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 …
The National Biodiversity Authority will come out with targets for protecting the diversity of living organisms in time for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in India in October, according to its Chairman, Dr Balakrishna Pisupati. The Authority is consulting with the Ministry of Environment, non-government …
In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years. The study was led by researchers at the University of Melbourne and used a range of natural indicators including …
The earthquake and tsunami of 2004 resulted in the devastation of marine and coastal ecosystems across the Indian Ocean. However, without adequate baseline information it has been difficult to properly gauge its full impact. The reefs of the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal lie on a path that …
A substantial proportion of the world's living species, including one-third of the reef-building corals, are threatened with extinction and in pressing need of conservation action. In order to reduce biodiversity loss, it is important to consider species' contribution to evolutionary diversity along with their risk of extinction for the purpose …
Coral bleaching is the breakdown of symbiosis between coral animal hosts and their dinoflagellate algae symbionts in response to environmental stress. On large spatial scales, heat stress is the most common factor causing bleaching, which is predicted to increase in frequency and severity as the climate warms. There is evidence …
PARIS: Greenhouse gases are on track for inflicting costs of nearly $2 trillion annually in damage to the oceans by 2100, according to a Swedish study published on Wednesday. The estimate by the Stockholm Environment Institute is based on the assumption that climate-altering carbon emissions continue their upward spiral without …
Washington: The world’s oceans are turning acidic at what could be the fastest pace of any time in the past 300 million years, even more rapidly than during a monster emission of planet-warming carbon 56 million years ago, scientists have said. Looking back at this warm period in Earth’s history …
Australia's rapid expansion of coal ports in the next decade will threaten the Great Barrier Reef as increased ship traffic, port infrastructure and dredging put pressure on the world's largest coral reef, Greenpeace said on Thursday. Coal is one of Australia's top export earners, and the Great Barrier Reef sits …
The world's oceans are turning acidic at what could be the fastest pace of any time in the past 300 million years, even more rapidly than during a monster emission of planet-warming carbon 56 million years ago, scientists said on Thursday. Looking back at this bygone warm period in Earth's …
Whereas, The total area of 326.26 square kilometer around Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary has been identified as eco-sensitive zone, of which 208.58 square kilometer is the area towards landward side, 105.14 square kilometer towards sea and 12.53 square kilometer is the area covered by rivers. The Marine Sanctuary …
A retired Army officer has been remanded in 14-day judicial custody after he was arrested for illegal sale of endangered coral and marine species. Police said K N Bindra had a shop in DLF Phase IV market. He was arrested after members of NGO People for Animals (PFA) posed as …
The Wetland ecosystem in India is spread over a wide range of varied climatic conditions, from the wetlands in cold Jammu and Kashmir to hot and humid conditions in Peninsular India; thus there is a great diversity of these wetlands. Many of these wetlands are unique with respect to biodiversity, …
Australian scientists claim to have finally unravelled the mystery behind the mass death of corals worldwide as the Earth’s climate warms — upon sea water warming, corals send a signal to their infected cells to commit “suicide”, allowing the safe cells to recover quickly. A team from the ARC Centre …
ELKHORN coral looks just like elk antlers. With its complex, large branches, this important reef-building coral in the Caribbean is haven to numerous reef species. But, not any more. The Caribbean has lost 90 per cent of the coral in 15 years. Apart from human activity and warming of seas, …
Sustainably managing ecosystems is challenging, especially for complex systems such as coral reefs. This study develops critical reference points for sustainable management by using a large empirical dataset on the coral reefs of the western Indian Ocean to investigate associations between levels of target fish biomass (as an indicator of …
Sustainably managing ecosystems is challenging, especially for complex systems such as coral reefs. This study develops critical reference points for sustainable management by using a large empirical dataset on the coral reefs of the western Indian Ocean to investigate associations between levels of target fish biomass (as an indicator of …
Coral reef ecosystems are declining worldwide, yet regional differences in the trajectories, timing and extent of degradation highlight the need for in-depth regional case studies to understand the factors that contribute to either ecosystem sustainability or decline. We reconstructed social-ecological interactions in Hawaiian coral reef environments over 700 years using …
Middle and South Andaman Islands have a fairly good fringing reef ecosystem, particularly the North Bay, Chidiyatappu, Ross and Havelock Islands. These reefs are dominated by Porites lutea, Porites nigrescens and Acropora spp. The appearance of corals or part of them in white (bleaching) is known to be associated with …
Climate change scenarios suggest an increase in tropical ocean temperature by 1–3°C by 2099, potentially killing many coral reefs. But Arabian/Persian Gulf corals already exist in this future thermal environment predicted for most tropical reefs and survived severe bleaching in 2010, one of the hottest years on record. Exposure to …
A human fecal bacterium kills coral, new research shows, and U.S. scientists say this is a warning to Florida and the Caribbean to protect prized reefs from sewage or face a threat to a key pillar of their tourism. In an article published on Wednesday in the PLoS ONE scientific …
