Category News

Healthy marine ecosystems are essential for human well-being, and millions of people around the world rely on coral reefs for food, protection, recreation, medicine, cultural connection and economic opportunities. So, the decline of coral reefs is not just an ocean-lover’s issue; it’s also a global problem that requires collaborative action.

“The situation with coral reefs is quite alarming,” said Titouan Bernicot, founder of Coral Gardeners, a coral restoration collective in Moorea, French Polynesia. 

Studies have found that live global coral coverage has declined by 50 percent since the 1950s and is expected to decline by about 70 to 90 percent in the next 20 years.

Danny DeMartini, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Kuleana Coral Restoration, a nonprofit organisation i...

China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has just finished drafting the country’s first Five Year Plan for marine environment protection. The final plan is expected to be released by the end of this year. The fact that the MEE has been able to create such a plan speaks to the far-reaching impact of 2018 ministerial reforms that re-organised China’s marine governance system. The reforms brought marine environment and ecology conservation functions that were previously scattered across six other ministries into the MEE – China’s top environmental agency. Before them, the fragmented system had made coordination difficult.

Government departments responsible for the marine environment could not, for instance, regulate rivers or land-based industries that sent massive a...

When we think of forests, we mostly think of tree-filled landscapes. But the ocean also holds emerald stands of trees so vast, they line one-quarter of our coastlines. “The area is probably equivalent to about the size of the Amazon rainforest, if you add it all up,” says Karen Filbee-Dexter, a marine ecologist doing a research fellowship at the University of Western Australia. These are kelp forests – one of Earth’s most beneficial ecosystems.

Kelps are a type of seaweed, or macroalgae, made up of roughly 33 genera and 112 species — though there remains some disagreement over what constitutes a kelp. What makes them unique amongst other seaweeds is mainly their large size – giant kelp (from the genus Macrocystis and the biggest of the kelps) can reach heights of 45 meters...

For millions of years, countless sea turtles navigated the world’s oceans, migrating vast distances between foraging sites and natal nesting beaches. But today, those long journeys repeatedly expose them to harmful anthropogenic impacts and disruptive environmental changes. And despite worldwide conservation efforts, all seven sea turtle species are endangered or critically endangered at global or regional levels.

The mass movement of these, and other animals, by land, sea or air, represents one of Earth’s ancient rhythms and one of its great wonders. Those migrations also weave together vital living threads that strengthen ecosystem structure.

Now, for myriad reasons — including human-made physical hazards, climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and much more — the frayed fab...

Coral reefs provide an irreplaceable ecosystem for marine life, protect coastlines and sustain livelihoods of communities around the globe — so you can understand why scientists are concerned about the worldwide phenomenon of coral reef erosion. A new study indicates the pace of reef destruction is faster than previously thought.

Half of the Earth’s coral reefs have died out in the last 70 years, according to a study published in the One Earth journal. Researchers note that fishes caught per capita (or rather, per “unit of effort”) have declined 60% since 1950 and that coral reefs are half as able to provide ecological services as they were in the 1950s. The result is less biodiversity in the world’s reefs.

“Coral reefs worldwide are facing impacts from climate change, overfishing,...

Increasing reforestation efforts in coastal regions could substantially reduce the amount of sediment run-off reaching coral reefs and improve their resilience, a University of Queensland-led study has found. The study analysed more than 5,500 coastal areas from around the world and found that nearly 85 per cent of them leached sediment to coral reefs, the second most serious threat facing the world’s reefs behind climate change. Dr Andrés Suárez-Castro from UQ’s Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science said it was important to address the issue of sediment runoff if efforts to reduce the human impact on reefs were to be successful.

“Increased sedimentation can cause aquatic ecosystems to be more sensitive to heat stress, which decreases the resilience of corals to pressures ...

Coral reefs are sometimes referred to as “the rainforests of the seas” — they are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Although they cover just one percent of the ocean floor, these mesmerizing, scaly habitats support an estimated 25 percent of all marine life. They are also highly endangered: the climate crisis, coastal development, ocean acidification, and destructive overfishing are a few of the many factors contributing to their alarming decline. By some estimates, nearly all remaining reefs will be at risk by 2050.

Scientists have now completed the first comprehensive, continually-updated map of the world’s shallow coral reefs, a critical tool for their preservation. Using 2...

More than 100,000 dolphins and small whales are hunted and killed every year. Most hunts are unregulated, illegal and unsustainable with unknown impacts on populations. A huge pod of white-sided dolphins were brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands yesterday evening with nearly 1,500 specimens slaughtered during the gruesome hunt. The slaughter has invoked outrage from animal rights activists.

The hunt, known as the ‘grindadráp’, was held over the weekend with local whalers targeting a massive pod of white-sided dolphins. The Danish autonomous Faroe Islands remain the last territory in Europe allowed to hunt marine mammals, as the grindadráp is considered to be an example of traditional “aboriginal whaling.”

During the grindadráp, dolphins are herded by motorboats toward...

Climate change presents some detrimental obstacles to fragile coral reefs such as heat-related bleaching, but new research shows that some coral communities are evolving to become more heat tolerant as ocean temperatures rise. A new study investigated the impact of heat stress on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), and discovered that despite 75 percent of the coral reef being damaged by a heatwave in 2003, a later heatwave in 2010 was far less damaging. 

A 2015-2016 heatwave that was twice as strong as the 2003 example was almost half as damaging, with just 40 percent of coral cover loss. 

“We’re seeing areas that were devoid of corals after 2002-2003 that are now flourishing with most of the original species,” said study lead author Michael Fox, a coral reef ecologist at...

Tuna are starting to recover after being fished to the edge of extinction, scientists have revealed. Numbers are bouncing back following a decade of conservation efforts, according to the official tally of threatened species. But some tuna stocks remain in severe decline, said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the extinction Red List.

It said pressures on marine life are continuing to grow.

And almost four in ten sharks and rays are now threatened with extinction. 

Meanwhile, on land, the Komodo dragon is moving closer to oblivion. The heaviest lizard on Earth faces threats from climate change, with fears its habitat could be affected by rising sea levels.

The revised list of the world’s endangered plants and animals was released at ...