Coral Reefs News

April 23, 2024

Top Headlines

Coral Reef Microbes Point to New Way to Assess Ecosystem Health

Apr. 16, 2024 — A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems, which can be used to assess ecosystem ...

eDNA Methods Give a Real-Time Look at Coral Reef Health

Apr. 5, 2024 — The study underscores the crucial role of microbes in maintaining coral reef health, akin to the human gut microbiome. Hurricanes and disease outbreaks affect coral reef water microbial communities, leading to changes that may support further reef ...

Going 'Back to the Future' to Forecast the Fate of a Dead Florida Coral Reef

Mar. 28, 2024 — How coral populations expand into new areas and sustain themselves over time is limited by the scope of modern observations. Going back thousands of years, a study provides geological insights into ...

Artificial Reef Designed by MIT Engineers Could Protect Marine Life, Reduce Storm Damage

Mar. 27, 2024 — Engineers designed an 'architected' reef that can mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs while providing pockets for marine life. The sustainable and cost-saving structure could dissipate ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:54pm EDT

Tropical Coral-Infecting Parasites Discovered in Cold Marine Ecosystems

Apr. 11, 2024 — Parasites thought only to infect tropical coral reefs have been discovered in a large variety of creatures in cold marine ecosystems along the Northeast Pacific, according to new ...

Deep Parts of Great Barrier Reef 'Insulated' from Global Warming -- For Now

Apr. 8, 2024 — Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves -- but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new ...

Severe Hurricanes Boost Influx of Juveniles and Gene Flow in a Coral Reef Sponge

Mar. 26, 2024 — A study is the first to evaluate substrate recolonization by sponges in the U.S. Virgin Islands after two catastrophic storms using genetic analyses ...

Virtual Reality Better Than Video for Evoking Fear, Spurring Climate Action

Mar. 18, 2024 — Depicting worst-case climate scenarios like expanding deserts and dying coral reefs may better motivate people to support environmental policies when delivered via virtual reality, according to a ...

A Wetter World Recorded in Australian Coral Colony

Mar. 18, 2024 — When climate scientists look to the future to determine what the effects of climate change may be, they use computer models to simulate potential outcomes such as how precipitation will change in a ...

History Repeats as Coral Bay Faces Mass Loss of Coral and Fish Life

Mar. 12, 2024 — A perfect storm of environmental factors has seen a monumental loss of fish and coral life at a popular area of Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia's Gascoyne region -- however research into the event ...

Sonic Youth: Healthy Reef Sounds Increase Coral Settlement

Mar. 13, 2024 — Healthy coral reefs have rich soundscapes, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp. Larval coral uses these sounds as cues to identify the best ...

A Coral Superhighway in the Indian Ocean

Mar. 12, 2024 — Despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometers, new research has revealed that remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related. Using genetic analyses and ...

New Technique May Help Scientists Stave Off Coral Reef Collapse

Mar. 7, 2024 — Producing coral skeleton components in the easy-to-use soft-bodied sea anemone Nematostella creates a perfect lab system for studying, and eventually helping, corals threatened by a changing ...

Microbes Impact Coral Bleaching Susceptibility

Mar. 6, 2024 — A new study provides insights into the role of microbes and their interaction as drivers of interspecific differences in coral thermal ...

Good News for Coral Reef Restoration Efforts: Study Finds 'Full Recovery' of Reef Growth Within Four Years

Mar. 8, 2024 — While the majority of the world's reefs are now under threat or even damaged potentially beyond repair, a new study offers some encouraging news: efforts to restore coral reefs not only increase ...

Marine Algae Implants Could Boost Crop Yields

Mar. 6, 2024 — 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 ...

Artificial Reefs Help Preserve Coral Reefs by Shifting Divers Away from the Natural Ones, According to New Long-Term Study of One in Eilat

Feb. 20, 2024 — Divers are essentially tourists who love coral reefs and invest a lot of time and effort to watch them. Unfortunately, divers also cause damage to corals, often unintentionally, through disturbing ...

