Coral-list: Scott Woolridge: A new explanation for the how? and why? of coral calcification

Scott Wooldridge S.Wooldridge@aims.gov.au via coral.aoml.noaa.gov 6:40 AM (3 hours ago) Thursday, May 2, 2013 to coral-list For both the geologist and biologist alike, the extending dimension of coral skeletal growth (i.e. skeletal extension) is often considered a good indicator of the efficient functioning of the coral-algae symbiosis. In a new manuscript in Biogeosciences I outline why this ...Click Here to Read More.

Common Dreams: Health groups call for urgent action to address health risks from coal and coal seam gas

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/21-0 Please find attached and below an overview of the outcomes of the Health and Energy Policy Roundtable and Workshop in Canberra last week. You will see there has been a decision to form a new collaborative network of health groups to work together to raise awareness of the health implication of current energy and minerals policy in Australia. This ...Click Here to Read More.

CNews-Canada: Damning new study links toxin increase directly to oil sands

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Environment/2013/01/07/20478186.html By Jessica Hume, Parliamentary Bureau The Athabasca river runs through the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., in this file photo. REUTERS/Todd Korol OTTAWA – A new study suggests aquatic toxins close to the Athabasca River have increased dramatically and simultaneously with oilsands development there, contradicting earlier ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Magazine: Coral Reefs Could Be Decimated by 2100

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/12/coral-reefs-could-be-decimated-b.html by Eli Kintisch on 20 December 2012, 1:15 PM | 1 Comment Barrier falling. Oceanographers have blamed bleaching of Porites coral from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on warming water temperatures, ocean acidification, and pollution. Credit: Louis Wray/Creative Commons Nearly every coral reef could be dying ...Click Here to Read More.

Conservation Letters: Long-term trends of coral imports into the United States indicate future opportunities for ecosystem and societal benefits by Andrew L. Rhyne, Michael F. Tlusty, Les Kaufman

Article first published online: 26 JUL 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00265.x Volume 5, Issue 6, pages 478–485, December 2012 Keywords: Aquarium trade; coral trade; curio trade; coral triangle; marine policy Author Information 1 New England Aquarium, John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory, Boston, MA, USA 2 Roger Williams University, Department of Biology and ...Click Here to Read More.

Summit County Voice: Environment: Traces of Deepwater Horizon oil cause deformities, swimming deficiencies in Gulf fish

http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/12/10/environment-traces-of-deepwater-horizon-oil-causes-deformities-swimming-deficencies-in-gulf-fish/ Posted on December 10, 2012 by Bob Berwyn An explosion and subsequent fire on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico led to the biggest oil spill on recornd in U.S. coastal waters. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard. Study shows ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Coral Thermal Tolerance: Tuning Gene Expression to Resist Thermal Stress by Bellatuono, Granados-Cifuentes, Miller, Hoegh-Guldberg and Rodriguez-Lanetty

A new publication from our group has been recently published online, which you might find of interest. *”Coral Thermal Tolerance: Tuning Gene Expression to Resist Thermal Stress”* Anthony J. Bellantuono, Camila Granados-Cifuentes, David J. Miller, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty* PLoS ONE: Research Article, published 30 Nov 2012. ...Click Here to Read More.

MSNBC: Dispersant makes oil from spills 52 times more toxic & Environmental Pollution: Synergistic toxicity of Macondo crude oil and dispersant Corexit 9500A® to the Brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50032789/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.ULoviN3c3X8 As in 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, it makes petroleum less visible, but much more harmful This is important: I don’t think Corexit should EVER be used again in U.S. ocean waters. DV By Douglas Main updated 11/30/2012 6:46:08 PM ET For microscopic animals living in the Gulf of Mexico, even worse than the ...Click Here to Read More.

Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program — Smithsonian Marine Station Belize 2012 Annual Report

The Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE) Program is a long term field study dedicated to investigations of coral reefs and associated mangroves, seagrass meadows, and sandy bottoms. Field operations are based at the Carrie Bow Cay Field Station on the Meso-American Barrier Reef in Belize, while logistical and administrative operations are based at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort ...Click Here to Read More.

Nature Climate Change | Letter : Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1661.html Similar to findings of Dr. James Cervino about ten years ago, yet we are still debating the human impacts that trigger climate change instead of implementing policies to address them. DV Jörg Wiedenmann, Cecilia D’Angelo, Edward G. Smith, Alan N. Hunt, François-Eric Legiret, Anthony D. ...Click Here to Read More.

Theconversation.edu.au: Crown of Thorns is a symptom of reef decline: let’s address the cause

http://theconversation.edu.au/crown-of-thorns-is-a-symptom-of-reef-decline-lets-address-the-cause-9932 3 October 2012, 2.39pm AEST A recent report on coral loss from the Great Barrier Reef has pointed the finger at cyclones and Crown of Thorns starfish. The real culprit is human activity, and until we reduce port activity and pollution, coral will be unable to bounce back. Three recent ...Click Here to Read More.

