustan—a young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsula—found this difficult to believe. It was December 1974. But Cousteau was right. During the following three-plus decades, Dustan, an ocean ecologist and biology professor at the University of...
LONDON, January 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With only hours to go until the Celebrity Big Brother grand finale, Coral bookmakers report a huge surge in bets [http://www.coral.co.uk ] for Denise Welch to win and she is now just 9-4, having been 16-1 only a few days earlier with the Essex based bookies. The Loose Woman presenter has seen her odds reduced dramatically in the space of only a few days, after punters sided with her following the mega fall-out with the twins and...
Might a penguin's next meal be affected by the exhaust from your tailpipe? The answer may be yes, when you add your exhaust fumes to the total amount of carbon dioxide lofted into the atmosphere by humans since the industrial revolution. One-third of that carbon dioxide is absorbed by the world's oceans, making them more acidic and affecting marine life. A UC Santa Barbara marine scientist and a team of 18 other researchers have reported results of the broadest worldwide study of ocean...
Nearly one-third of CO2 emissions due to human activities enters the world's oceans. By reacting with seawater, CO2 increases the water's acidity, which may significantly reduce the calcification rate of such marine organisms as corals and mollusks. The extent to which human activities have raised the surface level of acidity, however, has been difficult to detect on regional scales because it varies naturally from one season and one year to the next, and between regions, and direct...
Lessons from tens of millions of years ago are pointing to new ways to save and protect today’s coral reefs and their myriad of beautiful and many-hued fishes at a time of huge change in the Earth’s systems. The complex relationship we see today between fishes and corals developed relatively recently in geological terms – and is a major factor in shielding reef species from extinction, says Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James...
Latest Coral 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...
Image Credit: Dr. Wayne Meadows (NOAA)/Wikipedia The foxface rabbitfish is found in coral rich lagoons, and reefs in the coastal water of the Western Pacific. Around the western Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands. It has also been sighted around Vanuatu, Nauru, Kiribati, and recently Tonga. Adults usually swim in pairs, but the juveniles have been known to form schools. The adult foxface rabbitfish is...
The Barrier Reef Anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos) is native to the marine lagoons and reefs in the Western Pacific Ocean. It lives at a depth of around eighty-two feet in temperatures fluctuating between fifty degrees Fahrenheit to 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Its range includes northern New South Wales, the Loyalty Islands, Tonga, New Caledonia, Coral Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef. They are typically seen near or within the tentacles of their host anemones. They will inhabit anemones like...
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...
Octopus Coral, (Galaxea fascicularis), also known as Fluorescence Grass Coral, Galaxy Coral. Star Coral, Crystal Coral, Brittle Coral and Starburst Coral, is a species of colonial stony coral commonly found on reef slopes in the Indian and Pacific ocean regions, as well as the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is most commonly found where wave action is weak, usually at a depth of 79 inches to 49 feet below sea level. It is a common coral species among reef aquarium enthusiasts. This coral...
