Last updated on March 15, 2014 at 9:21 EDT

Latest Fire coral Stories

Image 1 - Scientific Sleuths Pinpoint Guilty Coral Killers
2011-11-24 04:05:36

The elusive culprits that are killing countless coral reefs around the world can now be nabbed with technology normally used to diagnose human diseases, marine researchers say. Coral researchers and reef managers will be able to identify coral infections using a new method that allows them to classify specific diseases based on the presence of microbes. This could lead to more effective action to reduce the impact of disease on the world´s imperiled coral reefs. “Current...

Image 1 - Certain Species Of Seaweed Can Harm Corals
2011-10-18 08:46:40

Scientists studying coral reefs in and around the South Pacific have found that some seaweed can cause coral bleaching and suppress photosynthesis by emitting anti-coral chemicals. As part of their study, researchers have identified and mapped the chemical structure of molecules used by certain types of marine seaweed that kill or inhibit growth of reef-building coral. Chemicals found on the surfaces of several species of seaweed have been shown to harm coral, suggesting that competition...

2011-01-27 09:05:20

Finding could help scientists monitor how corals adapt to global warming Young staghorn coral that fluoresce redder are less likely to settle and develop into coral polyps than their greener peers, University of Texas at Austin biologists have discovered. The finding may help scientists monitor how corals adapt to global warming because the less likely coral larvae are to settle, the more likely they will disperse from their reef of origin. "By simply looking at the color of a larval...

2009-05-12 07:53:00

A nearly complete collection of genes for a species of reef-building coral has been assembled by a team led by biologists from The University of Texas at Austin. The scientists will use the genetic data to understand natural variations in corals from around the world and how they respond, at the genetic level, to rising water temperatures. "One of the most important questions for coral biologists is whether it will be possible for corals to adapt to the warming oceans," says Eli Meyer,...