News tagged with barrier reef

Sea cucumbers could be key to preserving coral reefs

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tropical sea cucumbers could play a key role in saving coral reefs from the devastating effects of climate change, say scientists at One Tree Island, the University of Sydney's research station ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Capturing an octopus-eye view of the Great Barrier Reef

A specialized camera that allows scientists to see as reef-dwelling animals do has been built by a team of researchers at the University of Bristol. The team will travel to Lizard Island off the coast of Queensland this year ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Great Barrier Reef hopes on ice in Aussie Outback

The arid plains fringing Australia's desert centre are more suited to camels than blooms of coral but here, hundreds of miles from the coast, a piece of the Great Barrier Reef has been put on ice.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Sea cucumbers: Dissolving coral reefs?

Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research led by Carnegie's ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Australia plans world's largest marine reserve

The Australian government has said it plans to establish the world's biggest marine protection zone to safeguard a huge swathe of the Coral Sea, a biodiversity hotspot brimming with life.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 25, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Corals can sense what's coming

Australian scientists have thrown new light on the mechanism behind the mass death of corals worldwide as the Earth's climate warms.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2

Seven natural wonders of the world set to be unveiled

The Dead Sea, Vietnam's Halong Bay and Australia's Great Barrier Reef are among 28 contenders to be crowned among the world's new seven wonders of nature on Friday.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 11, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 8

Rare white whale calf spotted off Australia

An extremely rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia's Great Barrier Reef in an event witnesses described Thursday as a "once in a lifetime experience".

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Video shows tool use by a fish

The first video of tool use by a fish has been published in the journal Coral Reefs by Giacomo Bernardi, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 28, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Sharks in Australia's Great Barrier Reef in decline

Sharks inhabiting Australia's Great Barrier Reef are in decline due to over fishing, researchers warned, after developing what they said was a new way to measure falling numbers.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 28, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cheers as Australia's carbon tax hits parliament

Cheers erupted in Australia's Parliament House after Prime Minister Julia Gillard presented her bill for a new pollution tax she hopes will help counter climate change.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 13, 2011 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (14) | comments 33

Coral rehab finding offers hope for Great Barrier Reef

Coral ecosystems cope much better than was first thought when the reef habitat is fragmented, a new study has found, meaning that efforts to restore even small parts of the damaged Great Barrier Reef could ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Tropical coral could be used to create novel sunscreens for human use, say scientists

Researchers at King's College London have discovered how coral produces natural sunscreen compounds to protect itself from damaging UV rays, leading scientists to believe these compounds could form the basis ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Limited iron availability shown to exacerbate coral bleaching

(PhysOrg.com) -- It is widely held that coral bleaching occurs when temperatures and solar radiation are high, overwhelming antioxidant defenses in the algal endosymbionts and their coral hosts. Little understood ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 26, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Australia's Coral Sea is 'biodiversity hotspot'

The Coral Sea off Australia's northeast coast is one of the last remaining places brimming with large predatory fish such as sharks and tuna, a study released Saturday found.

Biology / Ecology

created Aug 20, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0