Coral reef
hideCoral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms, found in marine waters containing few nutrients. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate. The accumulation of skeletal material, broken and piled up by wave action and bioeroders, produces a calcareous formation that supports the living corals and a great variety of other animal and plant life.
Coral reefs most commonly live in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water corals exist on a much smaller scale.
Globally, coral reefs are under threat from climate change, ocean acidification, overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices. High nutrient levels such as those found in runoff from agricultural areas can harm reefs by encouraging excess algae growth.
For more information about Coral reef, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with coral reefs
Red Sea coral seen to feed on jellyfish
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Corals depends on the products of photosynthetic algae for most of their food, but they also eat tiny plankton. Now, for the first time, there is evidence of a coral eating jellyfish.
Sponges recycle carbon to give life to coral reefs
Nov 13, 2009 |
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Coral reefs support some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they thrive in a marine desert. So how do reefs sustain their thriving populations?
Venomous sea snakes play heads or tails with their predators
Aug 06, 2009 |
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In a deadly game of heads or tails venomous sea snakes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans deceive their predators into believing they have two heads, claims research published today in Marine Ecology.
Caribbean, Gulf spared widespread coral damage
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Lower-than-feared sea temperatures this summer gave a break to fragile coral reefs across the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico that were damaged in recent years, scientists said Thursday.
Australian scientists call for urgent 'global cooling' to save coral reefs
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Australian marine scientists have issued an urgent call for massive and rapid worldwide cuts in carbon emissions, deep enough to prevent atmospheric CO2 levels rising to 450 parts per million (ppm).
Economic crisis drives the mothers of invention
Apr 04, 2009 |
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Crisis is the mother of invention, if one believes the bright sparks behind the gizmos, contraptions, novelties and potions at the international inventions exhibition in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Coral reefs may start dissolving when atmospheric CO2 doubles
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 09, 2009 |
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Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resulting effects on ocean water are making it increasingly difficult for coral reefs to grow, say scientists. A study to be published online March 13, 2009 in ...
New research decodes the secret language of the sea
Jul 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Even parasite-eating fish recognise the benefits of good advertising, UQ research has found.
Acidic oceans could aid photosynthesis
May 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Groundbreaking Victoria University research shows that ocean acidification may have no negative effect on tropical corals and local sea anemones - in fact it may improve photosynthesis.
Reef boom beats doom
Apr 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Marine scientists say they are astonished at the spectacular recovery of certain coral reefs in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from a devastating coral bleaching event in 2006.
Global sunscreen won't save corals
Jun 16, 2009 |
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Emergency plans to counteract global warming by artificially shading the Earth from incoming sunlight might lower the planet's temperature a few degrees, but such "geoengineering" solutions would do little to stop the acidification ...
Scientists find new creatures of Australian deep (Update, Video)
Biology /
Jan 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists said Sunday they had uncovered new marine animals in their search of previously unexplored Australian waters, along with a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt and ocean-dwelling spiders.
Fight to save the 'Amazon of the oceans'
May 10, 2009 |
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With its pleasure boats dipping on the horizon and clustered tourist restaurants, the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan looks little like the edge of a great wilderness.
Coral reefs inspire rare consensus -- just save them
Nov 05, 2009 |
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One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental ...
Studies shed light on collapse of coral reefs (w/Video)
May 28, 2009 |
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An explosion of knowledge has been made in the last few years about the basic biology of corals, researchers say in a new report, helping to explain why coral reefs around the world are collapsing and what ...
