Blog
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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News from the Field: A Bright Spot in Indonesia
I spent September in Indonesia working with our field staff and visiting our partner communities in Karangasem and Buleleng in northern Bali. While there, I was invited to visit some coral reefs off the West coast of Sulawesi. It was rumored that some areas had 100 percent live coral cover, so I jumped at the…
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Making Connections Across Melanesia
My work with the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) provides me with many memorable experiences and opportunities. One of the greatest rewards is meeting and working with such diverse groups of people and building strong connections with the communities in Fiji. Following Tropical Cyclone Winston, l discovered just how passionately connected to the Kubulau community I…
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Coral Reef Close-up: Mucus Munchers
Butterflyfish are a favorite for many reef lovers, and their unique feeding habits make them coral reef obligates (they are only found on coral reefs). Did you know that some of the 129 species of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae) are “mucus munchers?” As strange as it might sound, some butterflyfish take advantage of energy-rich coral mucus as…
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Sunscreen and Corals
For many of us, coral reefs are vacation destinations; places we feel lucky to visit. We plan our trip and packing lists carefully, and bring clothes and sunscreens to protect our skin from the intensity of the equatorial sun, but as we reported in January, sunscreen is not as safe for corals as we once…
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Let’s Not Forget About the Local Communities
Last year, over 190 countries came together in France for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21). They negotiated the Paris Agreement—a global agreement on limiting global warming. It was a great example of setting ambitious policy to protect our natural resources. COP 21 has been a popular topic at this…
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It’s Not Enough to Address Overfishing
Overfishing is a widespread problem across our oceans. As our global human population quickly approaches eight billion, pressures on these ocean resources will only increase. That means bad news for coral reef fish. They are even more vulnerable to overfishing than pelagic (open ocean) fish because of their biology, said Dr. Charles Birkeland in his…
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Poor Water Quality is Hurting Coral Reefs
For many years, few people paid attention to the impacts that poor water quality has on coral reefs. But this is changing. At the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), many sessions focused on discussing this important issue. Never has the CORAL team been so excited to hear so many talks on sewage, sedimentation, and runoff!…
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Corals Can Adapt to Our Changing Environment
Coral reefs around the world are being hit hard by many stressors. At the local level, they’re dealing with issues like overfishing and poor water quality. At the global level, they’re facing warming temperatures, more acidic oceans, and stronger storms. With effective management, we can mitigate many local threats. But the global ones are a…
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Who’s the Real Dory?
Meet the Real Fish Behind the Beloved Ocean Icon If you’ve ever watched Finding Nemo or Finding Dory, you already know Dory: the bright blue, big-hearted fish with a short memory and an even bigger personality. But the real Dory exists far beyond the screen, and she’s even more fascinating in the wild. The character…