Coral Reefs News and Discussions

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https://www.livekindly.com/scientists-g ... ing-reefs/

A group of scientists have developed a new way to grow coral reefs in the lab. The method could be used to restore damaged reefs or create new reefs in areas where they have never existed befor

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Restored Coral Reefs Can Grow as Fast as Healthy Reefs
March 8, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Planting new coral in degraded reefs can lead to rapid recovery – with restored reefs growing as fast as healthy reefs after just four years, new research shows.

Reefs worldwide are severely threatened by local and global pressures. In Indonesia, where the study was carried out, destructive blast fishing destroyed large reef areas 30-40 years ago – with no signs of recovery until now.

The Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme attempts to restore degraded reefs by transplanting coral fragments onto a network of interconnected “Reef Stars” (sand-coated steel frames).

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1036591

To view the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme website: https://www.buildingcoral.com

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Many Coral Reefs are Dying. This One is Exploding with Life.
by Benji Jones
March 14, 2024

Introduction:

(Vox) Once a year, after dark, a bit of magic happens in the ocean.

In tropical waters worldwide, large chunks of coral — those colorful rocklike structures in shallow, coastal waters, each a colony of living animals — start puffing out hundreds of little pearl-sized balls. Some are pink. Others are red, orange, or yellow. For a few minutes, the ocean is a snow globe, and then the balls float away.

This phenomenon, known as spawning, is how many corals reproduce. Each ball is a bundle of eggs and sperm from an individual coral colony. Different colonies of the same species somehow know how to spawn on the same day and same time, so their eggs and sperm can meet and form baby corals.

Spawning is incredibly hard to observe. Again, it happens only once a year, and often only for a few minutes at night. Plus, stressed or damaged corals are less likely to spawn. And across large swaths of ocean, extreme heat — linked to climate change — has been stressing these animals out.

But earlier this month, a team of marine biologists got lucky: They witnessed a massive spawning event off the coast of Cambodia, in the Gulf of Thailand. Not long after sunset, several different kinds of coral filled the water with pearls.

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2409 ... ier-reef

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Unprecedented spread of coral bleaching along Great Barrier Reef

April 6, 2024 — 5.30pm

Three quarters of the Great Barrier Reef has been hit in a widespread coral bleaching sparked by a marine heatwave, with aerial survey results revealing a major bleaching event is unfolding all the way along the 2300 kilometre ecosystem.

The world is now on the precipice of a global bleaching event, which is expected to be announced following these survey results.

Global warming is an existential threat to all coral reefs, driving more frequent and intense marine heatwaves.

“It’s alarming how extensive and severe this current coral bleaching event is,” said Australian Marine Conservation Society reef campaign manager Lissa Schindler.

Bleaching on the Reef was first detected a month ago, but aerial surveys conducted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – released on Friday night – show that 75 per cent of 1001 reefs inspected contain bleached corals, which means the organisms are struggling to survive.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 5fhu4.html

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