Coral reefs have exceptional levels of biodiversity and provide important social and ecological services, including food, coastal protection, recreation, tourism, and cultural connections. However, local stressors and climate change are causing a sharp decline in coral reefs and the more than 230 international agreements with coral reef provisions have failed …
Scientists from the Geoscience Australia expedition have discovered an uncharted 120-square kilometre (sq km) coral reef in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria. The reef is so far said to have escaped notice because of its remote location and due to the fact that a large portion of it lies about 20 …
it is widely believed that coral bleaching is an epidemic which may soon kill half the world's reefs as climate change raises sea temperatures. What has been recently found is that some bleaching may actually be an infectious disease spread by a worm. Israeli scientists say they have studied a …
every other day, one comes across studies that are testimony to corals dying across the world. Most of us do not bother to ponder over the implications of this loss, thinking that corals are mere
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is facing a different kind of danger. Runoffs from the sugarcane fields along the 2,000-kilometre-long coastal strip that runs parallel to the reef are said to increase soil acidity in the area, a problem serious enough to rival the better-known blight of dryland salinity. Highlighting this, …
with sea temperatures increasing, the world's coral reefs are once again facing threat as shown by intensive bleaching. Data from a new information system, called ReefBase, shows that 2002 is the second worst year for coral bleaching after 1998, when a very strong episode of the El Ni
A new enemy may be threatening Australia's Great Barrier Reef. A condition scientists are calling white syndrome was found on 33 of 48 reefs surveyed in the national marine park, said Australian Institute of Marine Science ecologist Cathie Page. The syndrome, which leaves white marks where it has killed living …
NI ARK (1984-2001) New Internationalists Publications . Oxford . 2002 In a deluge of suspect information you need the New Internationalist Ark (NI Ark) to keep you afloat. And this special NI Archive covers back issues of the New Internationalist magazine, from January 1984 to December 2001. That's more than …
climate change is triggering widespread outbreaks of diseases among wildlife along with spreading tropical diseases in human habitations previously unaffected by them. These were the findings of a comprehensive two-year study conducted by National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (nceas), a California-based research institute. The study is the first …
scientists have discovered the fossilised remains of a marine animal, perhaps a sponge or coral, which they say lived nearly 550 million years ago. The creature's hard, shelly parts are far more complex than anything else found from this time. It gives researchers an insight into a period of Earth …
an epidemic of coral bleaching has adversely affected Australia's Great Barrier Reef for the second time in four years. This was revealed during a survey recently carried out by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The epidemic is also fast spreading to the islands of the South Pacific. Coral bleaching …
Pollution is not only directly affecting coral reefs, but is indirectly also making life difficult for them. Sunlight is essential for coral reefs. Symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae living in the corals photosynthesise to produce carbohydrates and oxygen that the corals use to make reef-building calcium carbonate. If waters become less …
salt is destroying Australia's waterways and agricultural zones, says a recent study conducted by a committee of more than 100 scientists, government agencies and private sector groups. The report highlights the growing damage to the nation's coral reefs, vegetation loss and increased greenhouse gas emissions. One major cause is the …
The most detailed analysis of coral reefs in Southeast Asia indicates that threats to the world's most important and extensive reef system are much higher than what was estimated in 1998. A team of international scientists has estimated that 88 per cent of Southeast Asia's reefs are severely threatened by …
On july 11, 2001, fisherfolk across the country were thrown in at the deep end when the Union ministry of environment and forests (mef) announced a blanket ban on the catching, processing, stocking and sale of 60 types of sea creatures. These included the entire sub-class of elasmobranches (sharks, rays …
The Caribbean island of Mustique, which lost corals due to climate change and pollution, is about to get them back. Alan Lowe and his Dominica-based Applied Marine Technologies Limited crew have attached 1,200 cultivated pieces of 15 species of coral in Mustique's concrete domes sunk near the ruined reefs. They …
The number of coral reefs in the world is far less than what scientists had believed. They are also shrinking fast due to pollution, climate change and fishing. This was revealed during the most comprehensive mapping of the corals done by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The mapping showed …
the biggest coral structure in the world might be threatened very soon. The Australian government has left the option of future oil drilling open near the Great Barrier Reef. tgs nopec Geophysical, a Houston-based multinational company, has recently proposed to carry out exploration for oil near the world heritage area …
