Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Eat Themselves Out of House and Home
A world-first study on the Great Barrier Reef shows crown-of-thorns starfish have the ability to find their own way home — a behavior previously undocumented…
Coral Reefs News
The Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half Its Corals – Massive Declines in Just 3 Decades
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades….
Scientists Discover Extinctions Linked to New Communities of Species
Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting ‘novel’ communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems….
Pumping Up Cold Water From Deep Within the Ocean to Halt Coral Bleaching
New research shows that pulses of cooler deep water reduced heat stress responses in corals. The risk of severe coral bleaching—a condition in which corals…
Reef Sharks in Decline – Already Functionally Extinct on Many of the World’s Reefs
Global survey reveals sharks are functionally extinct on many of the world’s reefs, but hope lies in key conservation measures. Though many people find them…
Some Tropical Coral Reefs Resilient to Rising Temperatures – May Show “The Key to Survival for Future Reefs”
Rising ocean temperatures have devastated coral reefs all over the world, but a recent study in Global Change Biology has found that reefs in the…
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Have a Diet Trick to Enhance Their Growth
Crown-of-thorns starfish are renowned for eating coral and destroying coral reefs — but when juvenile crown-of-thorns first settle in reef environments they start out by…
Soft Coral Garden Discovered in Greenland’s Deep Sea Using an Innovative Video Camera
A deep-sea soft coral garden habitat has been discovered in Greenlandic waters by scientists from UCL, ZSL and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, using an…
Tropical and Temperate Reefs Affected Differently by Fishing Pressures
In a study published recently in Ecology and Evolution, an international team of researchers focused on what can happen to ocean ecosystems when fishing pressure increases…
Scientists Surprised by Growth Rates in World’s Deepest Photosynthetic Corals
New research published in the journal Coral Reefs revealed unexpectedly high growth rates for deep-water photosynthetic corals. The study, led by Samuel Kahng, affiliate graduate faculty in the…
Islands Might Not Actually “Drown” As Sea Levels Rise – Here’s Why
Coral reef islands across the world could naturally adapt to survive the impact of rising sea levels, according to new research. The increased flooding caused…
Cyclones Can Damage Distant Coral Reefs 1000 Km Away – 10x Further Than Conventional Modeling
Research finds current models underestimate the impact of hurricanes and typhoons on coral reef communities. Big and strong cyclones can harm coral reefs as far…
How Climate Killed Corals, Devastating the Great Barrier Reef
Multiple factors joined forces to devastate the Great Barrier Reef in 2016. A squad of climate-related factors is responsible for the massive Australian coral bleaching…
Decades of Knowledge of Marine Protected Areas Ruined by Climate Change
Climate change and warming seas are transforming tropical coral reefs and undoing decades of knowledge about how to protect these delicate and vital ecosystems. Many…
3D-Printed Bionic Corals Enable Microscopic Algae to Photosynthesize More Efficiently
Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the University of Cambridge have 3D-printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations…
Bionic 3D-Printed Corals Could Optimize Bioenergy and Help Coral Reefs
Researchers from Cambridge University and the University of California San Diego have 3D-printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations of microscopic algae….
Worrying Indian Ocean Phenomenon Spells Climate Trouble for Australia
New international research has found a worrying change in the Indian Ocean’s surface temperatures that puts southeast Australia on course for increasingly hot and dry…
Stunning Deep-Sea Coral Gardens Discovered in the Submarine Canyons Off Australia
Bremer Canyon Marine Park is already known as a biodiversity hotspot for marine species such as whales and dolphins, however, a recent expedition focused on…
