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ScienceBiologyAn Animal Friendship Thought to Have Ended 250 Million Years Ago Is Still Flourishing Off the Coast of Japan
Off the southwest coast of Japan, a group of animals has been coexisting in a close relationship that researchers thought didn’t exist in the modern age. The team of researchers from Japan and Poland found a sea lily—which, despite its name, is an animal and not a plant—hosting coral and sea anemone species on its … Continued
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EartherColorful Photos Reveal the Secrets of Australia’s Twilight Zone Coral Gardens
In the depths of the ocean off the northwest Australian coast lie vast, mysterious ecosystems. Until recently, they were completely undocumented by scientists. A team of researchers changed that in mid-April, though, after they boarded an oceanic research vessel known as the R/V Falkor. Equipped with advanced robotic technologies, the boat and its crew set … Continued
By Dharna Noor -
EartherClimate ChangeHot Oceans Are Raising the Risk of Coral Bleaching Around the Globe
Seemingly every region of the world has been breaking temperature records these days. The oceans absorb much of this heat, and it’s threatening the world’s corals. Climate change is largely responsible for this crisis—or ourselves because, y’know, we caused this mess. Hawaii, in particular, is seeing its corals suffer this summer. Large parts of the … Continued
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EartherEarth ScienceHurricane Dorian Caused an Oil Spill That Could Be a ‘Socioeconomic Tragedy’
Hurricane Dorian’s devastation has killed at least 30 in the Bahamas. All this death has a distinct smell, Sam Teicher told Earther. The founder of Coral Vita, a coral-growing operation based Grand Bahama, had that awful, hair-raising stench in his nose all day on Thursday as he drove around trying to help those in need. … Continued
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EartherConservationMore Than Half a Million Corals Died to Bring Bigger Ships Into Miami Port
Off the coast of Miami, corals are dying. Why? Because of a 16-month-long project to expand the harbor channel. A new study shows how the project killed over half a million corals between 2013 and 2015. Published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin Thursday, the study involved on-the-ground observations of the corals coupled with satellite … Continued
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EartherConservationResearchers May Have Solved Darwin’s Paradox of How Reefs Are So Productive
Cryptobenthic fish may sound weird, but they’re not so different from you and me. They’re vertebrates just like us, though their hearts, bones, and brains are quite tiny. But unlike us, they do two things extremely well. “They’re the masters of premature death,” Simon Brandl, a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University, told Earther. “And … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate ChangeAn Underwater Sculpture in the Maldives Is the Perfect Monument to Climate Change
The Maldives are the lowest lying nation in the world. The highest point is just eight feet above sea level, meaning the country’s culture and fate are intimately tied to the vast ocean surrounding it. To commemorate that relationship and remind visitors of what could be lost to the rising seas, artist Jason deCaires Taylor … Continued
By Brian Kahn
