Reef ecosystems are complex, three-dimensional marine habitats, typically structured by biogenic reef-builders such as scleractinian corals, coralline algae, or oysters, that support highly diverse, spatially structured communities of microorganisms, algae, invertebrates, and vertebrates. They are characterized by strong environmental gradients (light, nutrients, hydrodynamics), tight biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and intricate trophic networks linking primary producers, detritivores, and higher consumers. Research on reef ecosystems focuses on processes such as calcification, bioerosion, symbiosis (e.g., coral–Symbiodiniaceae associations), connectivity among reef patches, and responses to stressors including warming, acidification, eutrophication, and overfishing, with implications for ecosystem resilience and regime shifts.
When Andrew Baker looks out at the vacant lot next to his office on Virginia Key, he doesn't see the trees or grass that are there now. He sees a factory of the future. One story tall, roughly the size of half a football ...
Ecology
Sep 4, 2025
0
26
Coral reefs are in crisis. Rising ocean temperatures driven by climate change are pushing these ecosystems to the brink, with mass bleaching events becoming more frequent and severe.
Plants & Animals
Sep 1, 2025
0
26
Marine biologists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography have released a new database of size parameters for 1,308 species of Pacific coral reef fishes, advancing scientists' understanding of fish health and ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2025
0
17
QUT researchers have advanced the understanding of how to create tiny seawater droplets to form mist plumes that reflect sunlight to protect coral reefs.
Ecology
Aug 27, 2025
0
17
A new Arizona State University study reveals the extent to which sewage pollution threatens the fragile coral reef ecosystems of west Hawaiʻi Island.
Environment
Aug 26, 2025
0
77
Beneath a cloak of darkness, illuminated only by glow sticks and red-filtered flashlights, researchers waited underwater off Key Largo hoping to witness one of the rarest events of sex in the sea.
Plants & Animals
Aug 18, 2025
0
100
In San Francisco Bay, salt ponds created more than a century ago are reverting to marshland. Along the New York and New Jersey coasts, beaches ravaged by Superstorm Sandy underwent extensive restoration. In Alabama, a rebuilt ...
Environment
Aug 17, 2025
0
75
An international study by marine scientists based in Singapore has revealed that sea-level rise in the Indian Ocean began accelerating far earlier than previously thought, with corals providing an unbroken natural record ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 12, 2025
0
51
An international team of scientists working with Queensland Museum's CoralBank have made groundbreaking findings that rewrite the family tree of one of the world's most iconic coral groups and described five new-to-science ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 12, 2025
0
27
Sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus) have been slowly disappearing from ocean floors over the last few decades, mostly due to overfishing for food and medicinal purposes. Despite their name, sea cucumbers are aquatic animals ...
