Killer hotspots of over-heated ocean water which destroy huge areas of coral and bring starvation to birds, fish and other sea creatures can now be pinpointed, thanks to a major advance in the use of satellite technology by Australian and American researchers.
Advanced satellites and smart mathematics are enabling the scientists to detect the [...]
I’m not entirely sure why the “sunscreen causes coral bleaching” story is doing the rounds in the news again (see here and here – it seems to make for a very media-friendly story), but i’m still amazed at the mileage these authors are getting from a highly questionable study. I’ve debated [...]
The Age, 16th April 2008
Silver bubbles pop to the surface as a snorkeler glides over a colourful coral reef, bright fish speeding to safety in its protective fronds. Experts say this small Horn of Africa nation has some of the most pristine coral reefs left anywhere worldwide, a “global hotspot” for [...]
We certainly hope that Baird and Maynard are right and that in the coming years corals will exhibit an adaptive capability that they have not yet exhibited in situ or in the laboratory. At this point, however, it appears unlikely.
As Baird and Maynard point out, the coral genera Acropora and Pocillopora have generation [...]
In their Review, “Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification” (14 December 2007, p. 1737), O. Hoegh-Guldberg et al. present future reef scenarios that range from coral-dominated communities to rapidly eroding rubble banks. Notably, none of their scenarios considers the capacity for corals to adapt. The [...]
Coral reefs could be dying out because of changes to the microbes that live in them just as much as from the direct rise in temperature caused by global warming, according to scientists speaking today (Wednesday 2 April 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology’s 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International [...]
United Press International, 28th March 2008
Townsville, Australia — Australian scientists have discovered coral reefs have an addiction to “junk food” and order symbiotic algae to produce it. James Cook University researchers said the symbiosis between coral, a primitive animal, and zooxanthellae — tiny one-celled plants — has not only built the largest [...]
A healthy fish population could be the key to ensuring coral reefs survive the impacts of climate change, pollution, overfishing and other threats. Australian scientists found that some fish act as “lawnmowers”, keeping coral free of kelp and unwanted algae. At a briefing to parliamentarians in Canberra, they said protected [...]
Once I would have thought that a ridiculous question. Yet today, if we assemble all the best science we have, the answer can at best be “maybe”.
It may seem preposterous that the greatest coral reef in the world – the biggest structure made by life on Earth – could be seriously (I mean genuinely [...]
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