Latest Coral Stories
Projects address concern for acidifying marine ecosystemsWith increasing levels of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere and moving into marine systems, the world's oceans are becoming more acidic, scientists have shown.To address the growing concern for acidifying marine systems, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 21 grants under the Ocean Acidification theme of its Climate Research Investment. The awards are supported and managed by NSF's Office of Polar Programs,...
Researchers looking at corals in the western tropical Pacific Ocean have found records linking a profound shift in the depth of the division between warm surface water and colder, deeper water traceable to recent global warming.The finding is the first real evidence supporting what climate modelers have been predicting as the effects of global climate change on the subsurface ocean circulation.The report by researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Toronto was published in...
The exploration vessel Nautilus, with a team of experts of the University of Haifa's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, headed by Prof. Zvi Ben Avraham, discovered for the first time an area of reefs with deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean, offshore of Israel. This area apparently stretches over a few kilometers, 700 meters under the surface and some 30-40 km off the coast of Tel Aviv. According to the researchers, this southeastern region of the Mediterranean has only sparse sea...
The future of the world's coral reefs in a time of dramatic change and increasing human pressures is the focus of a major scientific symposium in Canberra, Australia,on October 7 and 8, 2010.Leading marine scientists from Australia, Britain, the USA, Israel and other countries will report on the latest findings on the state of the world's reefs and their prospects for survival in the coming decades."Coral Reefs in a Changing Environment" celebrates more than 80 years of Australian coral...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) experts are concerned that there could be massive coral bleaching in the Caribbean this year--perhaps on par with the bleaching that damaged over 80% of the basin region's coral five years ago, according to a new study.The NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) monitoring system has determined that the above-average temperatures in the area in 2010 mean that there is "strong potential for bleaching in the southern and southeastern Caribbean...
NEW YORK, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Australia's Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) was today welcomed as the first Australian not-for-profit into the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). This announcement reinforces the economic and environmental significance of the Great Barrier Reef on a global scale. The GBRF was recognised for its plan to bring an innovative financing mechanism in the form of a bond, which subject to Government approval, has the potential to deliver...
Healthy reefs with more corals and fish generate predictably greater levels of noise, according to researchers working in Panama. This has important implications for understanding the behaviour of young fish, and provides an exciting new approach for monitoring environmental health by listening to reefs.Contrary to Jacques Cousteau's 'Silent World', coral reefs are surprisingly noisy places, with fish and invertebrates producing clicks and grunts which combine to produce cacophonies of noise....
A UN study showed that coral reefs would benefit from networks of small no-fishing zones to confront threats such as climate change, rather than single, large protected areas. Peter Sale, a leader of the study at the UN University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said: "People have been creating marine protected areas for decades. Most of them are totally ineffective." "You need a network of protected areas that functions well," he told Reuters. "It's important to get away from...
A team of researchers from Australian and New Zealand have discovered an ancient, massive coral reef in the Pacific Ocean, making it the southernmost reef discovered to date.The ancient reef, which is an estimated 9,000 years old and well over 20-times larger than any existing modern reef, was discovered near Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, some 370-plus miles east of the Australian mainland, according to an August 31 press release published online at ScienceDaily.com.The team of...
Xestospongia muta, better known as the giant barrel sponge, is now the most dominant life form in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and the Florida Keys, according researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Wilmington.Working at the Aquarius Reef Base near Key Largo, Florida from August 17 through August 26, UNC Wilmington professor of biology and marine biology Dr. Joseph Pawlik and professor of biology and marine biology Dr. Christopher Finelli have been studying the Caribbean...
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...
