All posts tagged: Reef

How mass bleaching has pushed the Great Barrier Reef to the brink

How mass bleaching has pushed the Great Barrier Reef to the brink

Published by skeptic

Corals can turn white when they expel their symbiotic algae James Woodford One Tree Island isn’t an easy place to get to. Part of the Great Barrier Reef, there is often just one short window each day when the tides are high enough for a small boat to cross the rampart of treacherous coral that surrounds the island. Only then can you reach the remote research station it houses. I was travelling with Selina Ward from the University of Queensland in Brisbane. Like me, she was making the arduous trip to the… Source link

Giant coral reef taller than the Empire State Building discovered in Australia

Giant coral reef taller than the Empire State Building discovered in Australia

Published by skeptic

Newly discovered 500 meter tall detached reef adds to the seven other tall detached reefs in the northern Great Barrier Reef. (CREDIT: Schmidt Ocean Institute) A “massive” new reef has been found in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It’s about 500 meters tall (about 1,600 feet), which is taller than some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Scientists found this big reef for the first time in over 120 years. They were on a boat called the Falkor, doing research in the ocean near North Queensland according to ocean research organization Schmidt Ocean Institute. They found the reef while they were mapping the bottom of the ocean in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. At 500 meters high, it is taller than the Empire State Building (381 meters to the top floor), the Sydney Tower (305 meters) and the Petronas Twin Towers (451.9 meters.) Using an underwater robot named SuBastian, the team explored the reef, and live streamed footage of the exploration. Experts say that the base of the “blade-like” reef measures 1.5 …

Scientists Are Tinkering With Clouds to Save the Great Barrier Reef

Scientists Are Tinkering With Clouds to Save the Great Barrier Reef

Published by skeptic

It’s a sweltering summer in Australia, and the corals on the Great Barrier Reef are showing early signs of stress. The authority that manages the largest coral reef system in the world is expecting another bleaching event in the coming weeks—if that happens, it will be the sixth time since 1998 that spikes in water temperatures wipe out swathes of corals that are home to countless marine animals. Three of these bleaching events, which make corals more susceptible to disease and death, have happened in the last six years alone. When corals experience extreme and prolonged heat stress, they expel the algae living in their tissues and turn completely white. This can have devastating impacts on the thousands of fish, crabs and other marine species that rely on the reefs for refuge and food. To slow the rate at which ocean warming is bleaching the coral, some scientists are looking to the skies for a solution. Specifically, they’re looking at clouds. Clouds bring more than just rain or snow. During the day, like massive parasols, …

Coral Reefs Coaxed Back to Life by Playing Happy Reef Sounds on Underwater Speakers

Coral Reefs Coaxed Back to Life by Playing Happy Reef Sounds on Underwater Speakers

Published by skeptic

Researchers have found that playing the sounds of happy corals through underwater speakers could allow degrading coral reefs to regain lost vitality. A team of scientists played recordings of healthy corals to a struggling reef off the coast of the US Virgin Islands, The Guardian reports, finding that coral larvae were up to seven times more likely to settle there afterward. “We’re hoping this may be something we can combine with other efforts to put the good stuff back on the reef,” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts researcher Nadège Aoki, lead author of a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, told the British newspaper. “You could leave a speaker out for a certain amount of time and it could be attracting not just coral larvae but fish back to the reef.” According to a 2021 study, the world’s coral reef cover had approximately halved since the 1950s, with the diversity of species on reefs dropping by more than 60 percent — the result of a lethal mix of the effects of climate …

Steel Frame Brings Completely Dead Coral Reef Back to Life

Steel Frame Brings Completely Dead Coral Reef Back to Life

Published by skeptic

Hope is found at the bottom of the ocean. Reefer Madness A dead coral reef, destroyed years ago by fishermen, has been brought back to life after scientists installed specially-made steel frames into the sea floor and coaxed transplanted coral to grow and flourish on these metallic skeletons. The scientists were able to restore the coral reef in just four years, which points to the wonderful possibility that coral reefs, facing death and destruction from climate change and manmade trouble, can be restored even after catastrophic damage. The team of scientists from Indonesia and the United Kingdom detailed the findings of their project, located off the coast of Indonesia in the South Sulawesi province, in a new paper published in the journal Current Biology. The study was performed at the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Program, a large scale effort to restore reefs destroyed by fishermen who used explosives to kill and capture fish from 30 to 40 years ago. The researchers took “reef stars,” which are locally-fabricated hexagonal structures made of steel and coated with sand, …