The Ocean Foundation: Deadly Serious: Acid Oceans and What We Must Do

http://www.oceanfdn.org/blog/?p=1159 by Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation A magnified image of the coccolithophore, Gephyrocapsa oceanica Kamptner. Coccolithophores are single-celled algae, protists, and phytoplankton and considered especially vulnerable to ocean acidification due to their calcium carbonate shells. (Image: Gephyrocapsa oceanica Kamptner from Mie Prefecture, ...Click Here to Read More.

The Ocean Foundation: Ignorance is Not Bliss: New Study on the Status of Unassessed Fish Stocks Underscores Global Threat Posed By Overfishing

http://www.oceanfdn.org/blog/?p=1143 Date: October 4, 2012 5:53:29 PM EDT by Kenneth Stump, Ocean Policy Fellow at The Ocean Foundation Photo courtesy of John Surrick-Chesapeake Bay Foundation/Marine Photobank Overfishing (and the use of destructive fishing gear) is often cited as one of the two greatest threats to animals in the ocean. Overfishing occurs when a fishery removes fish from a ...Click Here to Read More.

Summit Voice: Environment: Excess nutrients speed up ocean acidification

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn Shellfish are expected to be hit hard by ocean acidification in the coming decades. Bob Berwyn photo. CO2 from decaying algae blooms adds to ocean woes By Summit Voice SUMMIT COUNTY — Runoff from agricultural and urban areas is speeding up ocean acidification in some coastal areas, adding to the woes resulting from increased concentration of ...Click Here to Read More.

Reuters: Storms to Starfish: Great Barrier Reef is rapidly losing coral; coral cover could fall to ~5% in the next decade

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/australia-reef-idUSL3E8L14K220121001 _______________________________________________ Storms to starfish: Great Barrier Reef faces rapid coral loss-study Mon Oct 1, 2012 2:59pm EDT * Great Barrier Reef suffers unprecedented coral loss * Study says storms, starfish, bleaching cause most damage * Risk of rapid decline unless world adopts tough CO2 goals By ...Click Here to Read More.

Scientists Uncover Hotbed of Marine Life in New Caledonia’s Reefs; Coextinction of reefs exhibited

http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=172&catid=177&id=431&view=article 4 September 2012 South Australian Museum parasite expert Ian Whittington is one of several international scientists whose study in New Caledonia is today published in the journal Aquatic Biosystems. New Caledonia is home to the biggest coral reef lagoon and the second biggest ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Terry Hughes provides Summary of Outcomes for 12th International Coral Reef Symposium

A 4-page summary of outcomes of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium is now online at: http://www.icrs2012.com/Downloads/ICRS2012_Outcomes_Report.PDF. The Symposium website will remain operational indefinitely. Here are some useful direct links: http://www.icrs2012.com/Proceedings.htm http://www.icrs2012.com/Downloads/ICRS2012_Book_of_Abstracts.pdf, 1500 talk and poster ...Click Here to Read More.

Huffington Post: Climate Change: Coral Reefs Expected To Suffer Greatly, Study Finds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/16/climate-change-coral-reefs_n_1888288.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 Reuters | Posted: 09/16/2012 1:00 pm Updated: 09/16/2012 8:34 pm * 70 pct of corals will suffer degradation by 2030 * To protect half of reefs, temperature rise must be under 1.5C By Nina Chestney LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The chance to save the world’s coral reefs from ...Click Here to Read More.

IUCN: Crunch time for Caribbean corals

http://www.iucn.org/?10903/Crunch-time-for-Caribbean-corals 07 September 2012 | International news release Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 7 September 2012 (IUCN) – Time is running out for corals on Caribbean reefs. Urgent measures must be taken to limit pollution and regulate aggressive fishing practices that threaten the existence of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems, according to a new IUCN ...Click Here to Read More.

Journal of Indonesian Coral Reefs available online

Dear All, We proudly announce that our first volume of Journal of Indonesian Coral Reefs is finally available on line (http://www.coastal-unhas.com/ incres). It is free download for full-text pdf format. More numbers and Volumes coming on line soon. Please distribute this information and link to our friends and colleagues who might be interested to know more various issues about Indonesian ...Click Here to Read More.

Important International Coral Reef Symposium 2012 Info

From: Hughes, Terry Sent: Friday, 11 May 2012 3:37 PM Two months in advance of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS 2012) in Cairns, Australia from 9-13 July, the draft Scientific Program is now available online, at http://www.icrs2012.com/MiniSymposia.htm#1. Close to 2,000 people from 75 countries have registered to attend so far, and over 1,500 oral and poster presentations have ...Click Here to Read More.

