Multimedia Items
Can multivitamins help save coral reefs?
💊🪸Could a multivitamin help save coral reefs? Preliminary data says… yes! Like humans, these marine ecosystems rely on nutrients in the environment surrounding them. WHOI Reef Solutions experts have…
Read MoreCoral reef deterioration stages
Coral reef deterioration stages. Healthy corals support healthy marine ecosystems, but corals are in crisis on many fronts. High levels of carbon dioxide are warming ocean waters and causing them…
Read MoreWHOI’s Amy Apprill “speaks for the reefs” at COP28
WHOI microbial ecologist Amy Apprill went to COP28 in December 2023 to “speak for the reefs,” highlighting their vulnerability to climate change, but also the innovative, science-based solutions that can support these vital ecosystems.
Read MoreOcean Encounters: Giving Reefs a Chance
Coral reefs are in trouble. We have already lost more than half of the world’s reefs in just 50 years, while climate change, pollution, and other stressors continue to decimate what remains of these biodiverse and beautiful ecosystems. Ending the coral reef crisis will not be easy, but it is still possible. Join us to hear how WHOI scientists and engineers are working together to diagnose reefs at risk—and bring degraded reefs back to life.
Read MoreReef Diversity
With their clear water and multi-colored organisms, coral reef ecosystems such as this in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) are an iconic sight. But corals also exist in places…
Read MoreRobotic Reef
Katie Shamberger, assistant professor at Texas A&M University, checks the Remote Access Sampler (RAS) on Dongsha Atoll, a coral reef ecosystem in the South China Sea. The RAS is a…
Read MoreReef as Refuge
Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study published by Woods…
Read MoreRed Sea reef
Reef-building corals create habitats for many other organisms. The coral reefs of the Red Sea are highly diverse and unique in the world, providing shelter and sustenance for abundant fishes…
Read MoreResearch on the reefs
Coral reefs are among the most diverse, productive ecosystems on Earth, but they are also among the most threatened. Fragile reefs are particularly sensitive to environmental changes, such as warming…
Read MoreThe top of the reef
Coral reefs often extend from a sandy bottom to just beneath the water’s surface, forming broad reef flats. Barely a foot below the surface, the flats can be a harsh…
Read MoreReef’s edge
An inflatable boat and dive-tour operators stand by at a coral reef’s edge in the Red Sea, where WHOI scientists are studying the unique, pristine reef ecosystems along Saudi Arabia’s…
Read MoreRed Sea reef
Reef-building corals create habitats for many other organisms. The corals reefs of the Red Sea are highly diverse and unique in the world, providing shelter and sustenance for abundant fishes…
Read MoreDid you know ocean robots use AI?
Did you know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help us learn more about the ocean? Next-gen robots equipped with AI can cover more area, gather more data, and make decisions…
Read MoreHope for Corals in Crisis
Coral reefs around the world are facing a dangerous decline, but there is still hope! This behind-the-scenes video highlights some of the novel technologies and approaches WHOI researchers are developing to detect and diagnose at-risk corals before any visible signs of damage when there is still time to intervene.
Read MoreCoral Chemistry
MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Chawalit “Net” Charoenpong teaches WHOI Summer Student Fellow Brooke Rasina to measure the amount of nitrogen in coral skeleton samples using a laboratory instrument called a…
Read MoreCoral RATS
WHOI geologist Pat Lohmann and MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Tom DeCarlo deploy the RATS (Robotic Analyzer of the Total carbon dioxide System) sampler from scaffolding they built between coral…
Read MoreCoral Clouds
WHOI senior scientist Konrad Hughen swims through dense clouds of bluestreak fusiliers in the Chagos Marine Reserve, the world’s largest no-take marine reserve. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s…
Read MoreIn the Hot Seat
Summer Student Fellow Ashley Grey investigates a coral’s response to rising ocean temperatures while working in the lab of WHOI scientist Anne Cohen. During the summer of 2013, Grey located…
Read MoreSound Management
MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Max Kaplan finishes installing a DMON, a broadband digital acoustic recorder developed at WHOI, on a coral reef in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The device,…
Read MoreA Fine Balance
WHOI postdoctoral researcher Katie Shamberger makes adjustments to VINDTA (Versatile INstrument for the Determination of Total inorganic carbon and titration Alkalinity) in the lab of associate scientist Dan McCorckle. By making…
Read MoreIndicators of ocean health
Tropical coral reefs make up a small part of Earth’s ocean but are among the most diverse, productive ecosystems in the world. The fisheries and tourism that reefs support make…
Read MoreVenus’ girdle
Looping through the open ocean, this ribbon-shaped jelly-like animal, called a “Venus’ girdle” comb jelly, catches food with a sticky substance. This one was seen in the ocean off the…
Read MoreA brilliant spectrum of color
Viewed in polarized light, this thin section of the skeleton of a Pacific reef-building coral, Acropora gemmifera, looks more like abstract art. WHOI researchers are currently involved in a three-week…
Read MoreThe vertical life
Red Sea coral communities thrive on vertical walls at the reef’s edge, where individual coral colonies compete for access to sunlight and food-carrying currents. The shapes of the colonies change…
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