A new study suggests that the Gulf Stream – an Atlantic Ocean current that plays a large role in shaping Earth’s weather patterns – is weaker now than at any point in the last 1,000 years. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/gulf-stream-atlantic-weakest-in-over-1000-years…
Tag: corals
Corals bleached from heat become less resilient to ocean acidification
Corals are able to compensate for ocean acidification when in water of optimal temperature, but when exposed to heat stress, they are less resilient to acidification Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264426-corals-bleached-from-heat-become-less-resilient-to-ocean-acidification/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Certain corals can recover from bleaching during prolonged heatwaves
Corals that are in partnerships with certain kinds of symbiotic algae are able to recover from bleaching, even while marine heatwaves are ongoing Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262056-certain-corals-can-recover-from-bleaching-during-prolonged-heatwaves/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
New marine protection zone will help endangered penguins and more
Plans are in place to create the world’s 4th-largest fully protected marine reserve at the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/new-marine-protection-zone-tristan-da-cunha-penguin…
Corals are first animals seen to pass on mutations acquired as adults
Adult corals can pass on mutations they have acquired during their lives to their offspring, like some plants do, overturning a belief that no animals can hand down such mutations Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2258746-corals-are-first-animals-seen-to-pass-on-mutations-acquired-as-adults/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
The Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half Its Corals
The Great Barrier Reef, one of the earth’s most precious habitats, lost half of its coral populations in the last quarter-century, a decline that researchers in Australia said would continue unless drastic action is taken to mitigate the effects of climate change. From a report: Researchers studied coral colonies along the length of the reef between 1995 and 2017 and found…
Did this mass extinction event trigger dawn of the dinosaurs?
New research suggests that a series of huge volcanic eruptions, 233 million years ago, led to a mass extinction event that heralded the dawn of the dinosaurs. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/mass-extinction-event-trigger-dawn-of-dinosaurs…
Giant Clams Manipulate Light To Assist Their Symbiotic Partner
Special cells in giant clams shift the wavelength of light to protect them from UV radiation and increase the photosynthetic activity of their symbionts, shows research from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology — originally intended as a photonics investigation. Phys.Org reports: Like corals, giant clams are important players in reef ecosystems and live in symbiosis with photosynthetic Symbiodiniaceae algae….
Great Barrier Reef Suffers Its Most Widespread Mass Bleaching Event On Record
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Washington Post: Surveys conducted by scientists at Australia’s James Cook University and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority show that a summer of extreme heat has caused the reef, which is a World Heritage Site, to suffer a mass bleaching of unprecedented scale. Corals from the far north to the southern tip…
Scientists Find the First-Ever Animal That Doesn’t Need Oxygen To Survive
Scientists from Tel Aviv University in Israel discovered that a salmon parasite called Henneguya salminicola doesn’t have a mitochondrial genome — the first multicellular organism known to have this absence. That means it doesn’t breathe; in fact, it lives its life completely free of oxygen dependency. ScienceAlert reports: It’s a cnidarian, belonging to the same phylum as corals, jellyfish and anemones….