In Tech: Long-Term Impacts of Non-Sustainable Tourism and Urban Development in Small Tropical Islands Coastal Habitats in a Changing Climate: Lessons Learned from Puerto Rico Edwin A. Hernández- Delgado1, Carlos E. Ramos-Scharrón2, Carmen R. Guerrero-Pérez3, Mary Ann Lucking4, Ricardo Laureano5, Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro6 and Joel O. Meléndez-Díaz7 1Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras 2Island Resources Foundation & Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin 3 Instituto para un Desarrollo Sustentable 4Coralations, Inc. 5Vegabajeños Impulsando Desarrollo Ambiental Sustentable, Inc. 6Department of Environmental Health, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus 7Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras 1,3,4,5,6,7Puerto Rico 2USA

InTech-Long_term_impacts_of_non_sustainable_tourism_and_urban_development_in_small_tropical_islands_coastal_habitats_in_a_changing_climate_lessons_learned_from_puerto_rico ...Click Here to Read More.

Fox News: Whales sensed Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/08/whales-sensed-deepwater-horizon-oil-rig-disaster/ By Peter Gwynne Published April 08, 2012 Inside Science News Service A technique that monitors whales through the sounds they emit has answered a key issue raised by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago this month. The sound-monitoring technique revealed that ...Click Here to Read More.

Scientific American: Phytoplankton Population Drops 40 Percent Since 1950

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=phytoplankton-population News | Energy & Sustainability Researchers find trouble among phytoplankton, the base of the food chain, which has implications for the marine food web and the world’s carbon cycle By Lauren Morello and ClimateWire | July 29, 2010 | 49 The microscopic plants that form the foundation of the ocean’s food ...Click Here to Read More.

ScienceDaily: Viral Disease — Particularly from Herpes — Gaining Interest as Possible Cause of Coral Decline

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120328090941.htm ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2012) — As corals continue to decline in abundance around the world, researchers are turning their attention to a possible cause that’s almost totally unexplored — viral disease. It appears the corals that form such important parts of marine ecosystems harbor many different viruses — ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Judy Lang provides new aids for identifying corals and fishes in AGRRA surveys for wider Caribbean

Judith Lang via coral.aoml.noaa.gov 10:33 AM (7 hours ago) March 14th, 2012 Dear All, New aids for identifying the species of corals and fishes in the wider Caribbean that can occur in AGRRA surveys are now available for downloading at: www.agrra.org/method/trainingid.html Many new photographs and, for the corals, a few taxonomic revisions are included in these materials. Additional ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Now: Some Corals May Adapt to Warmer Seas

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/03/some-corals-may-adapt-to-warmer-.html?ref=em by Dennis Normile on 12 March 2012, 12:25 PM | Pictures of ghostly white coral colonies bleached by elevated sea temperatures have become symbols of the effects of global warming. Now there is a glimmer of hope that at least some corals may be more resilient than previously thought. A study suggests that ...Click Here to Read More.

PLoSONE.org: Contrasting Patterns of Coral Bleaching Susceptibility in 2010 Suggest an Adaptive Response to Thermal Stress

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0033353 James R. Guest1¤*, Andrew H. Baird2, Jeffrey A. Maynard3, Efin Muttaqin4, Alasdair J. Edwards5, Stuart J. Campbell4, Katie Yewdall6, Yang Amri Affendi7, Loke Ming Chou1 1 Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 2 Australian Research Council ...Click Here to Read More.

Marine Ecology Progress Series: Ongoing global biodiversity loss and the need to move beyond protected areas: a review of the technical and practical shortcomings of protected areas on land and sea Camilo Mora1, 3,*, Peter F. Sale2

http://www.int-res.com/articles/theme/m434p251.pdf MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES. Vol. 434: 251–266, 2011 doi: 10.3354/meps09214 Published July 28, 2011 Contribution to the Theme Section ‘Biodiversity, ecosystems and coastal zone management’ 1Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada 2Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations ...Click Here to Read More.

AFP: Ocean acidification may be worst in 300 million years: study & NYTImes Editorial: Changing the Chemistry of the Earth’s Oceans

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i_Z1zrB_r470qEJTpTvNGCLIZOew?docId=CNG.972672bf2c229393667b758b16f9bd6a.491 (AFP) – 5 days ago March 1, 2012 WASHINGTON — High levels of pollution may be turning the planet’s oceans acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the past 300 million years, with unknown consequences for future sea life, researchers said Thursday. The ...Click Here to Read More.

UC Davis: Stinging and Seeing

View this story on the Web at University of California, Davis March 5, 2012 New research from the University of California shows how the ability to detect light could have evolved before anything like an eye. As published today (March 5) in the journal BMC Biology, the research is based on the stinging mechanism in the tiny, brainless and eyeless freshwater polyp Hydra magnipapillata. Part of ...Click Here to Read More.

