News tagged with coral reefs
DNA evidence shows that marine reserves help to sustain fisheries
Researchers reporting online on May 24 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology present the first evidence that areas closed to all fishing are helping to sustain valuable Australian fisheries. The intern ...
May 24, 2012 |
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Nuisance seaweed found to produce compounds with biomedical potential
A seaweed considered a threat to the healthy growth of coral reefs in Hawaii may possess the ability to produce substances that could one day treat human diseases, a new study led by scientists at Scripps ...
May 24, 2012 |
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Rapid coral death by a deadly chain reaction
(Phys.org) -- Most people are fascinated by the colorful and exotic coral reefs, which form habitats with probably the largest biodiversity. But human civilisation is the top danger to these fragile ecosystems ...
May 24, 2012 |
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Troubled freighter drifts toward Great Barrier Reef
A broken-down cargo ship was drifting towards the fringes of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Saturday, with fears of major damage if it were to run aground at the World Heritage-listed site.
May 19, 2012 |
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One-quarter of grouper species being fished to extinction
Groupers, a family of fishes often found in coral reefs and prized for their quality of flesh, are facing critical threats to their survival. As part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ...
May 09, 2012 |
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Weed-eating fish 'help protect jobs, livelihoods'
Jobs, livelihoods and ecotourism industries can benefit from having a diverse supply of weed-eating fish on the world's coral reefs, marine researchers say.
May 08, 2012 |
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Pacific islands may become refuge for corals in a warming climate, study finds
Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents ...
Apr 29, 2012 |
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Ocean acidification changes the behaviour of baby coral
(Phys.org) -- Ocean acidification caused by human development can alter the behaviour of baby corals, a new study shows.
Apr 16, 2012 |
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Why is Great Barrier Reef 'not so great'
(Phys.org) -- Researchers at James Cook University have questioned why coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef has continued to decline when it is recognised as “the best managed coral reef system in the world”.
Apr 13, 2012 |
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Under climate change, winners and losers on the coral reef
As ocean temperatures rise, some species of corals are likely to succeed at the expense of others, according to a report published online on April 12 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology that details the fi ...
Apr 12, 2012 |
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'Titanic' director says ocean 'alien world'
Fresh from his journey to the deepest point of the Pacific in a solo submarine dive, Hollywood director James Cameron has spoken to Australian schoolchildren, answering questions on how fast his craft could ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 03, 2012 |
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Some corals could survive a more acidic ocean
Corals may be better placed to cope with the gradual acidification of the world's oceans than previously thought – giving rise to hopes that coral reefs might escape climatic devastation.
Apr 02, 2012 |
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Some corals like it hot: Heat stress may help coral reefs survive climate change
A team of international scientists working in the central Pacific have discovered that coral which has survived heat stress in the past is more likely to survive it in the future.
Mar 30, 2012 |
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Declines in Caribbean coral reefs pre-date damage resulting from climate change
The decline of Caribbean coral reefs has been linked to the recent effects of human-induced climate change. However, new research led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego suggests ...
Mar 30, 2012 |
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Extreme weather threatens rich ecosystems
Extreme weather such as hurricanes, torrential downpours and droughts will become more frequent in pace with global warming. Consequently, this increases the risk for species extinction, especially in bio diverse ecosystems ...
Mar 30, 2012 |
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Coral reef
Coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms, found in marine waters containing few nutrients. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate. The accumulation of skeletal material, broken and piled up by wave action and bioeroders, produces a calcareous formation that supports the living corals and a great variety of other animal and plant life.
Coral reefs most commonly live in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water corals exist on a much smaller scale.
Globally, coral reefs are under threat from climate change, ocean acidification, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices. High nutrient levels such as those found in runoff from agricultural areas can harm reefs by encouraging excess algae growth.
For more information about Coral reef, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