Diving Deeper Into Our Oceans: Underwater Drones Open New Doors for Global Coral Reef Research

Feb. 15, 2024 — Scientists take innovation in coral e-DNA monitoring to the next ...

Cold-Water Coral Traps Itself on Mountains in the Deep Sea

Feb. 14, 2024 — Corals searching for food in the cold and dark waters of the deep sea are building higher and higher mountains to get closer to the source of their food. But in doing so, they may find themselves ...

Satellites Unveil the Size and Nature of the World's Coral Reefs

Feb. 13, 2024 — New research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ...

Compounds Released by Bleaching Reefs Promote Bacteria, Potentially Stressing Coral Further

Feb. 13, 2024 — New research revealed that when coral bleaching occurs, corals release unique organic compounds into the surrounding water that not only promote bacterial growth overall, but select for opportunistic ...

Industrial Pollution Leaves Its Mark in Mediterranean Corals

Feb. 8, 2024 — For the first time, pollutants from burning fossil fuels have been found embedded in corals, offering scientists a potential new tool to track the history of pollution, finds a new ...

In Hot Water: Coral Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

Jan. 10, 2024 — Researchers have been studying the effects of climate change on coral reefs. Monitoring two coral species off the coast of Hawaii, one team found that local adaptations in response to near-severe ...

Protecting Coral 'Nurseries' as Important as Safeguarding Established Coral Reefs

Jan. 8, 2024 — New research in the southwestern part of Hawai'i Island shows that identifying and protecting marine ecosystems both down-current and up-current of coral reefs, specifically areas where coral ...

Some Coral Species Might Be More Resilient to Climate Change Than Previously Thought

Dec. 18, 2023 — Some coral species can be resilient to marine heat waves by 'remembering' how they lived through previous ones, research ...

Coral Atoll Islands May Outpace Sea-Level Rise With Local Ecological Restoration, Scientists Say

Dec. 18, 2023 — Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous ...

Coral Reefs in Peril from Record-Breaking Ocean Heat

Dec. 8, 2023 — Record breaking marine heatwaves will cause devastating mass coral bleaching worldwide in the next few years, according to a coral reef ...

First Global Estimate of Marine Aquarium Trade to Encourage Sustainable Practices

Dec. 7, 2023 — New research estimates 55 million marine organisms worth $2.15bn are sold in the marine aquarium trade each year, making it as valuable as global fisheries such as ...

Feathered Friends Can Become Unlikely Helpers for Tropical Coral Reefs Facing Climate Change Threat

Dec. 6, 2023 — Tropical coral reefs are among our most spectacular ecosystems, yet a rapidly warming planet threatens the future survival of many reefs. However, there may be hope for some tropical reefs in the ...

Study Identifies Key Algae Species Helping Soft Corals Survive Warming Oceans

Nov. 30, 2023 — During a two-year survey of soft corals in the Florida Keys, scientists identified three species of octocorals that have survived heat waves. While the coral animal itself may be heat tolerant, ...

Predicting the Fate of Shallow Coastal Ecosystems for the Year 2100

Nov. 22, 2023 — A new study of shallow-water ecosystems estimates that, by 2100, climate change and coastal land usage could result in significant shrinkage of coral habitats, tidal marshes, and mangroves, while ...

Heat Tolerant Coral May Trade Fast Growth for Resilience

Nov. 17, 2023 — Algae living within the soft tissue of coral supply much of the energy needed by their hosts, and some symbiotic algae help coral withstand warmer water better than others. Researchers have now found ...

Climate Change Effects Hit Marine Ecosystems in Multiple Waves, According to Marine Ecologists

Nov. 16, 2023 — A new approach to examining the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems may provide a more accurate understanding of climate change responses -- and predictions for future consequences -- ...

New Scientific Study Reveals the Crucial Role of Herbivorous Fishes and Sea Urchins in Restoring Caribbean Coral Reefs

Nov. 15, 2023 — A new study presents crucial findings on the feeding preferences of herbivorous fishes and the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in Little Cayman. The study sheds new light on the dynamics of these ...