Latest Reef Check Stories
NASSAU, Bahamas, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Living Oceans Foundation has chosen The Bahamas for the opening of its Global Reef Expedition, a five year, world-wide study of the health of the coral reef environments. In making the announcement, Captain Philip Renaud, USN (ret), the Foundation's Executive Director, noted that up to 80 percent of all life on the earth is found in the oceans, and that the health of the coral reefs is critical to the health of many species that inhabit the...
Research can help assess impacts of climate change, other threats to coral reef ecosystemsUniversity of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science scientist Chris Langdon and colleagues developed a new tool to monitor coral reef vital signs. By accurately measuring their biological pulse, scientists can better assess how climate change and other ecological threats impact coral reef health worldwide.During a March 2009 experiment at Cayo Enrique Reef in Puerto Rico, the...
Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a severe, top-category storm, ripped through Australia's northeast tourist coast Thursday, leveling houses and decimating crops as it hit land near the city of Cairns, gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The reef could face a slow recovery after recent flooding spewed toxic waste into its pristine waters. Marine experts say it is too early to assess the extent of the damage but the world's largest living organism, the sprawling coral structure, was very likely...
LANDOVER, Md., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Having recently observed its 10th anniversary, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is preparing for its next scientific research and education project, the Global Reef Expedition, which will launch in 2011 and continue through 2014. The primary scientific goals of the Expedition are to map and characterize coral reef ecosystems, identify their current status and major threats, and examine factors that enhance their capacity to resist,...
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...
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....
Scientists said Thursday that lower-than-feared sea temperatures this summer gave a break to fragile coral reefs across the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico that were damaged in recent years, the Associated Press reported.Many of the creatures that make up coral have had to expel the colorful algae they live with, creating a bleached color due to the unusually warm water in recent years. However, the coral itself will die and damage the environment where many fish and other marine...
One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation "“ their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.That core belief is often strong enough that if it means people have to be kept out, so be it.The analysis, done in Hawaii by researchers from Oregon State University...
The remainder of the world's coral is in danger of being eliminated as a result of human activities, pollution and over-fishing, according to an international report. Released on Wednesday, the "Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008" found that one fifth of the Earth's coral reefs have disappeared since 1950, and the remainder could die off over the next 20 to 40 years unless initiatives to curb greenhouse gas emissions are enforced."Climate change must be limited to the...
