coral reef tagged posts

Joseph Pawlik, a leading sponge maven from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is convinced that the sponges and algae of the Caribbean’s coral reef system are suffocating the coral as they steadily encroach upon increasing real estate across the reefs. Sun-soaked algae produce a surplus of sugar, which is excreted into the surrounding water column. Sponges, in turn, crave this sugar surplus, excreting excess nitrogen, which feeds the sprawling algae. In this way, Pawlik claims the two culprits collude to become an unstoppable force in what he has called “the rise of the sponges.”

Not all concur that the sponge apocalypse is near, however. Sponges do continue to play a vital role in filtering water and providing nutrients to a wide array of animals...

Scientists have bad news for holiday-makers: the sunscreen protecting your skin as you swim or snorkel in the balmy tropical water might be killing the very coral reef and its amazing marine life that you came to enjoy. Many sunscreens contain oxybenzone, a chemical that helps filter out the ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer. Unfortunately, research indicates that it also makes corals more susceptible to the bleaching events that have damaged famed reefs around the world.

It is an example of how synthetic chemicals can have unintended consequences, strengthening the case for more rigorous risk assessment before they are used in industry. Many new substances, including oxybenzone, pass through wastewater plants unfiltered and end up in our rivers and oceans.

“This is a case for the p...

As residents of Florida continue to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Irma, scientists analyzing the hurricane’s stronger-than-usual storm surges are pointing the finger at the weakened state of coral barriers along the Florida coast. Had there been a more robust coral reef structure in the Caribbean and along the Florida Reef Tract, the severity of Irma’s coastal flooding and wave run-up could have been greatly diminished. According to one 2014 analysis conducted by researchers from Stanford, the US Geological Survey, and the University of Bologna, coral reefs can take 97% of the energy out of incoming waves.

None of this is surprising...

Computer-led analysis of tourist snaps has estimated that coral reefs contribute $36 billion per year to the global tourist economy. Scientists used big data computing techniques to study 20 million images uploaded to image hosting website Flickr. The pictures enabled them to create a map detailing the value of coral reefs around the world.

The authors hope that their findings will encourage the tourism industry to act responsibly, and to lobby governments on how best to manage coral reefs.

Complex analysis

Researchers used a technique known as data mining – in which computers speed-read information associated with each image – to analyse photos taken by visitors to reefs.

They were able to assess details of visits to reefs and tourists’ spending nearby.

Scientists were able to diffe...

It’s an understatement to say that we hear about a lot of ingenious uses of 3D printing on a regular basis. One of my favorites, and one of the most brilliant, in my opinion, is the way that several scientists have used the technology to save endangered coral reefs. We’ve taken a look at the work that Reef Design Lab has done, as well as Fabien Cousteau and Dr. James Gardiner, and while the methods and locations may differ slightly, the goal is the same – to help failing coral reefs to restore themselves with the help of some 3D printed supplementation.

Dr. Renata Ferrari of the University of Sydney has taken a multifaceted approach to her work with coral reefs and 3D technology. Every plan of action starts with gaining as much knowledge as possible, and that’s what Dr...

Coral reefs throughout the world are under threat. After studying the reefs in Malaysia, Zarinah Waheed concluded that there is room for improvement in coral reef conservation. One-third of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef are dead. This was the sombre conclusion drawn by Australian scientists six months ago. Pollution, shipping and climate change are destroying the world’s largest continuous reef, and other coral reefs seem to be facing the same fate.

Home country

PhD candidate Zarinah Waheed studied coral reefs in her home country Malaysia over recent years. She looked specifically at the coral diversity of these reefs and also at the connectivity between the reef locations. She found that the areas with the highest numbers of coral species are not necessarily protected.

94 species

The Earth’s oceans are under siege. Human activity is wiping out coral reefs and marine life at a faster rate than ever before. As conservationists try to restore the health of our seas, one place may be key to turning the tide.

The Verde Island Passage has the highest concentration of marine species in the world. Spanning 4,400 square miles, it sits between the province of Batangas and the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. Just more than a decade ago, Prof. Kent Carpenter of the Biological Sciences Department at Old Dominion University labeled the Verde Island Passage “the center of the center” of marine biodiversity.

Today, Carpenter sees the passage as a litmus test for global conservation...

Coral reefs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. In fact, a report released by the found that 19% of the Earth’s coral reefs are now dead, with rising sea temperatures and seawater acidification to blame.

The declining coral reefs are a sign of a much larger problem. Coral reefs make up only 0.2% of our oceans, but they are home to over 25% of all marine fish species and protect shorelines from major storms. The United Nations predict that the Earth is on the brink of a massive extinction event, with some studies suggesting 25% of the planet’s species will be extinct by 2050.

Although much of the damage has been caused by human activity, it is also people, through technological advancements, that are offering increasingly innovative solutions...

Coral reefs and their associated animals are more sensitive to global warming than previously thought, according to a new study that shows how ocean acidification wipes out zooplankton populations, which are vital for coral survival. Researchers at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Queensland studied zooplankton levels in the vicinity of underwater volcanic CO2 seeps to determine how they are affected by water acidity.

“Zooplankton gives corals vital nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen as well as important things like trace elements and essential amino acids...

When marine biologist Michael Berumen first went diving off Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast in 2008, he noticed something peculiar about the coral reefs. Then a postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, he had travelled to the Kingdom with a group of colleagues to assess biodiversity of the Red Sea corals, one of several seed projects that had emerged from a new collaboration between Woods Hole and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

“The reefs looked like they were in great shape, but there was something missing,” says Berumen. “Every single one we visited had small groupers, snappers, and trevallies, but not bigger ones, and we didn’t see any sharks. It didn’t take us long to realize that the top predators were gone...