Pollution Killing World’s Coral Reefs

The CSS said scientists have long needed a comprehensive record of barrier reefs the state of the world’s reefs. Up to now it was not possible to do that on a massive scale, the researchers said The free Catlin Global Reef Record involves a range of images captured from the CSS’s huge survey operation HOW THEY DID IT To create the amazing underwater images, the Caitlin survey developed specially designed tablet-operated underwater cameras. Complete with their own propulsion system, the images are captured through a spherical camera housing that allows continuous high-resolution, 360-degree panoramic imagery to be collected as divers steer through the reefs. Each image is geo-located, with automated technologies for rapidly assessing the amount of coral cover and other life forms site web But today the free-to-access Catlin Global Reef Record has gone live. It involves a range of images captured from the CSS’s huge survey operation. The record builds on a partnerships with Google Street View last year which aimed to provide a comprehensive record of the Great Barrier Reef.

Credit: Reuters/Mexican Center for Environmental Right/Handout By Jason Lange CANCUN, Mexico | Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:08am EDT CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) – Dainty blue fish dart around coral shaped like moose antlers near the Mexican resort of Cancun, but sickly brown spots are appearing where pollution threatens one of the world’s largest reefs. Parts of the reef, nestled in turquoise waters, have died and algae — which feed on sewage residues flowing out of the fast-growing resort city — has taken over. Coral reefs like Chitales, near the northern tip of a Caribbean reef chain stretching from Mexico to Honduras, are dying around the world as people and cities put more stress on the environment. Climate change alone could trigger a global coral die-off by 2100 because carbon emissions warm oceans and make them more acidic, according to a study published in December.

Thousands File Objections To Eilat Hotel Over Possible Coral Reef Damage

The decline of modern reefs due to natural and human-influenced changes also could be detrimental, causing a probable decrease in the biodiversity of crustaceans, which serve as a vital food source for marine animals and people. Related Articles On Futurity Extinction ‘bubble’ predicts eco-meltdown We estimate that earths decapod crustacean species biodiversity plummeted by more than 50 percent during a sharp decline of reefs nearly 150 million years ago, which was marked by the extinction of 80 percent of crabs, says Adiel Klompmaker, a postdoctoral researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. If reefs continue to decline at the current rate during this century, then a few thousand species of decapods are in real danger. They may adapt to a new environment without reefs, migrate to entirely new environments or, more likely, go extinct. Some scientists predict as much as 20 percent of the worlds http://antoniamrpe.tumblr.com/post/61870239766/ocean-twp-gets-new-police-chaplain-lieutenants reefs may collapse within 40 years, with a much higher percentage affected by the end of the century due to natural and human-influenced changes such as ocean acidification, diseases, and coral bleaching. Researchers created a database of fossils from the http://morganmewq.tumblr.com/post/62118932665/developing-a-lexicon-for-ocean-preservation Mesozoic Era, 252 million to 66 million years ago, from literature records based on museum specimens worldwide, including 110 families, 378 genera, and 1,298 species.

‘White Widow’ sought in Kenya (Reuters) 6:37 PM

Shark Overfishing Harms Coral Reefs: Food Chain Impacts

“The reefs provided us with a unique opportunity to isolate the impact of overfishing of sharks on reef resilience, and assess that impact coral reefs in the broader context of climate change pressures threatening coral reefs,” said Jonathan Ruppert, one of the researchers, in a news different types of coral release. “Shark fishing appears to have quite dramatic effects on coral reef ecosystems.” So how do sharks affect coral reefs? Sharks eat fish, which impacts the structure of the food chain on reefs. Without sharks, the balance of this food chain shifts and can alter the entire ecosystem. “Where shark numbers are reduced due to commercial fishing, there is also a decrease in the herbivorous fishes which play a key role in promoting reef health,” said Ruppert in a news release. In fact, the scientists saw increasing numbers of mid-level predators, such as snappers.

See Coral Reefs Like Never Before Thanks To Gorgeous New Panoramas

Since then, the team has traveled to more beautiful coastlines, including Belize, Mexico, and Aruba. To take such detailed (and scientifically useful) imagery, the survey team uses a specially built panoramic underwater camera .

Coral Protection Plan Delayed

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Friday a final decision on whether to protect 66 corals as endangered species would be delayed until June 7. That will allow scientists to consider a substantial amount of new information that arrived in response to the original proposal. Seven of the species are found on South Florida reefs. The petition to protect these species came in 2009 from the Center for visit site Biological Diversity, an environmental group. The organization said the corals are declining due to disease, global warming and the gradual acidification for ocean http://valentineqybr.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/ocean-fish-acquire-more-mercury-at-depth/ water from carbon dioxide emitted by cars, factories and power plants. In comments to the agency, some scientists questioned whether sufficient data existed to blame climate change or ocean acidification for the declines of particular species, said Jennifer Moore, of the fisheries service.

