Latest News about coral reefs

At Night, Coral Shift How They Grow Skeletons

Joe — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:38:11 -0600

Author: Caron Lett-York
Source: Futirity.org
November 1, 2013

As threats to coral reefs grow, scientists are taking a nanoscale look at how they form skeletons.

Coral produce limestone-calcium carbonate-skeletons that build up over time into vast reefs. The skeleton's role is to help the living biofilm move towards light and nutrients.

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Eilat Corals Show Unique Resistance To Cause Of Deterioration

Joe — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 00:00:00 -0600

Source: Jerusalem Post
Author: Sharon Udasin
September 22, 2013

The vibrantly colored coral reefs of the northern Red Sea are unlikely to fall victim to the deteriorative process called coral bleaching that plagues so many other reefs around the globe, Israeli researchers have found.

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Experts: Matson Molasses Spill Caused Significant Coral Reef Damage

Joe — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 00:00:00 -0600

Source: Hawai'i News Now
Author: Mileka Lincoln
September 13, 2013

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow)-Four days after a faulty Matson pipe discharged 233,000 gallons of molasses into the waters at Honolulu Harbor, marine biologists say the environmental disaster is causing significant damage to the coral reef.

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Shark Attack Victim Fights For Predator

Joe — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 15:41:32 -0600

Source: Fiji Times Online
September 2, 2013

THE sun beat down on Florida's Canaveral National Seashore, a quiet beach untouched by condos or civilisation - just the way Debbie Salamone liked it.

The then-38-year-old, who lived on the coast as a teenager, waded into the water one August afternoon in 2004, floating on her back and jumping in the swells with a friend who enjoyed the waves nearby.

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Fish Species Losing Homes As Sea Anemones Suffer From Bleaching

Joe — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 00:00:00 -0600

Source: redOrbit
Author: Brett Smith
August 20, 2013

Marine biologists have been warning recently about the dangers of coral bleaching and new research from a team of international scientists indicates sea anemones are also susceptible to the color-sapping phenomenon that is thought to result from death of sea creatures' symbiotic algae.

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On Bonaire, Hunting the Ocean-Killing Lionfish

Joe — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 17:51:26 -0600

Author: Carolyne Zinko
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
August 14, 2013

Shark Defenders Say There's No Sustainable Fin Source

Joe — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 17:25:16 -0600

Author: Tevita Vuibau
Source: The Fiji Times
August 12, 2013

THERE are no sustainable sources of shark fins and the transportation of them whether by land or air must stop.
That's the assertion of the Coral Reef Alliance and the Pew Environment Group and it is supported by very convincing evidence.

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Is Hong Kong Finally Souring on Shark Fin Soup?

Joe — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:43:01 -0600

Author: David Kirby
Source: Yahoo! News/Takepart.com
Juy 19, 2013

A Coral Symbiont Genome Decoded for First Time

Joe — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:20:28 -0600

Source: Phys.org
Jul. 12, 2013

Shark Finning Banned By EU

Joe — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:25:24 -0600

Source: The Inquisitr
July 13, 2013

Immunity May Come from Corals

Joe — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 14:36:29 -0600

Source: Science Alert
July 1, 2013

FWC's Lionfish Changes Cause Confusion

Joe — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:36:29 -0600

Author: Rick Ritter
Source: ABC 7
June 12, 2013

COLLIER COUNTY -Big changes have been made for anglers and divers across the state that target lionfish. FWC will lift the limit on how many of the invasive species people can catch or kill.

More than 20-miles off the coast of Collier County, Naples diver Bill D'Antuono found exactly what he was looking for - lionfish.

"They're out there and on every type of structure too," said D'Antuono, with SCUBAdventures in Naples.

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US Navy Ship Removed from Philippine Reef; US to be Fined for Damage to World Heritage Site

Joe — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:47:43 -0600

Source: The Washington Post
March 31, 2013

MANILA, Philippines — Workers in the southwestern Philippines have removed the last major part of a U.S. Navy minesweeper from a protected coral reef where it ran aground in January, and the damage will be assessed to determine the fine Washington will pay, officials said Sunday.

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Coral Reef Severely Damaged off Palm Beach County: State Divers Assess Damage to Sponges and Coral

Joe — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:59:58 -0600

Author: Marissa Bagg
Source: WPTV
March 21, 2013

LAKE WORTH INLET, Fla. - State divers are trying to solve an environmental mystery. How did a three mile stretch of coral reef get heavily damaged, and who is to blame?

Van Blakeman dives into the waters near Palm Beach County almost daily. What he saw 45 feet below the surface broke his heart.

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Sharks, Manta Rays Win Global Trade Protection

Joe — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:51:42 -0600

Source: SBS World News
March 12, 2013

Several shark species and the manta ray won international trade protection in a move hailed by conservationists as a breakthrough in efforts to save them from being wiped out by overfishing.

The deal at a major wildlife conference in Bangkok marked a rare victory in the fight by environmentalists to reverse a slump in populations of sharks -- the world's oldest predator -- due to rampant demand for its fins.

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Fidgeting Clownfish Benefit Anemones

Joe — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:18:47 -0700

Author: Ella Davies
Source: BBC Nature News
February 28, 2013

The relationship between the reef animals is well known, with the fish hiding in the anemone's stinging tentacles to avoid predators.

But US researchers have discovered the anemones also benefit from the night-time presence of the fidgety fish.

As clownfish move around, they boost water flow over the anemone and increase its oxygen consumption.

The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

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'Blood Test' for Coral Reefs

Joe — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:42:10 -0700

Source: Science Alert
February 27, 2013

Using a world-first scientific discovery, Australian researchers are developing a stress-test for coral, to measure how coral reefs are being impacted by pressures from climate change and human activity.

The scientists have found hemoglobin genes in the microalgae which live symbiotically with coral, which may provide a readout on how stressed a particular coral is – and how likely it is to bleach and die.

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Salvage Crews Break Up US Ship in Philippines

Joe — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:12:48 -0700

Source: Gulf Times
February 27, 2013

Salvage teams have begun cutting up a US Navy ship stranded on a UN World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines in a process that could take almost month, the coastguard said yesterday.

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Scientists Create New Maps Depicting Potential Worldwide Coral Bleaching By 2056

Joe — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:33:25 -0700

Source: UnderwaterTimes.com
February 25, 2012

MIAMI, Florida -- In a study published today in Nature Climate Change researchers used the latest emissions scenarios and climate models to show how varying levels of carbon emissions are likely to result in more frequent and severe coral bleaching events.

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Animal Attraction: Texas Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban Trade in Shark Fins

Joe — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:57:10 -0700

Author: Stacy Fox
Source: KHOU.com
February 18, 2013

The Humane Society of the United States and Shark Stewards praises Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-District 38, and Sen. Larry Taylor, R-District 11, for introducing H.B.852/S.B 572 to prohibit the sale, trade, purchase and transportation of shark fins in Texas. The market for shark fins fuels the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning, which is banned in the waters off of the United States but remains unregulated in many parts of the world.

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