Latest Reef Stories
Australian scientists have announced a major new finding that helps explain how natural systems like coral reefs and forests maintain the richness of their mix of species.Their findings have important implications for understanding how humans can better protect biodiversity during one of the worst episodes of species extinction in the Earth's history.The research also may help to explain why, in habitats fragmented by human activity, the loss of species can be especially high "“ despite our...
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- What is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space? Answer: The Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven wonders of the natural world. This March, Crystal Cruises is introducing a new opportunity to explore this region's remarkable sea life, rainforests and wildlife via a three-night "Great Barrier Reef Escape" Extended Land Program available before and after four Crystal Symphony voyages beginning or ending...
A study by the University of Exeter provides the first evidence that coral reefs can recover from the devastating effects of climate change. To be published Monday January 11 in the journal PLOS One, the research shows for the first time that coral reefs located in marine reserves can recover from the impacts of global warming.Scientists and environmentalists have warned that coral reefs may not be able to recover from the damage caused by climate change and that these unique environments...
A ridiculous amount of green seaweed has taken over much of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, leaving scientists worrying about the health of the coral structure.Professor David Bellwood, of James Cook University and the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, told AFP that this seaweed has taken over 40 percent of areas closest to the shore. The seaweed could be just the latest problem for the reef."We are concerned about it because it does look like a lot of weed and in other places...
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. At first glance, this may not appear to be connected to space technology, but large development projects and the state of Earth's environment are intrinsically linked.Global climate change is also an increasingly important challenge in overcoming poverty and advancing development in the poorest countries and communities, which will suffer the earliest and the most.These factors...
Coral reefs support some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they thrive in a marine desert. So how do reefs sustain their thriving populations?Marine biologist Fleur Van Duyl from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is fascinated by the energy budgets that support coral reefs in this impoverished environment. According to van Duyl's former student, Jasper De Goeij, Halisarca caerulea sponges grow in the deep dark cavities beneath reefs, and 90% of their diet is...
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...
Study sheds new light on threats to coral reproductionWhat's the point of setting up marine reserves to protect coral reefs from pollution, ship groundings and overfishing if climate change could cause far more damage? A study published this week in London in Proceedings of the Royal Society B provides the answer.For decades researchers have known that corals synchronize their release of eggs and sperm into the water but were unsure of how and why. Robert van Woesik, a biologist at the...
Discovery of shipping containers full of illegal coral in Oregon led to indictment WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gunther Wenzek, a German national, pleaded guilty today before District Judge Anna J. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to one count of smuggling coral into the United States at the port of Portland, Ore., the Justice Department announced. A grand jury in Portland indicted Wenzek in July 2008. Law enforcement officials arrested Wenzek...
A conservation group said Thursday discovery of a type of coral off the shore of the town of Palm Beach, Fla. indicates it deserves protected habitat status. Palm Beach County Reef Rescue Director Ed Tichenor said the find may be the largest amount of Staghorn coral in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Post reported. This discovery is significant since the Town of Palm Beach is opposing federal critical habitat protection for this coral, said Connie Gasque, of Palm Beach who lead a dive...
Latest Reef 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...
Chalice Corals, are a family of stony corals in the Pectiniidae family. Members of this family are mostly colonial but at least one species, Echinomorpha nishihirai, is solitary. These corals are endemic to the Indian and Pacific oceans. Pectiniids have a number of different forms but are basically streamlined and smooth. Polyps are large and brightly colored and resemble those of members of the Mussidae family of corals. The polyps are only extended at night. Tentacles are translucent,...
Siderastreidae is a family of colonial, reef building stony corals. Members of this family include symbiotic algae in their tissues which help provide their energy requirements. The World Register of Marine Species lists 7 genera within this family: Anomastraea, Coscinaraea, Craterastrea, Horastrea, Psammocora, Pseudosiderastrea, and Siderastrea. Corals in this family vary in form and include massive, thickly encrusting, columnar, and irregular forms. Corallites are linked by flowing...
Horn corals, known as Rugosa or Tetracoralla, are an extinct order of coral that were abundant during the Middle Ordovician to Late Permian stages. They were known as horn corals because of a unique horn-shaped chamber with a wrinkled (rugose) wall. These mostly solitary corals often reached lengths of nearly 40 inches. However, some species could form large colonies. Rugose corals have a skeleton made up of calcite that is often fossilized. Like modern corals, rugose corals were...
Tabulata is a family of extinct tabulate corals. These corals lived entirely during the Paleozoic era, being found from the Ordovician to the Permian stages. There are about 300 known genera of tabulate corals, of which Aulopora, Favosites, Halysites, Heliolites, Pleurodictyum, Sarcinula and Syringopora are the most common in the fossil record. These corals were mostly found in the shallow waters of the Silurian and Devonian, after which, they became much less common. They became extinct...
