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.
After a devastating marine heat wave hit the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in 2023, the populations of two essential reef-building corals are now too low to fulfill their ecological roles. However, coral researchers are not ...
Ecology
Feb 2, 2026
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In the realm of marine biogeography, there is a widely held scientific principle: the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans are worlds apart. If you dive in Brazil and then in Okinawa, you expect to see entirely different groups ...
Evolution
Jan 30, 2026
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35
Sleep is essential for much of the animal kingdom. During the night, neuron and tissue repair mechanisms are activated to aid recovery from daily activity. This is risky: organisms that sleep are more vulnerable to predators. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 28, 2026
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31
It's no secret that Florida's iconic coral reefs are in trouble. Repeated body blows from hurricanes, pollution, disease, climate change—and a near-knockout punch from a 2023 marine heat wave—has effectively wiped several ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 23, 2026
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30
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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35
Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in collaboration with the University of the Virgin Islands have discovered that microorganisms in seawater surrounding corals provide a powerful indicator of ...
Ecology
Jan 20, 2026
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419
New research by Monash University and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century analyzed close to three decades of weather data during the coral bleaching season and identified the prevalence of "doldrum ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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Once a picturesque garden beneath the sea, some stretches of the Florida Coral Reef have now become graveyards. Unburied coral skeletons stand as haunting remnants of the catastrophic marine heat wave that swept through in ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 13, 2026
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47
Tropical coral reefs cover less than 1% of the seafloor, yet support 25% of all marine species. They are also incredibly vulnerable. Over the past few decades, an estimated 30–50% have already been lost.
Ecology
Jan 5, 2026
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23
With a human population of 8.3 billion people worldwide and millions facing malnutrition, food security is something to think about. But imagine if the ocean could help with that.
Ecology
Jan 4, 2026
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