To lose the reefs would be to lose the planet’s most diverse ecosystems – habitats that make even tropical jungles seem impoverished. “I’m not dissing rainforests, but you could walk for kilometres ...

Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that sustain millions of people, yet they face a growing crisis. Rising ocean temperatures are causing coral bleaching, a process where heat disrupts the relationship ...

In a lab at the University of Miami, there are tanks of knobby, tan-colored corals from Florida, Honduras and the Cayman Islands. They've been drafted into a sort of coral Olympics, as scientists look ...

Coral reefs are often described in scientific terms: ecosystems rich in biodiversity, natural storm barriers, and sources of food and income. Yet for many scientists, the path into reef research did ...

Coral reefs may seem like paradise, but they are being degraded by a range of global and local factors, including climate change, poor water quality, and overfishing. New research reveals that ...

Healthy reefs aren’t just about colorful fish — they also shield shorelines from intense tropical storms. If Florida’s reefs keep degrading, flooding during tropical storms could get much worse, ...

Mass coral bleaching occurs when unusually warm ocean temperatures disrupt the partnership between corals and the microscopic algae that supply most of their energy, leaving corals weakened and often ...

His charges are a type of soft coral called gorgonians. "They're a fundamentally important part of the Caribbean and Floridian coral reef habitat," he says. Foord tends to more than 2,000 tiny soft ...