All coral reefs articles
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NewsScientists reveal valuable secrets of Pacific coral reefs
An international consortium of scientists has uncovered new insights into coral ecosystems, revealing that different coral species host their own distinct communities of microbes. They show that coral reefs harbour diverse microbes and produce chemicals with promising potential.
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NewsStill standing but mostly dead: Recovery of dying coral reef in Moorea stalls
In 2019, a marine heat wave struck a coral reef on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, killing much of the coral and the beneficial algae that colonized it. A long-term study of the area is challenging scientists’ understanding of the cycles of destruction and repair that can occur on a coral reef.
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NewsScientists identify endangered natural pharmacy hidden in coral reefs
The magnitude of the potential loss of the “natural pharmacy” found in the coral microbiome is demonstrated by a new study which identified new microbial species in corals which have the ability to produce novel substances.
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News£3.7 million project aims to provide unprecedented analysis of mesophotic coral reefs
Scientists are to carry out an unprecedented assessment of the response and resilience of mesophotic coral ecosystems – coral reef communities found at depths of between 30m and 150m in tropical regions – to the temperature shifts predicted under future climate change.
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NewsFunctional extinction of Florida’s reef-building corals following the 2023 marine heatwave
The record-breaking 2023 marine heatwave has killed nearly all of Florida’s critically endangered Acropora coral colonies, marking the species’ functional extinction in Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR), researchers report.
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NewsCoral reefs set to stop growing as climate warms, scientists warn
Most coral reefs will soon stop growing and may begin to erode – and almost all will do so if global warming hits 2°C, according to a new study in the western Atlantic.
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NewsLiving ink containing bacteria could help rebuild coral reefs
Researchers created a living material that encourages coral larvae to attach and settle down. Bacterial Reef Ink (BRINK) is a photopolymerized hydrogel hosting two native Hawaiian settlement-inducing bacterial strains.
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NewsStudy exposes sewage contamination locations threatening West Hawai’i coral reefs
New research reveals the extent to which sewage pollution threatens the fragile coral reef ecosystems of West Hawaiʻi Island. Researchers pinpointed locations where high levels of fecal bacteria associated with populated coastal areas are driving worsening contamination.
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NewsGreat Barrier Reef more volatile with sharp declines in coral cover
Hard coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef has declined substantially from the high levels of recent years back to near long-term average levels, underscoring a new level of volatility.
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NewsResearch reveals that probiotics slow spread of deadly disease decimating Caribbean reefs
Scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered that a bacterial probiotic helps slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in already infected wild corals in Florida. The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reveal that applying the probiotic treatment ...
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NewsSeawater microbes are powerful tool for diagnosing coral reef health and strengthening conservation efforts
Microorganisms in the water surrounding coral reefs provide valuable insights on the health state of reefs and surrounding ocean. Sampling and analyzing reef water microbes can be done in a variety of ways ranging in cost and complexity, adding to their usability.
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NewsCoral reefs exude myriad chemicals, fueling dynamic microbial recycling of nutrients
New research reveals the remarkable chemical diversity of substances exuded by coral reefs and demonstrates that thousands of different chemicals derived from tropical corals and seaweeds are available for microbes to decompose and utilize.
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NewsProfessor investigates how symbiotic groups - like corals and biofilms - can behave like single organisms
UNCG philosopher of biology Dr. Derek Skillings is the lead investigator on a new, three-year, $600,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a study of the emergence and evolution of goal-directed behavior in collective entities.
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NewsBreakthrough study shows coral reefs will transform but can persist, if carbon is curbed
In a breakthrough study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa have shown that, contrary to most projections, coral reefs are not inevitably doomed, but have the potential to ...
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NewsReef pest feasts on cyanobacteria ‘sea sawdust’
Researchers have uncovered an under-the-sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as ‘sea sawdust’.
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NewsSea urchin epidemic spreads to Indian Ocean, threatening coral reefs
Researchers have identified the pathogen responsible for the epidemic which is killing sea urchins in the Red Sea, and now threatens entire populations of sea urchins across the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific.
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NewsCoral reef microbes point to new way to assess ecosystem health
A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems, which can be used to assess ecosystem health.
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NewsA single-celled microbe is helping corals survive climate change
Researchers have discovered a single-celled microbe that can help corals survive ocean-warming events like bleaching.
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NewsViruses hidden in coral symbiont’s genetic material pose threat to reefs
Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbour a common and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material, an international study has found.
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NewsPandemic wipes out all black sea urchins in Gulf of Eilat within 2 months
New studies reveal a deadly epidemic causing mass mortality of black sea urchins has wiped out the entire population in the Gulf of Eilat over a couple of months and threatens the coral reef.