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coral reefs
Trends
- 1Corals Face Existential Threat as Super El Niño Heats Oceans▼Corals Face an Existential Threat as the Super El Niño Heats Up
Conservation groups warn that the current super El Niño is pushing ocean temperatures to levels that pose an existential threat to coral reefs worldwide. Rising heat stress is expected to trigger widespread bleaching, putting reefs and the marine life that depends on them at serious risk as the climate pattern intensifies.
- 2Singapore's island merger plan threatens coral reefs●Singapore’s plan to merge several islands could wipe out coral reefs
Singapore is planning to merge several of its southern islands into a single landmass through large-scale reclamation. Environmental outlet Mongabay reports that the project could wipe out coral reefs in the surrounding waters, raising concerns among conservationists about the fate of marine biodiversity in one of the world's busiest shipping regions.
- 3Bacteria on coral reef fish gills carry chemosynthesis genes●DNA reveals chemosynthesis genes in bacteria living on coral reef fish gills
Researchers have found that bacteria living on the gills of coral reef fish carry genes for chemosynthesis, the process of making food from chemicals rather than sunlight. DNA analysis revealed these genetic pathways in the gill microbes, suggesting reef fish may host bacteria capable of producing nutrients in ways previously associated with deep-sea ecosystems rather than sunlit reefs.