Source: NOAA
December 9, 2011

"Corals damaged in 2002 when a boat ran aground in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are now thriving following a restoration and near decade-long monitoring effort, according to a new NOAA report released today. With hundreds of groundings happening each year in the sanctuary, lessons learned from this coral reef restoration and monitoring will guide future restoration efforts.

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Source: The Miami Herald
December 9, 2011

"Bleaching of Florida's coral reefs has reached a new high.
The Nature Conservancy said on Friday that the most extensive bleaching since monitoring began in 2005 occurred this summer.

Coral that's under stress expels the colorful algae that live in its tissues, exposing its stark white skeleton.

Bleaching makes the coral susceptible to disease and is a major contributor to the decline of reefs.

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Source: Fish Channel
December 7, 2011

"As global warming alters the chemical makeup of the world's oceans with increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, the world's corals suffer from acidification, according to a November 2011 paper published in the online journal Coral Reefs.

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Wynne Parry
Source: MSNBC
December 8, 2011

"Certain species of corals have been discovered living in the surprisingly acidic waters of the Caribbean's submarine springs, areas thought inhospitable to corals, a new survey has found.

However, these so-called single corals are not the reef-builders responsible for the large Caribbean reefs that form critical habitat for various species, while also performing other important roles in nature."

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Source: LA Times
December 8, 2011

"Activists in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific are proposing a huge new shark sanctuary in the face of fishing pressures and the continued massive drop in shark numbers over the last decade worldwide. The Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative, or PICI, is working with local fishery authorities to craft the Cook Islands Shark Sanctuary to extend over the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, which covers almost 2 million square kilometers of ocean.

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Source: Herald Sun
December 7, 2011

"The study, funded in part by the Australian Research Council, found that fish numbers are increased in marine reserves where mangroves and reefs are close together.

Lead researcher Andrew Olds said the reserves meant fishermen would be able to catch more fish, even in protected "green zones".

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Source: The Epoch Times
December 5, 2011

"Fish probably use tools much more than we realize, according to new research from Australia.

Originally, tool use was believed to be a trait only exhibited by humans, but scientists have documented primates using tools for various tasks, as well as several bird species, such as the New Caledonian crow.

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Source: 7th Space
December 6, 2011

"Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The results of Hong Kong Reef Check 2011 showed that local corals are generally in a healthy and stable condition with high fauna diversity.

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