NOAA Fisheries announces the release of the *2012 Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program Report to Congress (with focus on SE Florida)

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals/fy12/DSCRtCFinal.pdf This report highlights the exciting discovery of deep-sea coral habitats as well as progress made in our nationwide research. * * Featured in the report is an overview of the program’s first three-year field study, focused on the Southeast U.S., which revealed new and currently unprotected deep-sea coral ...Click Here to Read More.

Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity: Lawsuit Aims to Protect Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing; Elkhorn and staghorn corals need parrotfish to survive

For Immediate Release: January 30, 2012 Contact: Andrea Treece, Earthjustice, (415) 217-2089 Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 632-5308 Washington, D.C. – A lawsuit was filed today in federal district court seeking greater protections from fishing for threatened coral reefs in the Caribbean. The lawsuit asserts that the National Marine Fisheries Service ignored ...Click Here to Read More.

Earthtimes.org: ‘Other CO2 problem’ research shows that fish won’t be OK

http://www.earthtimes.org/pollution/co2-fish-eggs-larvae-ocean-acidification/1706/ ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES & NEWS >> POLLUTION >> Posted Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:00:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts It’s the ‘other CO2 problem’, global warming’s little brother, and ocean acidification could be even more damaging than had previously been thought according to new research on how fish ...Click Here to Read More.

Environmental Science & Technology: Connecting the Dots: Responses of Coastal Ecosystems to Changing Nutrient Concentrations

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es202351y Jacob Carstensen,*,† María Sanchez-Camacho,‡ Carlos M. Duarte,‡,§ Dorte Krause-Jensen,† and Nuria Marba‡ †Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark ‡Department of Global Change Research, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados, Miquel Marques 21, 07190 ...Click Here to Read More.

University of Florida: Beneficial bacteria can help keep Florida coral healthy, UF researchers report

http://news.ufl.edu/2011/10/11/coral-bacteria/ Filed under Business, Economic Impact, Environment, Florida, Research on Tuesday, October 11, 2011. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bacteria that could potentially help corals resist the devastating disease white pox have been found by researchers at the University of Florida and Mote Marine Laboratory. The findings could help maintain the health of ...Click Here to Read More.

TheRecord.com: Kitchener biologist studying effects of Gulf oil spill

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/602635–kitchener-biologist-studying-effects-of-gulf-oil-spill By Mirko Petricevic, Record staff Galvez Kitchener native Fernando Galvez is an assistant professor in the biology department at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. A Kitchener biologist studying the effects of last year’s sprawling oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ...Click Here to Read More.

National Wildlife Federation: Alarming New Study Documents BP Oil’s Impact on Gulf Ecosystem “Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes”

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Wildlife/2011/09-26-11-New-Study-Documents-BP-Oils-Impact-on-Gulf-Ecosystem.aspx Alarming New Study Documents BP Oil’s Impact on Gulf Ecosystem Washington, DC (September 26, 2011) – A study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documents the effect of BP oil on the Gulf killifish. The ...Click Here to Read More.

ScienceNOW: Human Excrement to Blame for Coral Decline

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/human-excrement-to-blame-for-cor.html Reef Relief Founder Craig Quirolo first observed white pox disease and alerted Dr. Porter to it; Reef Relief worked for years to encourage the City of Key West to adopt advanced wastewater treatment, despite a sea of denial. So glad we succeeded! DV by Gisela Telis on 17 August 2011, 5:00 PM Coral killer. ...Click Here to Read More.

News.yahoo.com: *Study of coral may lead to sunburn pill*

http://news.yahoo.com/study-coral-may-lead-sunburn-pill-110251383.html see also Mother Nature Network article at: http://www.mnn.com/family/protection-safety/blogs/sunscreen-pills-from-coral-reefs A study of underwater coral reefs by researchers of King’s College London may lead to the development of a pill to prevent sunburn. The research team hope within the next two years to test a ...Click Here to Read More.

Healthygulf.org: EPA Denies Petition to Curb River Pollution While Gulf Dead Zone Rages

http://healthygulf.org/201108041709/blog/healthy-waters-/-dead-zone/epa-denies-petition-to-curb-river-pollution-while-gulf-dead-zone-rages#.Tjxv1kDXo2c.facebook Blog – Healthy Waters / Dead Zone Thursday, 04 August 2011 14:35 New Orleans, LA—EPA has denied a petition to implement a clean-up plan for an aquatic Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, despite heavy economic losses to the U.S. ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Dave Vaughan of Mote Marine reports Elkhorn corals spawning in July at Looe Key

Just a note that /A. palmata/ (i.e. Elkhorn coral) colonies were observed to spawn Tuesday night July 19th.(Looe Key- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Special Protected Area), at about 2 hours after sunset. This is one month earlier than usual (3-4 days after full moon in August). Could this be a new trend with warmer seawater temperatures? It seams that corals may have spawned earlier ...Click Here to Read More.

