Monthly Archives: September 2012

A study conducted by the University of Southampton details how the health of coral and its susceptibility to bleaching depends heavily on the health of zooxanthellae—the single-celled algae that lives symbiotically with coral and gives it its color. According to the research, zooxanthellae require a combination of high levels of phosphate and low levels of dissolved nitrogen compounds in order to avoid nutrient starvation.  However, Dr Jörg Wiedenmann, who led the study, reminds us that “…the most severe impact on coral health might actually not arise from the over-enrichment with one group of nutrients, for example, nitrogen, but from the resulting relative depletion of other types such as phosphate that is caused by the increased demand of the growing zooxanthellae populations.” Read more here!… More:

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In yet another study on the health of corals, researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa made a very intriguing discovery—one that defies the common assumption held by many marine biologists and reef enthusiasts. The newfound correlation between coral and the single-celled algae (called Symbiodinium) that lives on them reveals that species of coral that host numerous types of algal symbionts—called “generalists” corals—are actually more “environmentally sensitive,” and therefore more vulnerable to diseases, bleaching, and other global stressors.  This revelation is in stark contrast to the assumption that coral species that are “flexible” in their hosting of algae are more adaptable to changing environmental conditions. Further research is being conducted to find out what exactly causes flexible corals to be more at risk than inflexible corals. Read more here! -feature pic courtesy of sciencedaily.com… More:

Here is an interesting technical overview of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a program that has been running for 25 years focused on integrating and analyzing data from hundreds of undersea probes, monitors and cameras.  Basically it is an aquarium monitor for all of the world’s oceans.  All of the data from the worldwide network is transmitted into an extremely large analysis system.  The amount of data is so staggering that they require bleeding edge tools just to properly look at them.  Imagine a file that is so big that no computer on earth can even begin to open it up, you get some sense of the challenge involved in making sense of the size and scope of the project.  Much like the Hubble Telescope, the data has to be broken apart in order to study smaller pieces, and then the resulting data set is reviewed by a separate set of nodes in the cloud.  And you thought your Apex gave you a lot of information?  Check out the LINK for a peek under the hood.… More:

 The above is a video making the rounds on the internets showing a massive mating event in Concordia, St Johns, US Virgin Islands.  Despite being land crabs, they still require seawater to mate and lay eggs, so these huge events take place at least once a year and usually last several days to weeks.  A similar process occurs every November on Christmas Island, where the Red Crabs blanket the entire island twice as they first cross the island to mate, and then their newborns cross back over the island two weeks later.  If you grew up in the USA, you may have had one of these cool animals as a pet, so seeing them in such numbers is an incredible sight!  Thanks to Pam Gaffin for recording this great video.… More:

Recently, a group of scientist discovered a breakthrough in the treatment of White Plague disease, a deadly bacterium that infects corals and spreads to surrounding healthy corals. By subjecting affected coral to a virus called BA3 at a rate of 1000 ppm, the scientist found a noticeable cessation of spreading and progression of the disease.  While this treatment is effective, finding an economical and viable way to treat large areas of infected reef without potentially harming other marine life is another challenge. One of the scientists, Professor Rosenberg, assures us that these viruses can be easily manufactured in a laboratory; it is only the application of this treatment that needs further study. As he says, “it’s a question of technology and funding.” Read more here!… More: