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Marine scientists in Australia undertaking the world’s first large-scale investigation of the impact of climate change on coral reefs suggest that many of them would survive the ravages of warming.

“Coral reefs are sometimes regarded as canaries in the global climate coal mine – but it is now very clear than not all reef species will be affected equally,” explains Terry Hughes, professor and director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, who led the study.

The emerging picture, he says, is one of ‘winners and losers’, with some corals succeeding at the expense of others...

A dolphin celebrates her welcome return to British waters by flipping fish in front of delighted onlookers.

Zephyr the Bottlenose dolphin was captured on camera tossing the 20lb salmon more than 20ft in the air before catching it in her beak.

She was one of 260 Bottlenoses to arrive once more in Scotland – to feast on salmon that spawn there at this time of year.

Marine conservation officer Charlie Phillips, 51, recently witnessed the incredible sight while studying the creatures at Chanonry Point, Black Isle, near his Inverness home.

‘Zephyr was throwing a massive salmon up in the air,’ said Charlie. ‘The people that were on the beach were cheering and clapping in excitement.’

He added: ‘The fish was more than likely already dead so it

Environmental NGOs are calling on EU countries to set a 50 per cent reduction target ahead of the July deadline this year when EU states are required to finalise marine environmental targets for 2020.

The proposal is detailed in an NGO advice document as part of national public consultations taking place across Europe in relation to the EU’s marine strategy framework directive (MSFD).

The call comes ahead of a meeting of north east Atlantic countries in The Hague later this week.

Chris Carroll of the group, ‘Seas At Risk’, said, “Garbage patches forming across the world’s oceans and litter strewn beaches found across Europe demand an ambitious response and a 50 per cent cut within European waters is the bare minimum we should be aiming for.

“Individuals, industry and governments can use su...

Greenpeace Australia has launched its Canned Tuna Guide iPhone app, that sits within the Australian Marine Conservation Society

A tsunami watch declared after two major earthquakes off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province has now been cancelled, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) says.

Two hours after the quakes – one with a magnitude of 8.6, the other measuring 8.3 – the centre says “the threat has diminished or is over for most areas”.

The alerts caused panic as people fled buildings and made for high ground.

There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

India, Thailand and Sri Lanka have also lifted their own tsunami warnings.

The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh alone and some 250,000 around the region.

‘Vigilant’

The US Geological Survey (USGS), which documents quakes worldwide, said the first Aceh quake was centred ...

A March article appearing in National Geographic breathlessly headlined that

In a delicate operation at sea, 28 healthy laboratory-raised staghorn coral colonies were transplanted last month by our Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center researchers to a threatened reef off the Fort Lauderdale coast. This will

So far in 2011, some 3,000 dead dolphins have washed up on the beaches in the northern Peruvian region of Lambayaque, supposedly having died from the effects of petroleum exploitation in the area.

According to the science director for the Scientific Organization for Conservation of Aquatic Animals, or ORCA, Carlos Yaipen, the deaths of the oceanic mammals was due to a “marine bubble,” an acoustic pocket that forms as a result of using equipment to explore for petroleum below the seabed.

“The oil companies use different frequencies of acoustic waves and the effects produced by these bubbles are not plainly visible, but they generate effects later in the animals. That can cause death by acoustic impact, not only in dolphins, but also in marine seals and whales,” Yaipen told the daily.

The ex...

Scientists are seeing a decline in coral reefs worldwide, but pinpointing why it

Florida Keys corals that took centuries to grow died within days during the frigid January 2010 cold snap, says a newly published scientific study.

“Some monumental corals that were 200 or 300 years old perished in a span of five days,” said Rob Ruzicka, a co-author with Michael Colella of the patch-reef study published in the February edition of Coral Reefs, the journal of the International Society for Reef Studies.

Colella and Ruzicka work for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and have been involved with the 17-year history of the institute’s Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project.

The published cold-water study focuses on patch reefs, generally found in depths of 12 to 20 feet in Hawk Channel, inside the main Florida...