All coral articles
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NewsFloat like a jellyfish: New coral mobility mechanisms uncovered
A new study has investigated how the free-living mushroom coral Cycloseris cyclolites moves, navigates and responds to light in its natural environments.
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NewsClimate change could bring more severe bacterial infections, including in corals
A new study shows that climate warming can potentially make bacterial and fungal infections deadlier for cold-blooded animals like corals, insects, and fish, raising questions about the broader risks warming temperatures pose to ecosystems and biodiversity—and potentially humans.
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NewsYoung coral use metabolic tricks to resist bleaching
Reduced metabolism and increased nitrogen storage allow coral larvae to keep algae around at high temperatures.
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NewsClimate change accelerates vulnerability and loss of resilience of key coral species in the Med
Red gorgonians exposed to marine heatwaves decrease the ability to resist and recover from other disturbances.
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NewsFeeding coral reefs can aid their recovery from bleaching events
Coral reefs will continue to experience severe heat stress as rising temperatures cause the oceans to become unbearably hot – but a new study shows that altering their feeding habits could allow local populations to avoid total extinction.
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NewsRemarkable diversity in heat tolerance can help protect coral reefs
New research has found previously undocumented variation in coral heat tolerance on the Great Barrier Reef, giving hope that corals’ own genetic resources may hold the key for us to help in its recovery and adaptation.
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NewsMicroplastics found in all three parts of coral anatomy
Researchers have found that all three parts of the coral anatomy—surface mucus, tissue, and skeleton—contain microplastics. They used a new microplastic detection technique which they applied to coral for the first time.
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NewsCoral colony from Fiji reveals warmest temperatures in more than 600 years
The sea surface temperature in the Fijian archipelago is now at its maximum for more than 600 years, reveals an international research team’s evaluation of a new coral record providing further evidence for unprecedented warming in the western Pacific Ocean.
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NewsMarine heatwaves devastate red gorgonians in the Medes Islands
The increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves in recent decades is one of the effects of global climate change. Source: University of Barcelona The UB researcher Graciel·la Rovira is the first author of this publication. A study by the University of Barcelona, published in ...
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NewsScientists uncover the secret synchronised sex life of coral
For the first time, researchers have produced a model for coral spawning, based on various environmental factors. They achieved this by tapping an often overlooked source of aquatic knowledge - an aquarium.
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NewsCoral identified as oldest bioluminescent organism, suggesting new model of ancient ecology
Researchers have identified eight organisms with previously unknown luminosity. Using genetic findings, they estimated coral bioluminescence originated about 540 million years ago in the Cambrian period, making them the earliest bioluminescent organisms.
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NewsMarine algae implants could boost crop yields
Scientists have discovered the gene that enables marine algae to make a unique type of chlorophyll. They successfully implanted this gene in a land plant, paving the way for better crop yields on less land. Source: Robert Jinkerson/Tingting Xiang/UCR Fluorescence image of coral Acropora juvenile polyps hosting the ...
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NewsAlgae pass on nutrients to coral host by degrading own cell wall
Researchers have identified a new pathway by which sugar is released by symbiotic algae, involving the largely overlooked cell wall.
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NewsNewly discovered probiotic could protect Caribbean corals threatened by deadly disease
Researchers have discovered the first effective bacterial probiotic for treating and preventing stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a mysterious ailment that has devastated Florida’s coral reefs since 2014 and is rapidly spreading throughout the Caribbean.
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NewsCorals may punish cheating symbiont algae by cutting off their food supply
Corals may ‘punish’ the algae that live inside them by cutting off their food supply if such algae become selfish and renege on their part of the resource-sharing deal with the coral as part of their symbiosis.
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NewsDisease-resistant corals can rescue their more vulnerable neighbours
Disease-resistant corals can be used to help “rescue” corals that are more vulnerable to disease, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, that monitored a disease outbreak at a coral nursery in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands.