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 …
Recent studies suggest that fears of global warming killing the world's coral reefs may be misplaced. Reef-building corals contain pigmented algae that provide the food for corals in return for shelter. The corals terminate the partnership when there are slight changes in light or temperature. Andrew Baker of the New …
the maximum fine for damaging Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been increased tenfold to us $571,000. Robert Hill, the country's environment minister, said that any vessel polluting or illegally fishing in the marine park would be liable to pay the fine. Penalties for other offences such as picking up corals …
human activities in coastal areas are endangering marshes, estuaries, coral reefs and mangrove forests, warns a new report. "Unless things change very quickly, the world's coastal areas face a bleak future,' says Jonathan Lash, president of the Washington dc -based World Resources Institute ( wri ), which released the report …
the sea squirt, a marine animal that looks like grapes, is being cultured to provide treatment for cancer. It contains ecteinascidin-743, the compound being tested as an anticancer agent. Besides other aquatic regions, the sea squirt is also found in the Indian Ocean. Its population is too small to meet …
a canadian researcher has discovered answer to one of the most crucial environmental challenges facing the world: how to save coral reefs. Ellsworth LeDrew, a geography professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, has devised a mathematical formula that will automatically scan satellite images to uncover changes in coral …
Environmentalists and fisherfolk in Thailand have asked the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation ( fao ) to hold talks with the Thai government regarding the use of pushnet trawlers, which have led to a massive destruction of marine life. The pushnet trawlers have destroyed seagrass and corals, which serve …
FOLLOWING a controversy regarding a permit issued by the wildlife and marine department of American Samoa, a ban on collection and export of live coral and basalt rocks from the Pacific Ocean territory has been issued recently. The industry has risen to the status of a multi-billion dollar enterprise during …
satellite images have revealed the existence of live corals in the Gulf of Kachchh in Gujarat. Discovered by the scientists of the Gujarat Ecological Society ( ges ), the live corals were found at a depth of 25 metres off the northern coast of the Gulf of Kachhch. Coral reefs …
will artificial reefs provide a new ecosystem to the dwindling species of marine lifeforms in the near future? The Loch Linnhe Artificial Reef complex, due to be built in Scotland, may answer this and other important questions about reef ecology. In a unique partnership with the industry, researchers at the …
it is a fight for survival for Southeast Asia's coral fish like groupers and wrasses. With plenty of people more than willing to pay a handsome price for these fish, Chinese restaurants are encouraging fishing to the point of endangering marine life. The World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf) in …
the Centre is putting pressure on the Gujarat government to denotify country's first marine park located in the Gulf of Kachchh and make way for industrialisation. According to reports in newspapers, the pressure has come from prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his advisor Brajesh Mishra. Located in the Gulf …
the Forum for Planned Industrialisation of Kutch has written to the Gujarat government expressing serious concern over the rapid destruction of the environment in the district, particularly its mangrove and coral reefs. These precious natural resources are being threatened by the construction of ports, a thermal power station, salt works …
corals across the world may be getting afflicted by diseases transmitted through the dust coming out of deserts in Africa. Moreover, the dust may also be the reason behind a global rise in respiratory infections. This has been proposed by Dick Barber of the Duke University in Beaumont, North Carolina, …
Losing colourFrom central America to Austrelia, from the 2,000-km Great Barrier Ref to the small, reefs in Pacific islets, bleaching takes the life out of corals the world over Corals, the rainforests of the oceans, are dying. Victims of global warming, scientists say 10 per cent of the Earth's coral …
According to a study conducted by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, us, 1998 was the warmest year in 1,200 years . The rate of warming has also been on the rise since the 1970s, says a National Aeronautics and Space Administration study. This gives many scientists reason to believe that …
In the old days, miners carried canaries with them when they went to the shafts to dig out coal. Canaries were to serve as an indicator for the presence of the toxic methane gas in the mines. When the canaries showed any sign of discomfort, miners were forewarned of the …
India has an estimated 18,000 square kilometres of coral reefs, mainly located around the Lakshwadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Mannar also have small stretches of coral reefs. But all's not well with the underwater paradise in these areas. A study …
THE us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has come out with alarming findings about corals, tiny marine organisms which secrete calcareous shells that combine to form coral reefs. Record-breaking depletion of corals and extremely warm waters occurred throughout the tropics during the first half of 1998, the NOAA announced …