TG Daily.com: Mississippi runoff expands Gulf ‘dead zone’

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/57323-mississippi-runoff-expands-gulf-dead-zone Posted on Jul 19th 2011 by Kate Taylor The so-called Gulf Dead Zone is looking set to be the biggest ever this year. It’s currently about 3,300 square miles, or roughly the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, but researchers at Texas A & M University say it’s likely to become ...Click Here to Read More.

Conservation Letters: Underestimating the damage: interpreting cetacean carcass recoveries in the context of the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident Rob Williams1, Shane Gero2, Lars Bejder3, John Calambokidis4, Scott D. Kraus5, David Lusseau6, Andrew J. Read7, & Jooke Robbins8

Conservation Letters 4 (2011) 228–233 cetacean carcasses and oil spills 1 Author affiliations: 1Marine Mammal Research Unit, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 2Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada 3Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, Cetacean Research Unit, Murdoch University, Western Australia 4Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, WA, USA 5New ...Click Here to Read More.

Commondreams.org: The Guardian/UK: Climate Skeptic Willie Soon Received $1m from Oil Companies, Papers Show

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/28-12 Published on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Documents obtained by Greenpeace show prominent opponent of climate change was funded by ExxonMobil, among others by John Vidal One of the world’s most prominent scientific figures to be skeptical about climate change has admitted to being paid more than $1m in the past decade by major US oil and coal ...Click Here to Read More.

Lenfestocean.org: DILUTION CANNOT BE ASSUMED THE SOLUTION FOR AQUACULTURE POLLUTION by S. K. Venayagamoorthy, H.Ku, O.B. Fringer, A. Chiu, R.L. Naylor, & J.R. Koseff

http://lenfestocean.org/sites/default/files/pollution_plume_summary_final.pdf Venayagamoorthy, S.K., H. Ku, O.B. Fringer, A. Chiu, R.L. Naylor and J.R. Koseff. 2011. Numerical modeling of aquaculture dissolved waste transport in a coastal embayment. Environmental Fluid Mechanics. A recent scientific study published in the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics shows that the location of coastal ...Click Here to Read More.

Huffington Post: State Of The Ocean: ‘Shocking’ Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/ipso-2011-ocean-report-mass-extinction_n_880656.html by Travis Donovan If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world’s oceans aren’t curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything human history has ever seen is coming, an expert panel of scientists warns in an alarming new report. The preliminary report from the ...Click Here to Read More.

Commondreams.org: USA Today reports Record ‘Dead Zone’ Predicted in Gulf of Mexico

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/15-8 Published on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 by Doyle Rice The “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico – a region of oxygen-depleted water off the Louisiana and Texas coasts that is harmful to sea life and the commercial fishing industry – is predicted to be the largest ever recorded this year, federal scientists announced Tuesday. The ...Click Here to Read More.

Commondreams.org: The Guardian/UK: Explosion in Jellyfish Numbers May Lead to Ecological Disaster, Warn Scientists

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/13-5 Published on Monday, June 13, 2011 by The Guardian/UK by Tracy McVeigh Global warming has long been blamed for the huge rise in the world’s jellyfish population. But new research suggests that they, in turn, may be worsening the problem by producing more carbon than the oceans can cope with. Dr Carol Turley, a scientist at Plymouth ...Click Here to Read More.

Nature.com Climate Change: Losers and winners in coral reefs acclimatized to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations by Katharina E. Fabricius, et. al.

The link to the original article is http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1122.html by Katharina E. Fabricius, Chris Langdon, Sven Uthicke, Craig Humphrey, Sam Noonan, Glenn De’ath, Remy Okazaki, Nancy Muehllehner, Martin S. Glas & Janice M. Lough Reference: Fabricius KE, Langdon C, Uthicke S, Humphrey C, Noonan S, De’ath G, Okazaki R, Muehllehner N, Glas ...Click Here to Read More.

Conservation International: Coral Health Index: Measuring Community Coral Reef Health

http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/Bios-Eco-Mar-Cor-027.pdf by Kaufman L, Sandin S, Sala E, Obura D, Rohwer F, and Tschirky T (2011) Coral Health Index (CHI): measuring coral community health. Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA. There is a new tool for assessing coral healthwhich has just been released by Conservation International (CI) and is ...Click Here to Read More.

BBC News: Acid oceans turn ‘Finding Nemo’ fish deaf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13605113#story_continues_1 31 May 2011 Last updated at 19:47 ET By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News Clownfish, the spectacular tropical species featured in the movie Finding Nemo, appear to lose their hearing in water slightly more acidic than normal. At levels of acidity that may be common by the end of the century, the fish did ...Click Here to Read More.

