Latest Islands Stories
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A new Endangered Species Act listings proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) would cover 66 coral species found in the Pacific and the Caribbean. NOAA said that in 2009, it received a petition to list 83 species of reef-building corals under the ESA from the Center for Biological Diversity. The organization found that the Center presented substantial information indicating a listing under the ESA may...
NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Artist Paul Hunt of Brooklyn, NY has launched a 30-day Kickstarter campaign which will run from November 27 through December 26. The purpose is to raise funds that will enable the completion of his multimedia installation art project. He hopes that his work will encourage people to gain an understanding of the importance of coral reefs, visit these impressive sea creatures for themselves, support programs that clean the ocean and influence...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online When toxic seaweed threatens the health of coral, what does the coral do? It calls for help, of course. A new study, published in Science, reveals that corals under attack send signals to fish "bodyguards." The fish respond quickly, moving in to trim back the toxic alga that can kill the coral if not removed in a timely manner. A team from the Georgia Institute of Technology has found evidence that these mutualistic fish respond to...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral system in the world, so big that it can be seen from space, is one of the planet’s most remarkable natural wonders. But researchers from University of Queensland have now revealed this precious ecosystem is not faring so well. The problem: European settlement and extensive degradation on mainland Australia. The expansion of European settlement in Australia has been contributing...
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The Säcken reef in the Koster Fjord in Sweden is that country’s last remaining cold-water coral reef and it is under a distinct threat of extinction. Like the more common warm-water reefs, cold-water reefs are known for their rich biological diversity. With the Säcken reef in distress, researchers from the University of Gothenburg have started a restoration project extracting healthy corals from reefs on the Norwegian coast...
Coastal habitats provide cost effective solutions for hazard mitigation and coral reefs may provide risk reduction benefits to 200 million people around the world Arlington, VA (PRWEB) October 11, 2012 Today in Brussels, Belgium, the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature Conservancy presented the World Risk Report 2012, which shows how environmental degradation reduces the capacity...
BRUSSELS, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental degradation is a significant factor that reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. This is the key message of the World Risk Report 2012, presented today in Brussels, Belgium by the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature Conservancy. The report examines the risks of and...
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online When most people think of coral reefs, they are transported to temperate waters in a tropical locale. To even locate a coral ecosystem in the cold waters of the mid and north Atlantic would be a difficult endeavor. Or, at least, one would have thought. A recent exploration of the continental shelf and slope of the Northeastern United States has revealed coral hotspots. These are areas that have an abundance of sea life existing in...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Overfishing and nitrate pollution can destroy coral reefs by allowing an overgrowth of algae that brings with it unwanted pathogens, chokes off oxygen and disrupts helpful bacteria. These are the findings of a new study out of the Oregon State University, published recently in PLoS One. Large algal species, or "macroalgae," are big enough to essentially smother corals. These macralgae grow at accelerated rates when sewage waste...
HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova Southeastern University will host a grand opening ceremony for America's largest coral reef research center on Sept. 27. Media Kit with video and photos: http://www.nova.edu/ocean/excellence/index.html NSU scientists are conducting reef research locally, nationally and globally at the 86,000-square-foot Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. The facility is located at NSU's Oceanographic Center at John U....
Latest Islands 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...
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country involving the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands. It’s the world’s sixth-largest country regarding to total area. Some of the neighboring countries include East Timor, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. For at least 40,000 years before European...
The bat ray is part of the eagle ray family living on the sandy or muddy sea bottom, a kelp bed, and rocky shoreline, in an estuary, bay, or slough off the Pacific coast and around the Galapagos Islands. It can be found in a group or swimming alone and will sometime bury itself in the sand. The average length of the bat ray is 3.28 feet, but some have been recorded of reaching 5.9 feet. Wingspan of this species can reach 6 feet and weigh up to 200 lbs., but typically 20 - 30 lbs. is the...
