Australia is facing an increase in extreme heat, fire danger weather, floods and marine heatwaves, according to the latest biennial snapshot from the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.
Georgina Brennan, Bangor University; Dong Xu, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences e Naihao Ye, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
Climate change will affect the nutrition of seaweeds eaten by billions of people around the world.
Many Caribbean reefs are now dominated by sponges.
from www.shutterstock.com
Marine sponges are ancient organisms that have survived mass extinctions. Many are more tolerant of climate change and may dominate over corals in future reef systems.
Researchers studied reef sands at Heron Island, Hawaii, Bermuda and Tetiaroa. In this photo, white areas show the predominance of sand on reefs.
Southern Cross University
Ocean acidification poses an increasing threat to the sediments that form the framework of coral reefs - within around 30 years, these carbonate sands may no longer be able to form.
Giant triton molluscs are a useful ally in battling the coral-grazing crown-of-thorns starfish.
AAP Image/AIMS, K Goodbun
The federal government’s new funding aims to spread the net wide in investigating possible ways to protect the Great Barrier Reef’s corals. Winning this battle will require a wide range of weapons.
A tank can give a good idea of what will happen out in the wild.
A new study suggests the benefits of a boost to marine plant growth from increased carbon dioxide will be cancelled out by the increased stress to fish species.
The oceans are filled with sounds produced by animals. However, a recent study shows that ocean sounds are diminishing due to nutrient pollution and ocean acidification.
Paul McElhany, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Global climate change is altering the chemistry of the oceans. A recent study suggests that the Pacific coast’s lucrative Dungeness crab fishery could suffer as ocean water becomes more acidic.
A combination of factors – pollution, disease and overfishing – is harming corals but scientists have found clues to effective treatment by studying corals’ microbiome.
South Africa’s oceans offer numerous economic opportunities, if ocean acidification is dealt with properly.
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Louis Celliers, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
South Africa has the opportunity to benefit from its ocean economy. But to do that, the country needs to put better policies in place to counter ocean acidification.
Don’t dismiss what science has to say about the fate of coral reefs.
Tom Bridge/tethys-images.com
By artificially going ‘back in time’ to more alkaline ocean conditions, researchers have shown the damage that ocean acidification is already doing to the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is made up of thousands of individual reefs.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Flickr
Shellfish will have more brittle shells as oceans get more acidic – making them more vulnerable to predators. New research gives a fascinating glimpse into how they will adapt.