Healthy reef soundscapes can help degraded coral reefs grow

Healthy reef soundscapes can help degraded coral reefs grow

Published by skeptic

Healthy reefs are known as  vibrant homes for colorful corals and fish.. As with any bustling ecosystem, they have their own sounds and can be quite noisy. The purrs, croaks, and grunts of fish and crustaceans that live there and the sounds of healthy coral growing can echo through the water. Larval animals may use some of this sound to help them determine where to put down roots or when it’s time to grow. Broadcasting these healthy coral reef sounds may encourage coral larvae to recolonize degraded or damaged coral reefs. The findings are detailed in a study published March 13 in the journal Royal Society Open Science. One shot to settle down As adults, corals are immobile. Their larval stage is their only chance to move around and find that perfect habitat. They swim or drift with the currents to  find the right conditions to settle down and then anchor themselves to the seabed. Earlier studies have shown that chemical and light cues can help influence that decision, but this new work looked at …

New marine discovery could help scientists stave off coral reef collapse

New marine discovery could help scientists stave off coral reef collapse

Published by skeptic

Coral reefs, those magnificent underwater structures teeming with life, are facing a dire threat as our oceans warm and become more acidic. (CREDIT: Creative Commons) Coral reefs, those magnificent underwater structures teeming with life, are facing a dire threat. As our oceans warm and become more acidic, the very skeletons of these reefs, crafted over millennia by tiny creatures resembling jellyfish, are in danger of dissolving away. The implications are vast, with coral reefs providing crucial economic benefits globally. In response, scientists are racing to find solutions to prevent this collapse, but they face a significant obstacle: the difficulty of studying delicate coral polyps in laboratory settings. However, a breakthrough has emerged from the University of Florida that could offer a glimmer of hope for these imperiled ecosystems. Researchers at the university’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience have achieved a milestone by replicating the initial stages of coral skeleton formation in a common sea anemone. Stony corals like these are at risk in a changing climate, but are difficult to study in the lab. An …

Sandy ‘Reef Stars’ help bring life back to coral reefs hurt by dynamite fishing

Sandy ‘Reef Stars’ help bring life back to coral reefs hurt by dynamite fishing

Published by skeptic

As ocean temperatures continue to soar, the world’s coral reefs all over the world are in danger from climate change, disease, and destructive human activities. In response, scientists are testing various ways to help, from intentionally bleaching them to preserve fragments to coloring their larvae to study reproduction, and transplanting coral fragments to regrow damaged reefs.  According to a study published March 8 in the journal Current Biology, planting new coral in some degraded reefs can help it grow just as quickly as healthy reefs after only four years. The study was conducted at the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, one of the biggest reef restoration projects in the world. [Related: World’s largest known deep-sea coral reef is bigger than Vermont.] “Large areas of reefs in South Sulawesi have been destroyed by destructive dynamite fishing 30 to 40 years ago,” Ines D. Lange, a study co-author and marine biologist at the University of Exeter, tells PopSci. “The degraded areas have not recovered since, as loose coral fragments rolling around on the …

Mass coral bleaching event underway at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Mass coral bleaching event underway at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Published by Sam

A “mass bleaching event” is unfolding on Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef, authorities said Friday, as warming seas threaten the spectacular home to thousands of marine species. Issued on: 08/03/2024 – 02:19Modified: 08/03/2024 – 03:40 3 min Often dubbed the world’s largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300 kilometre (1,400 mile) expanse of tropical corals that house a stunning array of biodiversity. But repeated mass bleaching events have threatened to rob the tourist drawcard of its wonder, turning banks of once-vibrant corals into a sickly shade of white. “We know the biggest threat to coral reefs worldwide is climate change. The Great Barrier Reef is no exception,” Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement. “We need to act on climate change. We need to protect our special places and the plants and animals that call them home.” The damaging mass bleaching event — the seventh since 1998 — was confirmed by government scientists following aerial surveys of 300 shallow reefs. The Australian Reef Authority said it would now need to conduct …

Australia ‘on track’ with climate targets needed to protect Great Barrier Reef, Labor tells Unesco | Great Barrier Reef

Australia ‘on track’ with climate targets needed to protect Great Barrier Reef, Labor tells Unesco | Great Barrier Reef

Published by skeptic

The Albanese government has claimed it is “on track” to have national climate targets that would be in line with keeping global heating to 1.5C in a report to Unesco on efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef. The federal and Queensland governments are trying to convince Unesco not to recommend the world’s biggest coral reef system be placed on a list of world heritage sites in danger – with a decision due at a meeting in India in July. Last year Unesco’s 21-country world heritage committee followed recommendations from Unesco that Australia should submit a report by 1 February that would review progress against a list of concerns, including action on improving water quality, sustainable fishing and climate change. Across 21 commitments previously made to Unesco to keep the reef off the world heritage “in danger” list, Australia was “on track” with 10, had completed nine and two more were “in progress”, the government’s report said. On climate change, the world heritage committee had said Australia needed to strengthen its cornerstone Reef 2050 plan …