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.
Artificial light spilling into coastal waters from cities, ports, roads and hotels is disrupting sleep in coral reef fish and is associated with changes in markers linked to brain health, according to a new study from Bar-Ilan ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 22, 2026
0
27
AIMS scientists are quantifying the amount of groundwater flowing from the land to the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia to help understand the viability of blue carbon storage solutions to reduce the impacts of climate ...
Environment
Jun 18, 2026
0
26
A night dive to study wild sharks that can walk on land has surfaced with something even rarer—a species unknown to science. "New shark species don't come along that often, and it's most definitely the first one named after ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
0
34
The ocean is home to some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. From coral reefs and mangrove forests to the deep sea, marine ecosystems sustain countless species, support coastal communities, regulate the climate and underpin ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
0
231
In the crystalline waters off Kenya's coast, coral reefs are thriving—evidence of a rare good-news story in the battle to protect oceans from the ravages of climate change.
Ecology
Jun 16, 2026
0
12
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
0
6
Trees, grasses, corals, and oysters are foundational to the structure of an ecosystem while they are alive. But new research led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 10, 2026
0
9
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
0
8
Indonesia is home to the world's largest and most biodiverse coral reef system, spanning more than 32,000 square kilometers across the archipelago. Just like what is happening globally, these reefs are now bearing the brunt ...
Ecology
Jun 8, 2026
0
11
New research led by the University of the Sunshine Coast has found that reef manta rays are diving deep in storm events to find food and stay alive. As World Environment Day is celebrated around the globe on June 5, the findings ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 4, 2026
0
13