Commondreams.org: The Observer/UK: Ocean Acidification Is Latest Manifestation of Global Warming

Published on Sunday, May 29, 2011 Carbon dioxide pollution adds to threat to world’s oceans and marine species by Robin McKie, science editor The infernal origins of Vulcano Island are easy to pinpoint. Step off the hydrofoil from Sicily and the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulphide strikes you immediately. Beside the quay, there are piles of yellow sulphurous rocks and chunks of pumice; ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Daily: Un. of New Hampshire: Deepwater Horizon Spill Threatens More Species Than Legally Protected, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/ 110511134221.htm ScienceDaily (May 11, 2011) —Marine species facing threats from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico far exceed those under legal protection in the United States, a new paper in the journal BioScience finds. University of New Hampshire professor Fred Short and others found 39 additional marine species ...Click Here to Read More.

Seeking Relief for Bali’s Reefs: Fishing Community at Serangan Island in Bali Working on Decades-Long Project to Restore Reef Destroyed by Developer in Mid-1990s

http://www.balidiscovery.com. (5/7/2011) 5 hectares of coral surrounding Serangan island near Sanur in Bali have been destroyed by beach reclamations work done at the location in 1996. According to Beritabali.com, an estimated 20 years is now needed to rehabilitate the reef. Wayan Patut, who is a an environmental activist and the head of the Sari Mertasegara fishing group, said: “When the ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: IUCN Report “Coral Community Decline at Bonaire, Southern Caribbean”

Dear colleagues, Following up on the IUCN report of the Bonaire Marine Park, I would like to draw your attention to a recently published article in Bulletin of Marine Science: “Coral community decline at Bonaire, Southern Caribbean” Website: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/pre-prints/8737;jsessionid=3qmvimw0g0nli.alice Abstract: We assessed the status of coral ...Click Here to Read More.

William and Mary: VIMS study: propeller turbulence may affect marine food webs

http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/vims-study-propeller-turbulence-may-affect-marine-food-webs-123.php by David Malmquist | April 25, 2011 A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that turbulence from boat propellers can and does kill large numbers of copepods-tiny crustaceans that are an important part of marine food webs. The study-by VIMS graduate student ...Click Here to Read More.

Nature: Biodiversity of wetlands may help keep water clean by Bradley Cardinale

8 April 2011 | EN Biodiversity of wetlands may help keep water clean Flickr/Brenda Anderson Conserving biodiversity could help shield waterways against nitrogen pollution, says a study that showed how streams with more species are better at removing excess nutrients from water. The findings imply that developing countries that keep rivers and lakes species-rich could save money on water ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Magazine: Organic Aerosol Formation Downwind from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by J.A. de Gouw, A.M. Middlebrook, C. Warneke, et. al.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6022/1295.abstract Science 11 March 2011: Vol. 331 no. 6022 pp. 1295-1299 DOI: 10.1126/science.1200320 Abstract A large fraction of atmospheric aerosols are derived from organic compounds with various volatilities. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3D research aircraft made airborne measurements of the gaseous and aerosol ...Click Here to Read More.

Huffington Post: Coral Reefs May Be Gone By 2050: Study

The Huffington Post  Joanna Zelman  Posted: 02/25/11 08:37 AM   A recent study has found that all of the world’s coral reefs could be gone by 2050. If lost, 500 million people’s livelihoods worldwide would be threatened. The World Resources Institute report, “Reefs at Risk Revisited,” suggests that by 2030, over 90 percent of coral reefs will be threatened. If ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: P.L. Harrison: New Coral Global Reproduction Review Available

Colleagues, the following global coral reproduction review chapter has recently been published in Dubinsky and Stambler’s book: Harrison, P.L. (2011). Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals. In: Z. Dubinsky and N. Stambler (Editors), Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition Part 3, 59-85, DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-0114-4_6 Springer Publishers. This new review presents a synthesis of ...Click Here to Read More.

Global Coral Disease Database: Welcome to the

http://www.coraldisease.org/ The GCDD is the result of a collaboration between UNEP-WCMC and NOAA NMFS. The project aims to collate information on the global distribution of coral diseases, in order to contribute to the understanding of coral disease prevalence. The GCDD is a compilation of information from scientific literature gathered before 2007 (archive data), as well as new contributions ...Click Here to Read More.

Oceana: Ocean Acidification: The Untold Stories

download the entire report at: http://na.oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Ocean_Acidification_The_Untold_Stories.pdf November 1, 2010 Our use of fossil fuels, deforestation and land use changes are wreaking havoc on the  oceans. Besides causing global climate change, which could cause catastrophic impacts around the world, the release of carbon dioxide from these activities is also ...Click Here to Read More.

ArticleSafari: Dolphin DNA Very Close to Human

http://www.articlesafari.com/2010/10/dolphin-human-dna/ Seema Kumar, of Discovery Channel Online, writes that scientists have discovered that the genetic make-up of dolphins is amazingly similar to humans. They’re closer to us than cows, horses, or pigs, despite the fact that they live in the water. “The extent of the genetic similarity came as a real surprise to us,” says David Busbee of ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Mag: Record hot summer wreaks havoc — record high temps, record low ice volume

Science Now reports that NASA says this year so far is the hottest on record in the 131 years of record keeping.  Nearly 0.7 C hotter than the average from 1951 to 1980, and NOAA has found essentially the same thing using different data.  Nightime temperatures hit record highs in 37 states of the US this summer.  The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, has found ...Click Here to Read More.

