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.
Coral reefs have long been celebrated as biodiversity hotspots—but new research shows they have also played a much deeper role: conducting the rhythm of Earth's carbon and climate cycles for more than 250 million years.
Earth Sciences
Dec 1, 2025
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247
New research reveals that one of the largest-ever marine conservation initiatives has helped to prevent more frequent crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) outbreaks on the Great Barrier Reef.
Plants & Animals
Dec 1, 2025
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29
One of the most comprehensive surveys to date of shark and other large predator fish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) ocean finds that remote marine protected areas (MPAs)—including the Galapagos, Malpelo, Clipperton, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 26, 2025
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225
Floridians are not used to hearing the word "extinct" applied to species that play significant roles in the state's ecological and economic landscape.
Plants & Animals
Nov 24, 2025
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16
A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) published in Coral Reefs reveals why many coral reef fishers remain in poverty, even as fish stocks decline and some fishers leave the profession. The research shows ...
Environment
Nov 24, 2025
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13
By 2100, Australian and global coral reef communities will be slow to recover, less complex, and dominated by fleshy algae, as high carbon dioxide changes ocean chemistry.
Ecology
Nov 24, 2025
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87
A global analysis of coral bleaching across 81 countries reveals that reefs in the equatorial Coral Triangle region were exposed to the weakest marine heat waves over the past two decades and may function as safe havens for ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2025
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25
A habitat-building coralline algae that provides a vital nursing ground for marine species and an important blue carbon ecosystem has been genetically mapped around south-west Britain in a first-of-its-kind study.
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2025
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17
This summer, it was all over the media. Driven by the climate crisis, the oceans have now also passed a critical point: The absorption of CO2 is making the oceans increasingly acidic.
Plants & Animals
Nov 12, 2025
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28
Millions of coral larvae on the Great Barrier Reef have an increased chance of replenishing degraded reefs thanks to the "larval seedbox"—a coral restoration technology developed by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, ...
Ecology
Nov 11, 2025
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38
