For the past two to three weeks, the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef has been all over the news, and there’s hardly a day that goes by that new pictures and reports come in of how dire the situation…
Science
Corals inside no-take zones are more resilient to natural disturbances
As marine biodiversity continues to decline it is important we maximize the effectiveness of conservation efforts. The Great Barrier Reef is facing multiple threats from natural and man-made natural disturbances but for the first time, researchers at the Australian Institute of…
MASNA has open call for first “Scientific Poster Session” at MACNA
Scientific posters are gaining popularity to visually represent complex research in a short, yet impactful way. The Marine Aquariums Society of North America (MASNA) has put out an open call for its Scientific Poster Session to be presented at this year’s…
Why Reef Building corals are being hit the hardest by coral bleaching
Coral reefs are under existential threat. This year alone large scale bleaching has been observed on 500 separate coral reefs along the Great Barrier Reef, and up to 50% of bleached corals from in water surveys have already died, in…
Dredging in Florida could damage vulnerable corals
Wednesday, Philippe Cousteau, grandson of famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau warned that a plan to expand a Florida port is “lunacy” and that it risks devastation the already degraded coral ecosystem. The plan to expand Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida…
Coral reefs are bleaching on a massive scale this year
Climatologists have been telling us that the planet is getting hotter and that it will get hotter and with these forecasts in mind, 2016 was predicted to be a terrible year for coral bleaching. Unfortunately these predictions have come true and right now we…
What is a coral? This video is the best explanation yet
Anyone who’s been keeping keeping and growing corals in a home aquarium would have no problem telling you what is a coral. But if you tried to explain to your grandma what corals are, well that’s quite another matter altogether. Not…
World’s smallest reef aquarium created by coral scientists
You’ve heard of mini reefs, nano reefs, pico reefs, femto reefs but forget about all that because scientists have just taken the title of the world’s smallest coral aquarium. The coral-on-a-chip is the smallest possible live aquarium environment consisting of a single…
Casper the friendly cephalopod?
A curiously cute new octopus was recently discovered whtn NOAA’s exploration ship Okeanos Explorer took a dive off the Hawaiian Archipelago. This charming and ethereal cephalopod was captured on video during first dive of the season. The internet is enthralled…
Virus outbreaks may be linked to coral bleaching event
Significant outbreaks of viruses may be associated with coral reef bleaching events, especially as a result of multiple environmental stresses including rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. A recent study at Oregon State University has documented a virus outbreak, including a…