A new publication in Nature brings a very interesting insight into the current evolution of coral reefs. In this new publication, scientists describe teturning to a location on the Great Barrier Reef, where, 91 years earlier, the pioneering GBR expedition…
‘Scientists’ Are Giving Ecstasy to Octopus Now
Cephalopods and Octopus in particular are very intelligent creatures but anatomically speaking, they are very different from humans, and all vertebrates for that matter. This led some ‘scientists’ to wonder what would happen if these creatures were exposed to MDMA, also…
Aquariums Used To Prove That Seagrass Is Actively Pollinated By Marine Life
Just a few short weeks ago we were discussing seagrasses with one of the aquarium hobby’s most ardent proponents of seagrass aquariums, Julian Sprung. The topic of underwater pollination of seagrass came up, and we supposed that there might be…
Fish pee is essential to the health of coral reefs
A study published in the journal Nature Communications suggests, that urine from big fish is essential in maintaining healthy coral reefs. Researchers found that reefs with more large predatory fish had healthier levels of phosphorus, from fish pee, compared to reefs depleted…
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…
Using the world’s most powerful Xray laser to look deep inside corals
Corals are amazing living animals which are continually building up new layers right on top of their endoskeleton. By examining a cross section of a coral skeletons, these layers or “growth-bands” can reveal clues about the coral’s past. Much like…
Scientific-based approach to coral conservation will use “Assisted Evolution”
A new report was recently shared about two prominent coral reef ecologist’s plan to help out wild reefs with a hands-on approach to reef management that sounds eerily close to what we have been doing in our aquariums for decades.…
Gorgonians don’t care about stupid ocean acidification
It seems like coral scientists and researchers are constantly finding new ways that corals are dying and how coral reefs are an endangered ecosystem, but for once, it seems like at least one group of corals will be able to…
Giant clams are even more specialized to harvest light than we thought
We all know that giant clams of the Tridacna and Hippopus genera are fast-growing molluscs which are found in shallow water reef waters where they can bask in the sunlight, harvesting energy from their symbiotic zooxanthellae. Unlike corals which have Symbiodinium zooxanthellae which…
Magnetic cells give fish built-in sense of compass direction
We all know that migrating birds and particularly pigeons have a keen sense of direction imparted onto them by a magnetic sense, and now new research has discovered similar super-nav powers in fish. Like the homing pigeons of the sea, the homing abilities…
