By Lucille Chi •
September 20, 2009
Upon window gazing in San Francisco, this immense coral yarn sculpture reminded me of one of the most unique, and unusual TED Talks I’ve ever seen and it’s about coral yarn crochet. In this TED (Technology and Entertainment Design) talk, Margaret Wertheim shares the coral project she started with her twin sister that is all about crocheting the coral reef.
The idea of this yarn filled coral sculpture garden is inspired by endangered sea coral, the ancient art of domestic handicrafts, and the new discoveries in mathematics by Dr. Daina Taimina on the beautiful math of coral.
By Lucille Chi •
July 28, 2009
The beautiful parrotfish (family Scaridae) performs many roles in coral reef ecosystems. With their large teeth they munch algae off the coral so that it stays healthy and alive. Parrotfish are constantly eating and digesting bits of coral whole, and excreting sand that helps create beaches. Since parrotfish spend all day searching the reef for food to eat and then turning it to sand, they actually produce up to 2,200 pounds (1 metric ton) of sand per year.
Ocean Conservancy tells us that in “reefs, parrotfish play a critical role as grazers keeping algae in check. Without grazers, algae out-compete the coral until they weaken or even die.” Actively protecting the gorgeous parrotfish from overfishing is the most important way to make sure that reefs are healthy, resilient, and bountiful.
By Dave Harcourt •
July 20, 2009
“There is no way out, no loopholes. The Great Barrier Reef will be over within 20 years or so.”, Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told The Times.
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system comprising over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching more than 3,000 kilometres (1,600 miles) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 square miles).
By Kay Sexton •
April 21, 2009
Most of us are familiar with the idea of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial development leaching into the atmosphere, causing global warming. The effect of CO2 on ocean temperatures and acidification is much less well publicised, but just as worrying. In fact, it’s a potential cause of famine.
By Allison Boyer •
April 18, 2009
Near the southern end of the Okinawa chain of islands, you’ll find Japan’s largest coral reef - and it is dying. Reports shows that up to 90 percent of the coral may already be gone, so scientists are now testing “transplant” methods in the Sekisei Lagoon Reef to hopefully save the country’s other coral reefs.
From the NY Times:
“We have been replanting forests
[...]
By Derek Markham •
March 29, 2009
Leading experts at the 2009 Aspen Environment Forum called ocean acidification caused by high levels of CO2 emissions a “planet changer”, and predicted that all coral in the ocean would be in danger of dying off by mid-century if we continued to burn fossil fuel at our current rate.
Ken Caldeira of Carnegie Institution, Martin Hoffert of New York University, and Dawn Martin of SeaWeb told attendees at the session “The Ocean Carbon Cycle: Facing the Damage” that we haven’t taken the issue seriously enough, and expressed dismay at the lack of media coverage for such an important issue.
“People would be more upset if you told them that their favorite TV show was canceled than if you told them that entire biomes would disappear.” - Ken Caldeira, Carnegie Institution
By Bryan Nelson •
March 26, 2009
Scientists gathering specimens in a submersible off the coast of Hawaii have discovered the oldest living colonial creature on Earth, dated at 4,265 years old.
The geriatric discovery (Leiopathes sp.) is a deep water tree-like coral, which grows only a few micrometers every year. That’s an annual growth rate at around the size of a human blood cell. And the Leiopathes sp. wasn’t the only old creature found. Also discovered was a 2,742 year old gold coral (Gerardia sp.).
The discovery raises needed awareness about the delicate, fragile ecosystems of deep sea reefs, which are endangered due to trawling and global warming.
By Amiel Blajchman •
March 20, 2009
Researchers in Israel have discovered that Japanese sea corals engage in sex switching. Similar to species of trees and more famously, most species of reef fish, female Japanese sea corals (scientifically known as fungiid coral) switch their sex so that the majority are male. This seems to be due to male fungiid coral’s better ability to handle the stresses brought on by resource scarcity.
Since over a quarter of the world’s coral reefs have already become damaged due to increasing sea temperatures, understanding how fungiids are able to become primarily male may provide researchers with alternative reproduction strategies.
By Michael Ricciardi •
February 5, 2009
In terms of promoting and supporting the greatest variety of life, reef corals are the “rain forests” of the oceans.
The corals themselves also have commercial value (for jewelry, aquarium decoration, etc.). Corals–symbiotic colonies of plant-like and animal-like creatures–have existed on this planet for tens of millions of years. However, some 45% of all coral species went extinct around the same time as the dinosaurs did. Hardest hit were a group of photosynthesizing, algae-harboring corals known as zooxanthellates. The symbiotic , red-brown algae that co-exist with these corals (and provide their energy source) are known as zooxanthellae.
Marine scientists have noted for several years now the spread of a coral disease known as Yellow Band Disease (YBD)–so named for the yellowish bands that spread across coral polyps–but had attributed its spread to thermal stress caused by global warming. Thermal stress is known to weaken much marine life, including corals, shellfish, and some species of zooplankton. But in November of 2008, researchers at Woodshole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, isolated the bacteria that caused YBD–actually four species of Vibrio bacteria that combine with the indigenous Vibrio bacteria to attack zooxanthellae (see the paper in the Journal of Applied Microbiology).
By Adam Shake •
November 7, 2008
The loss of coral reefs around the world is being blamed on the mass amounts of CO2 in our planets oceans, and the resulting acid that is keeping the reefs and other crustaceans from calcifying.
