Related topics: climate change , coral , ocean acidification
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
Coral face 'a stormy future'
Jun 23, 2009 |
4 / 5 (20) |
1
As global warming whips up more powerful and frequent hurricanes and storms, the world's coral reefs face increased disruption to their ability to breed and recover from damage.
Coral reefs found growing in cold, deep ocean
Nov 04, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (18) |
11
Imagine descending in a submarine to the ice-cold, ink-black depths of the ocean, 800 metres under the surface of the Atlantic. Here the tops of the hills are covered in large coral reefs. NIOZ-researcher Furu Mienis studied ...
Loss of coastal seagrass habitat accelerating globally
Jun 29, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (16) |
2
An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first ...
Ocean acidification is accelerating and severe damages are imminent
Jan 30, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (25) |
27
Urgent action is needed to limit damages to marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and fisheries, due to increasing ocean acidity, according to 155 of the world’s scientific experts who will release the Monaco Declaration ...
Modest CO2 cutbacks may be too little, too late for coral reefs
Sep 22, 2008 |
2.7 / 5 (25) |
28
How much carbon dioxide is too much? According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need to be stabilized at levels low enough to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic ...
Extinction by asteroid a rarity: 'Sick Earth' extinctions more likely
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 07, 2008 |
3.7 / 5 (18) |
7
In geology as in cancer research, the silver bullet theory always gets the headlines and nearly always turns out to be wrong.
Global sunscreen won't save corals
Jun 16, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (13) |
1
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 ...
Red Sea coral seen to feed on jellyfish
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
2
(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.
Reef boom beats doom
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
4
(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.
Humans 'damaging the oceans': research
Jul 29, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (10) |
14
Mounting evidence that human activity is changing the world's oceans in profound and damaging ways is outlined in a new scientific discussion paper released today.
New pictures reveal rich Antarctic marine life in area of rapid climate change
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (9) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- New photographs of ice fish, octopus, sea pigs, giant sea spiders, rare rays and beautiful basket stars that live in Antarctica’s continental shelf seas are revealed this week by the British ...
Coral reefs may start dissolving when atmospheric CO2 doubles
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 09, 2009 |
3.2 / 5 (11) |
8
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 ...
Great Barrier Reef under serious threat: report
Sep 02, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (10) |
1
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious jeopardy as global warming and chemical runoff threaten to kill marine species and cause serious outbreaks of disease, a report warned Wednesday.
4 years after tsunami: Corals stage comeback
Dec 29, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (8) |
7
A team of scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has reported a rapid recovery of coral reefs in areas of Indonesia, following the tsunami that devastated coastal regions throughout ...
Scientists find new creatures of Australian deep (Update, Video)
Biology /
Jan 18, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
10
(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.
