coral reefs

Millions watch as underwater camera documents daily life on a Miami coral reef

2:49pm April 14, 2025

For five years, the Coral City Camera has given viewers a live look at aquatic reef life near Miami. It's documented the declining conditions and shown a surprising vitality among some coral species.

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Veterans and Volunteers with Force Blue using an assembly line for stone transport for erosion barrier in Ft. Walton Beach Florida

National

Former Navy SEALs say they're making marine conservation cool

5:00am March 11, 2025

A group called Force Blue, which does conservation work across the country, is providing what they call "mission therapy" to veterans who miss the camaraderie and the sense of purpose of service.

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Florida reefs are in trouble. Could the answer lie in coral from the Caribbean?

5:30am June 22, 2024

by Jenny Staletovich

Scientists working to save Florida’s ailing reef hope Caribbean coral thriving in hotter water could bring some relief.

Christiane Keyhani (bottom left) and Liz Yannell (bottom right), of the non-profit group Hui O Ka Wai Ola, measure water quality along Lahaina's coast. The group is part of a coalition that mobilized in the wake of the fire to closely monitor the water quality off Lahaina.

Environment

Maui community mobilizes to protect water quality from runoff after Lahaina fires

5:00am May 10, 2024

The debris from Lahaina's fire contains toxic chemicals and sits right next to a coral reef. So the community is collaborating with scientists to track water quality.

Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs.

Environment

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

5:00am April 17, 2024

Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point.

During spawning corals release their eggs and sperm, filling the water like confetti, which combine to create the next generation of reef builders.

Environment

Scientists are breeding 'super corals.' Can they withstand climate change?

5:01am April 01, 2024

Coral reefs face a dire future as oceans get hotter. Scientists are breeding corals that can handle heat better, in the hope they can survive long enough for humans to rein in climate change.

This type of staghorn coral (Acropora pulchra) appeared to benefit from the presence of sea cucumbers (Holothuria atra), a new study finds.

This often-overlooked sea creature may be quietly protecting the planet's coral reefs

4:01pm March 13, 2024

by Ari Daniel

The pickle-shaped bottom feeders may reduce the amount of microbes on the seafloor that could potentially sicken coral, scientists suggest

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As oceans get hotter, scientists are looking for ways to safeguard coral species so they can be used to restore reefs in the future.

Environment

One way to save coral reefs? Deep freeze them for the future

2:03pm September 06, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

As oceans get hotter, coral reefs are suffering. Scientists are working on ways to preserve coral by freezing and then reviving them to restore reefs someday.

The extreme wildfire that hit Lahaina burned all the way to the coast. As the cleanup continues, rainstorms could wash toxic runoff into the ocean.

Environment

Another struggle after the Maui fires: keeping toxic runoff out of the ocean

1:55pm August 29, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

There's little that separates the ocean from the 2,200 burned buildings in Lahaina. Officials are working to block runoff that could harm the coral reefs offshore.

Researchers found that plastic debris sits atop almost 92% of the reefs they studied, including some of the most remote and uninhabited ones. Here in Oman, plastic floats past an otherwise healthy reef.

Plastic is suffocating coral reefs — and it's not just bottles and bags

9:36pm July 12, 2023

by Ari Daniel

A new study takes a comprehensive look at the plastic debris smothering reefs, where in the ocean it's more prevalent — and how to deal with the problem.

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