People's knee-jerk reaction to seeing death in nature is often not positive. The burn scar left by wildfire on a once-forested hillside, or a ghostly white coral reef, may evoke tragedy and despair. But in nature, most plants ...
Ecology
Jun 11, 2026
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A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.
Ecology
Jun 8, 2026
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9
Tropical coral reefs support the highest levels of biodiversity in the ocean. This vital ecosystem depends on reef-building corals, which form colonies of thousands of tiny coral animals that secrete calcium carbonate skeletons, ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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10
Every time you go for a swim, some of your sunscreen gets left behind. An estimated 25% of applied sunscreen washes off during recreational water activities, releasing some 5,000 tons annually in reef areas alone, according ...
Ecology
Apr 28, 2026
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15
Palmyra Atoll, a remote, uninhabited speck of land, coral and sea halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa, is one of the healthiest, intact atolls on the planet—so ecologically sensitive that visiting researchers freeze ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 28, 2026
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81
Lord Howe Island lies in the middle of the ocean, about 700 kilometers northeast of Sydney. It's covered in lush forest and fringed by the world's most southerly coral reef ecosystem.
Plants & Animals
Apr 22, 2026
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14
From sea turtles to birds and the gentle dugong, the Persian Gulf's diverse but fragile marine life is threatened by the bombs and oil of the war in the Middle East.
Ecology
Mar 17, 2026
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15
When we dream of landscapes, we might imagine rolling valleys or rugged mountains. But there is a whole landscape hidden from human view: the secret world of the seafloor.
Earth Sciences
Feb 22, 2026
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57
Oceanic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by global warming, which causes coral bleaching, species migration and, through the loss of habitats and biodiversity, food web disruptions on major scales. Also, pollutants ...
Ecology
Feb 5, 2026
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21
Coral reefs, the "rainforests of the sea," provide habitats for 25% of all marine life. Critical to global biodiversity, they are essential for food supply, culture and recreation and coastal protection from hurricanes for ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 22, 2026
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