Experts Call For Increased Efforts To Save Coral Reefs

“(Global warming)impacts on coral reefs through ocean acidification and increased sea surface temperatures, driving massive coral bleaching effects,” Wangunu said. But the more immediate causes of coral reef degradation are brought about by local economies and human-driven activities including coastal development, deforestation and unrestricted tourism. Human-driven activities are largely to blame for the loss of corals “Overfishing is a significant threat to reef systems in the Pacific,” Nicola Barnard, acting director of the International Coral Reef Action Network, said.

Great Barrier Reef found to have thriving deep water coral

<img src='http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121003025645-barrier-reef-1-horizontal-gallery.jpg&#039; width='200px' alt='The image shows damage inflicted on Beaver Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, by the crown-of-thorns starfish, a species native to web link Australia which feeds on coral.’ style=’float:left;padding:5px’ />

In fact the most striking thing is the abundance of coral http://www.iamsport.org/pg/blog/alonsorawz/read/18329583/ocean-acidification-may-amplify-global-warming-up-to-09f on the deep reef. What has blown me away is to see that even 70 to 80 meters down, there are significant coral populations.” Great Barrier Reef’s virtual dive Earlier this month a report, by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Wollongong, revealed that the Great Barrier Reef had lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years .

Molasses Spill Causing Coral Reef Death

(AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society, Julie Larsen Maher) Phenacogrammus interruptus fish are displayed at the 2012 Taiwan International Aquarium Expo in Taipei on November 9, 2012. More than one hundred fish stony corals tanks from many countries will be on display in the four coral polyps day exhibition at Nangang Exhibition Hall from November 9 to 12. Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images This photo taken July 4, 2012, at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska, shows a baby beluga calf being rehabilitated at the center.

Indian Ocean Coral Reefs Are Ravaged by Mining

Taking calcium from seawater, they produce limestone skeletons that can form ledges, walls and flats of great length. Highly efficient in recycling their own food supply, reefs can survive in the most barren areas.

The Sea’s Secrets

But the surveys deeper purpose, as it were, is to create a record of vast natural wonders that are fast disappearing. Over the past 50 years the world has lost about 40 percent of its coral reefs, killed off by destructive fishing, pollution, and climate change. The sponsors of the survey claim that as this decimation of the reefs continuesand it willit will have a major impact on the lives of some home 500 million people who rely on these fragile habitats for saltwater corals food, tourism income, and coastal protection. Thats the sad, even tragic part. You’ve read 1 of 10 free articles this month Get unlimited access to Newsweek for $2.99/mo.

Could Coral Reefs Go Extinct?

Its much of the marine food web. The corals are the iconic species. For good reason, it seems. Ocean acidifications effect on coral could harm protective coastal barriers, breeding and spawning grounds for fish and other marine life, sources of tourism income and hotspots of ocean biodiversity, Ricke and colleagues write in Environmental Research Letters.

Where can coral reefs relocate to escape the heat?

The researchers found that warming impacts were dominant, with a significant decline http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/coral-photos_n_3876179.html in suitability for corals near the equator. Dr Couce said: “Just as we have to take into account many factors when deciding where to live and juggle the trade-offs such as proximity to a city centre or the desire for a garden, whether a coral reef can establish information on coral or not depends on conflicting stressors. Global warming is stronger at the equator and drives corals away into higher latitudes, whereas acidification is stronger close to the poles and pushes coral habitat towards the equator.” Dr Hendy said: “We also found that some areas where conditions are currently borderline for corals, such as the eastern Pacific Ocean, could remain as they are or even become more suitable.

Dubai Developer Relocates Coral Reef That Thrives In New Home

Property developers have taken a lot of heat for ruining Dubais coral reefs after a few decades of rapid expansion all along the Arabian/Persian Gulf coast, so in 2008, Nakheel worked with conservationists, ecologists, engineers and others to relocate nearly 24,000 square feet of coral reef about 11 miles. This was one of the largest coral relocation projects ever conducted globally, with over 20,000 coral colonies spared from the effects of infrastructure development, Marine Biologist John coral reef facts Burt told Gulf Today. It wasnt easy. Our coral move was an engineering first, said Ali Saeed bin Thalith , Director of Development and Operations at Nakheel Marine Group.We were in unknown territory when we undertook the exercise, which involved http://bernews.com/2013/09/recently-held-reef-watch-hailed-a-success/ moving more than 1,100 coral-encrusted rocks, each weighing about five tonnes. The group had to use non-toxic glue to attach metal rods to each coral-encrusted rock and then hook that up to a sling. Each rock was then hoisted onto a 295 foot barge without leaving the water and transported to its new home the controversial World Islands breakwater.

Worsening Climate Change Will Wipe Out Oceans’ Coral Reefs

Unless the world gets it act together to counter ia a pagoda an sps coral the here. worsening global climate change, it won’t be long before it sees the total wipe out of the oceans’ coral reefs. A study undertaken by researchers at the University of Queensland has shown that coral reefs dissolve quickly to more acidic ocean conditions brought by higher CO2 emission rates. “Given corals are essential to coral reefs, this is not good news,” Associate Prof. Sophie Dove from UQ’s School of Biological Sciences was quoted by portal Laboratory Equipment, noting that even a lower level of carbon emission rate results to the bleaching and deaths of the coral.