http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from NOAA have discovered a potent and highly-debilitating toxin in the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, a first-of-its-kind chemical finding that is now prompting investigations of other marine mammals in the state. http://phys.org/news226750029.html Biology Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:20:02 EST news226750029 An international team of researchers led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has deciphered the genome of a tropical marine organism known to produce substances potentially useful against human diseases. http://phys.org/news224179703.html Biology Mon, 09 May 2011 17:09:07 EST news224179703 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? http://phys.org/news177312219.html Biology Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:50:03 EST news177312219 (PhysOrg.com) -- Australian marine scientists have issued an urgent call for massive and rapid worldwide cuts in carbon emissions, deep enough to prevent atmospheric CO2 levels rising to 450 parts per million (ppm). http://phys.org/news177019636.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:20:01 EST news177019636 (AP) -- 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, scientists said Thursday. http://phys.org/news176703133.html Space & Earth Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:30:05 EST news176703133 One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation - their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity. That core belief is often strong enough that if it means people have to be kept out, so be it. http://phys.org/news176652349.html Space & Earth Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:20:02 EST news176652349 (PhysOrg.com) -- As human activity pumps more and more carbon into the atmosphere, a new threat has emerged to the world's coral reefs - starvation. http://phys.org/news173959038.html Biology Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:10:02 EST news173959038 It is well known that people from all over the world come to the Bahamas to enjoy the pristine waters, spectacular coral reefs and great fishing. Tourism produces approximately 55 % of the gross domestic product and employs up to 60% of the total workforce in the Bahamas. However, building of hotels and facilities that make it possible for visitors to come and enjoy the natural beauty of the islands can also damage the marine environment they come to take pleasure in. http://phys.org/news173459757.html Space & Earth Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:50:01 EST news173459757 (AP) -- Scientists over the past month explored coral reefs in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that until recently were considered too deep for scuba divers to reach. http://phys.org/news171699947.html Biology Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:26:27 EST news171699947 Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious jeopardy as global warming and chemical runoff threaten to kill marine species and cause serious outbreaks of disease, a report warned Wednesday. http://phys.org/news171102349.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:01 EST news171102349 (AP) -- Deep beneath the crystalline blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. lies a virtual rain forest of coral reefs so expansive the network is believed to be the world's largest. http://phys.org/news169813348.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:23:11 EST news169813348 In a deadly game of heads or tails venomous sea snakes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans deceive their predators into believing they have two heads, claims research published today in Marine Ecology. http://phys.org/news168764583.html Biology Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:03:59 EST news168764583 (AP) -- Wrecking coral will cost you in Hawaii. A Maui tour company is paying the state nearly $400,000 for damaging more than 1,200 coral colonies when one of its boats sank at Molokini, a pristine reef and popular diving spot. Another tour operator faces penalties for wrecking coral when it illegally dropped an anchor on a Maui reef. http://phys.org/news168440571.html Space & Earth Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:20:03 EST news168440571 Australian scientists on Thursday announced a ground-breaking genome-mapping project that could help the Great Barrier Reef fight off the twin threats of climate change and toxic farm chemicals. http://phys.org/news168151655.html Biology Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:10:01 EST news168151655 Mounting evidence that human activity is changing the world's oceans in profound and damaging ways is outlined in a new scientific discussion paper released today. http://phys.org/news168085384.html Space & Earth Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:24:40 EST news168085384 Using snorkelers and SCUBA divers is not the best way to monitor fish populations, if we want to know the evolutionary effects of overfishing. http://phys.org/news167306478.html Biology Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:01:39 EST news167306478 (PhysOrg.com) -- Even parasite-eating fish recognise the benefits of good advertising, UQ research has found. http://phys.org/news166346318.html Biology Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:20:00 EST news166346318 An international team of researchers has studied the coralline algae fossils that lived on the last coral reefs of the Mediterranean Sea between 7.24 and 5.3 million years ago. Mediterranean algae and coral reefs began to resemble present day reefs following the isolation of the Mediterranean from the Indian Ocean and global cooling 15 and 20 million years ago respectively. http://phys.org/news166181578.html Other Sciences Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:36:55 EST news166181578 An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass observations and found that 58 percent of world's seagrass meadows are currently declining. http://phys.org/news165515435.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:32:02 EST news165515435 The thought of coral reefs tends to conjure up images of tropical vacations, complete with snorkeling among tropical fish in crystal clear waters. http://phys.org/news165230151.html Biology Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:16:14 EST news165230151 As global warming whips up more powerful and frequent hurricanes and storms, the world's coral reefs face increased disruption to their ability to breed and recover from damage. http://phys.org/news164972866.html Space & Earth Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:48:30 EST news164972866 A proposal to install an electrified artificial reef on the ocean floor off Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., has won approval from a key federal agency, making it more likely the high-tech conservation project will get built. http://phys.org/news164919548.html Space & Earth Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:30:01 EST news164919548 Banning or restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear could help the world's coral reefs and their fish populations survive the onslaughts of climate change according to a study by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and other groups. http://phys.org/news164508672.html Space & Earth Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:40:01 EST news164508672 Emergency plans to counteract global warming by artificially shading the Earth from incoming sunlight might lower the planet's temperature a few degrees, but such "geoengineering" solutions would do little to stop the acidification of the world oceans that threatens coral reefs and other marine life, report the authors of a new study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The culprit is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which even in a cooler globe will continue to be absorbed by seawater, creating acidic conditions. http://phys.org/news164378973.html Biology Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:20:16 EST news164378973 Coral reefs throughout the Caribbean have been comprehensively 'flattened' over the last 40 years, according to a disturbing new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA). http://phys.org/news163822471.html Space & Earth Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:15:08 EST news163822471 There's little doubt that coral reefs the world over face threats on many fronts: pollution, diseases, destructive fishing practices and warming oceans. But reefs appear to be more resistant to one potential menace - seaweed - than previously thought, according to new research by a team of marine scientists from the United States and Australia. http://phys.org/news163071159.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:33:19 EST news163071159 An explosion of knowledge has been made in the last few years about the basic biology of corals, researchers say in a new report, helping to explain why coral reefs around the world are collapsing and what it will take for them to survive a gauntlet of climate change and ocean acidification. http://phys.org/news162739523.html Space & Earth Thu, 28 May 2009 14:26:03 EST news162739523 (PhysOrg.com) -- Experts say that more than half of the world's coral reefs could disappear in the next 50 years, in large part because of higher ocean temperatures caused by climate change. But now Stanford University scientists have found evidence that some coral reefs are adapting and may actually survive global warming. http://phys.org/news162033865.html Biology Wed, 20 May 2009 10:29:54 EST news162033865 (PhysOrg.com) -- Groundbreaking Victoria University research shows that ocean acidification may have no negative effect on tropical corals and local sea anemones - in fact it may improve photosynthesis. http://phys.org/news161877580.html Biology Mon, 18 May 2009 15:00:20 EST news161877580 An international team of scientists has proposed a set of basic rules to help save the world's imperiled coral reefs from ultimate destruction. http://phys.org/news161256177.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 May 2009 10:23:32 EST news161256177