September 12, 2019
The foundation of Kona’s underwater universe is its coral reef.
Changing geo‐ecological functions of coral reefs in the Anthropocene
The ecology of many coral reefs has changed markedly over recent decades in response to various combinations of local and global stressors. These ecological changes have important implications for the abundance of taxa that regulate the production and erosion of skeletal carbonates, and thus for many of the geo‐ecological functions that coral reefs provide, including reef framework production and sediment generation, the maintenance of reef habitat complexity and reef growth potential.
July 5, 2019
A new study found that bleached reefs had fewer predators such as snappers and groupers and more plant-eating fish such as parrotfish and rabbitfish. Click on the link below to read the full article.
June 14, 2019
The reefs that ring the French Polynesian islands of Mo'orea and Tahiti are in the grip of a massive coral bleaching event, described by both locals and scientists as one of the most devastating they've encountered. Click on the link below to read the full article.
May 24, 2019
Widespread coral bleaching has been reported in the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti and Moorea, even though there was no El Nino event this year. Click on the link below to read the full article.
May 10, 2019
A new interactive map can help you identify, in near-real-time, areas where the sea is warming up at alarming levels, increasing the risk of coral reef bleaching. Click on the link to read the full article.
April 5, 2019
Climate change is making ocean heat waves worse—a reality that increases the chances for mass bleaching and puts young coral in jeopardy. Click on the link below to read the full article.
Field Note - Silent killer: black reefs in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is in a naturally ironpoor region in the equatorial central Pacific. The main introduction of iron to this environment is from maritime debris, especially shipwrecks and anchor gear, and is linked to proliferation of turf algae and benthic bacterial communities, and the formation of degraded ‘black reefs’...
November 2, 2018
As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, coral reefs worldwide are experiencing mass bleaching events and die-offs. Click on the link below to read the full article.
Deep reefs of the Great Barrier Reef offer limited thermal refuge during mass coral bleaching
Our rapidly warming climate is threatening coral reefs as thermal anomalies trigger mass coral bleaching events. Deep (or “mesophotic”) coral reefs are hypothesised to act as major ecological refuges from mass bleaching, but empirical assessments are limited. We evaluated the potential of mesophotic reefs within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and adjacent Coral Sea to act as thermal refuges by characterising long-term temperature conditions and assessing impacts during the 2016 mass bleaching event.