Plating Corals Spotting coral can be overwhelming when everything looks the same. However, learning to recognize corals based on growth forms in the easiest way to master the art of coral spotting. Plating corals are found in all reef habitats…
Learn to Spot Six Types of Branching Coral
Six Types of Branching Coral One of the first steps to becoming a coral spotter is learning to recognize coral growth forms. An perhaps the most recognizable of them all is branching corals. But even within this recognizable group, there are…
Learn To Spot Coral Diversity: Large Polyp Corals
Large Polyp Corals Large polyp corals are any hard coral species which have thick fleshy tissue and large corallites over a few centimeters wide. There are even some extra large species with polyps that can reach 10 even 30 centimeters…
Learn To Spot Coral Diversity: Small Polyp Corals
Small Polyp Corals Do you remember how to tell the difference between hard and soft corals? Remember it has to do with the number of tentacles… We explained that hard corals are based on a six fold symmetry meaning they…
Learn To Spot Coral Diversity: Coral Growth Forms
Learn to Spot Coral Growth Forms Corals are the foundation of the marine environment, but the diversity of coral species often gets overlooked. Looking for corals can be overwhelming. There are so many different shapes, sizes and colors to look…
Spot The Difference Between Hard Coral and Soft Coral
The Difference Between Hard and Soft Corals It may seem simple enough, one is soft and one is hard, but can you really spot the different between these two distinct groups of coral? The biggest difference, as the name implies,…
Coral Farming in Bali Indonesia
Coral Farming in Bali Indonesia Coral reefs are at risk. Climate change, population growth, and coastal development among others are threatening the health of coral reefs at an ever-increasing pace. Coral farming is an approach to coral restoration which allows for…
WWF Introduces Free, Web-Based Tool To Help Scientists Study And Save Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are as vulnerable as they are beautiful; climate change is warming ocean waters and devastating reefs globally. A majority of the world’s coral reefs could experience severe bleaching and death by the end of this century, according to…
2018 Was The Hottest Year On Record For The Ocean
Last year was the hottest for the planet’s oceans since global records began in 1958, according to an international team of scientists who track the data. Their findings were published Wednesday in the scientific journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. The…
Coral Restoration Efforts Should Prioritize Community Over Ecology
It might sound counterintuitive if you want to restore coral reefs, focus on land first and work with communities before shifting your efforts to the underwater world. But a new study published in the journal Biological Conservation confirms this novel…