Ohio State Un: PhD Graduate Research Opportunity In Coral Bleaching & Ocean Acidification

  Desired (but not required) qualifications: - MSc in Marine Science, Geology, Biology, or any physical science.  Exceptional applicants without an MSc will also be considered. - Experience in isotope biogeochemistry, organic chemistry, or relevant coursework - Tropical fieldwork experience or coral aquaculture experience - The successful candidate must be accepted into the graduate ...Click Here to Read More.

Institute for Tropical Ecology & Conservation: Field Course in Coral Reef Ecology in Panama

2010 WINTER COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT (December 20th- January 9th) FIELD COURSE IN CORAL REEF ECOLOGY (Caribbean of Panama) http://www.itec-edu.org/coral6.html LOCATION:  The field courses will take place at the Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation (ITEC) Bocas del Toro Biological Station, Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, Panama: http://www.itec-edu.org/index.html The Bocas del ...Click Here to Read More.

New York Times: Extreme Heat Puts Coral Reefs at Risk, Forecasts Say

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html?_r=1&hp Coral bleaching, like that seen in the Flower Garden Banks off the Texas-Louisiana border, is an indicator of heat stress.    By JUSTIN GILLIS Published: September 20, 2010 By JUSTIN GILLIS >From Thailand to Texas, many corals are reacting to heat stress by shedding their color and going into survival mode, ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Media and Oil Spill Science; disclosure of conflicts of interest

Reply |Bill Allison to Steve, coral-list show details August 29, 2010 Good-day Steve: Disclosure is not a novel concept (e.g., Harding, 1949), and is required by most journals (e.g., Davidoff and DeAngelis, 2001). Is it unreasonable to expect it in politically and economically freighted discussions on this list? Harding, T. S. (1949). “Vested Interests in Scientific Research.” ...Click Here to Read More.

NOAA Coral Reef Watch: Analysis of Current Coral Bleaching Thermal Stress & Seasonal Guidance through November 2010

(August 2010) *SUMMARY: * The Coral Reef Watch (CRW) satellite coral bleaching monitoring shows sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have been above average throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and are already above the bleaching threshold in some areas. The CRW Coral Bleaching Thermal Stress Outlook indicates that there is a high potential for thermal stress capable of causing coral ...Click Here to Read More.

Global Change Institute: New Coral Reef Rehabilitation Manual

New Coral Reef Rehabilitation Manual The Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) Program has recently released a new Reef Rehabilitation Manual.  The manual is the culmination of research from the CRTR Program, CRISP and ReefRES projects, and is intended to complement the Reef Restoration Concepts & Guidelines.  The Manual captures the experience of international research into ...Click Here to Read More.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative published science including just released: “Guidelines & Mngt. Practises for Artificial Reef Sitings, Usage, Construction and Anchoring in Southeast Florida”

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/reports/ This site features links to all the published science of the South East Florida Coral Reef Initiative, hosted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, including the following topics:   * land-based sources of pollution * awareness and appreciation *  fishing diving and other uses, and *  maritime industries and coastal ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Invasion of a New Scleractinian – Tubastraea micranthus

The Atlantic Lionfish has a New Friend:  A new species of coral has been discovered on one of the oil platforms just southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.  It is Tubastraea micranthus, a western Indo-Pacific coral which has now gained a foot-hold in the Gulf of Mexico.  It has been sighted in the Grand Isle lease area, off the Louisiana coast, southeast of Port Fourchon.  What ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: NOAA 2011 Funding Opportunity–Regional Ecosystem Prediction Program: Understanding Coral Ecosystem Connectivity in the Gulf of Mexico–Pulley Ridge to the Florida Keys

  Due Date: Full proposals are due October 21, 2010 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Description: NOAA’s Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (NOAA/CSCOR), in partnership with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA/OER), National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office, and Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team, is ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Links to over 900 pdf publications by members of the ARC Centre of Coral Reef Studies

 http://www.coralcoe.org.au/pub-scientific.html July 26, 2010 Examples of articles published in the first half of 2010 and added to the Centre’s publications listing include: Ainsworth, TD, Thurber, RV and Gates, RD (2010). The future of coral reefs: a microbial perspective. /Trends in Ecology & Evolution/ 25(4): 233-240. Babcock, RC, Shears, NT, Alcala, AC, Barrett, NS, Edgar, GJ, ...Click Here to Read More.

