We came across this poster recently on Coral Housekeepers, and how fish help to maintain healthy coral reefs in the wild. It has been produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and explains in simple, easy-to-understand language how…
NOAA designates 6,500 square miles of Critical Habitat to protect Caribbean Corals
NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule to designate critical habitat for five species of Caribbean coral under the US Endangered Species Act. Effective from September 8, 2023, 28 mostly overlapping areas in US waters will be designated Critical Habitat,…
CoralCure Ointment Base2B is a topical treatment for Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
An antibiotic treatment has been developed to help cure dying corals on the Florida Reef Tract. Amoxycillin is a medication used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections in humans, and by mixing it with a base ointment, researchers…
Friday Smorgasbord: “Where has April Gone?” edition
Where has April gone and why is it still snowing in places with May right on our doorstep? *Sigh* Anywho, we have another edition of our Friday Smorgasbord with some interesting posts about our oceans and what lies beneath….enjoy! SloMo…
Cold East Coast weather making sharkcicles, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy responds
The cold weather that hit the U.S. last week is making an impact on creatures sharks as well. In a Facebook post, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shared some images of a pair of thresher sharks that were stranded on shore and…
Giant isopod captured swimming deep in the Gulf of Mexico
It has been a few years since we’ve brought you any “Monster Isopod” stories, but when we saw this video, we knew we had to share. You’ll feel this is either strangely beautiful or downright creepy, but either way its…
Friday Smorgasbord: Drones, maps, and carp tacos oh my!
Happy New Year! Here’s our first edition of the Friday Smorgi for 2017 and we’re hoping you enjoy reading along. We have a few interesting stories including an underwater drone for fishing, a cool new 3D ocean map, a unique…
Prognathodes basabei, or orange margin butterfly, now officially described
Although known to exist for over 20 years and even referenced quite a few times here at Reef Builders, a new species of deep-water butterflyfish from the mesophotic reefs of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was finally described today by…
Follow along on this incredible expedition of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Research divers get to see amazing sights below the surface, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it all possible. Thanks to Richard Pyle, we are able to follow along on an exciting expedition…
Newly discovered glowing jellyfish is eerily stunning
NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer is exploring the Mariana Trench and has uncovered some pretty amazing new creatures including this eerily stunning jellyfish that could easily be inspiration for a scifi film. The video was captured on April 24 of the unknown…