IEAM’s Featured Articles at Managing and Responding to Oil Spills

http://www.setacjournals.org/view/0/ieamfeaturedoilspills.html IEAM brings together a selection of peer-reviewed articles previously published and still relevant to scientists and other respondents to the 20 April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These articles exemplify the application of science in environmental decision-making, management, and sound approaches to environmental problem ...Click Here to Read More.

SETAC Journals: Oil Spills: The Exxon Valdez and other Environmental Impacts

http://www.setacjournals.org/view/0/virtualissueoilspills.html This virtual issue on the 1989 oil spill of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska is being published by SETAC/Wiley-Blackwell as a resource to enhance informed decision-making in the public and private sectors on the environmental effects of the 20 April oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The papers represent ET&C’s ...Click Here to Read More.

The Loss of Large Fish on Coral Reefs by Doug Fenner, Ph.D.

http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/sharks-are-in-trouble/399-loss-of-large-fish-on-coral-reefs.html Here’s an updated version of the post above, provided by Dr. Fenner: The Largest Fish on Coral Reefs were the First to Go.  “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone,” as we’re only now finding out. Douglas Fenner, Ph.D.       Many reef scientists (including ...Click Here to Read More.

Coral-list: Effects of Corexit oil disperant on corals

Coral-list May 18, 2010 In response to Ed Blume’s and others’ question on the effects of Corexit oil dispersant on corals, here is the summary from a Master’s Thesis by a past graduate student of mine who performed some experiments on coral gametes and larvae: MENDIOLA, W.J.C.  2004.  The effect of the oil dispersant, Corexit 9527, on reproduction of the spawning coral, ...Click Here to Read More.

Wakulla.com: Shorelines and Coastal Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico FACT SHEET

  05-02-2010 The effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on natural resources are dependent on multiple factors including oil composition, oil quantity, dispersal techniques, and contact with organisms. Broadly speaking, when offshore, impacts may occur in the upper meter or so of the water column, mid-level mixing layer (through dispersal of oil and toxic components) and at the sea ...Click Here to Read More.

NOAA Research: Impacts of fossil fuels on fish and people

2008 piece provided as background: http://www.eurekalert.org/aaasnewsroom/2008/index.php?start=25 Public release date: 16-Feb-2008 Contact: Ben Sherman ben.sherman@noaa.gov 202-253-5256 NOAA Research Scientist John Incardona will tell a scientific detective story that uncovers a previously unrecognized threat to human health from a ubiquitous class of air pollutants. Incardona of the National ...Click Here to Read More.

ISRS: Reef Symposium Dec. 13-17 Netherlands

Dear listers, This is to inform you that you can now register and submit abstracts for the isrs2010 symposium “Reefs in a Changing Environment” in The Netherlands, December 13-17, 2010. Please, visit www.isrs2010.org for further details. We hope to welcome many of you in Wageningen. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, Ronald Osinga International Society for Reef Studies ...Click Here to Read More.

CaribeSave: UNDP – an overview of Modelling Climate Change Impacts in the Caribbean Region with Contribution from the Pacific Islands:

http://www.caribsave.org/index.php?id=5 A new report spearheaded by the CARIBSAVE project under UNDP funding highlights the impacts of climate change on Caribbean nations and natural resources. In particular, the report highlights the difference in the impacts at the 2.0°C increase being pushed by many UN negotiators vs. the 1.5°C increase promoted by the Alliance of Small Island States. The ...Click Here to Read More.

Sesoki Ocean Acidification Project: Ocean Acidification reduces sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates and other related studies

Ocean acidification reduces sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates. http://aical-sesoko.jp/en Sesoko ocean acidification project is one of subtopics of “Experimental studies of the effects of ocean acidification on calcifying organisms” which is supported by 2008 Global Environment Research Fund (No. B-084) by Ministry of the Environment Government of ...Click Here to Read More.

CARMABI Caribbean Marine Biology Institute

http://www.researchstationcarmabi.org/ Nature, both above as below the water, has been intensively studied on Curaçao for more than five decades resulting in a large number of studies and publications. To facilitate this research, CARMABI, short for the Caribbean Marine Biological Institute was founded in 1955. In addition to facilitating and conducting research, this institute now plays an ...Click Here to Read More.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, T. Essington, Ecological Indicators display reduced variation in No. Am. catch share fisheries

http://www.lenfestocean.org/publications/catch_shares.html and http://www.pnas.org/content/107/2/754.full Ecological indicators display reduced variation in North American catch share fisheries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Essington, T. 2009. In a new study funded by the Lenfest Ocean Program, Dr. Tim Essington studied 15 North American catch share programs to determine ...Click Here to Read More.

Science Daily: Will Coral Reefs Disappear?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100221200908.htm Will Coral Reefs Disappear? ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Will coral reefs disappear? This is the title of a symposium presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in San Diego, California. And it’s a topic that should not be taken lightly. NSERC-funded researcher Dr. Simon ...Click Here to Read More.