News Releases
Coral Reef Fish Make Their Way Home
Coral reef fish hatchlings dispersed by ocean currents are able to make their way back to their home reefs again to spawn, says a groundbreaking study published today in the…
Read More‘Fishial’ Recognition: Neural Network Identifies Coral Reef Sounds
Faster identification of fish sounds from acoustic recordings can improve research, conservation efforts
Read MoreTracking Fish Through a Coral Reef Seascape
Ocean scientists have long known that juvenile coral reef fishes use coastal seagrass and mangrove habitats as nurseries, later moving as adults onto coral reefs. But the fishes’ movements, and…
Read MoreNew Imaging Vehicle Maps Coral Reefs to Determine Health of Reef and Fisheries
Deepwater coral reefs in the US Virgin Islands may occupy a much larger area and be in better health than previously thought, based on evidence gathered by a new autonomous underwater vehicle which flies through the sea like a helicopter.
Read MoreNew study highlights the correlation between live corals and fishing yields
Research led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution predicts lower fishing yields as corals struggle to survive
Read MoreWHOI researchers reinforce acoustic enhancement as a reef restoration method
Using successful techniques from an earlier study, acoustic enrichment continues to show promise
Read MoreNew funding will boost vital reef restoration work
Coral Research and Development Accelerator Program funding will advance acoustic enhancement research in the Caribbean
Read MoreStudy: eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health
Researchers from WHOI studied the microbes in coral reef water by examining eight reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands over a period of seven years, which included periods of hurricane and coral disease disturbance.
Read MoreSonic Youth: Healthy Reef Sounds Increase Coral Settlement
Researchers at WHOI demonstrated that replaying healthy reef sounds could potentially be used to encourage coral larvae to recolonize damaged or degraded reefs.
Read MoreScientists Discover Additional Healthy Deep-sea Coral Reefs and New Seamounts in the Galápagos
Stunning 800 meter-long coral reef discovered with Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot off Galápagos Islands Puerto Ayora, Ecuador– Scientists examining underwater cliff ecosystems onboard research vessel Falkor(too) using the 4,500…
Read MoreScientists Aboard R/V Atlantis Discover Deep-Sea Coral Reefs in the Galápagos
Observations using the newly upgraded human-occupied vehicle Alvin are the first of a deep-water coral reef in the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
The reefs are located at depths between 400-600 m, atop previously unmapped seamounts.
Toward a New Era of Reef Solutions
WHOI coral reef researchers propose a new technology-centered focus to study and conserve coral reefs
Read MoreStudy Examines the Impact of Coral Chemical Compounds on Reef Composition and Health
The study found that the organic chemical compounds produced through metabolism —known as metabolites or exudates—vary significantly by coral species and that the compounds impact the abundances and compositions of reef microorganisms differently.
Read More“Digital Reefs” awarded $5 million
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) $5 million to participate in NSF’s ground breaking Convergence Accelerator Program. The project, led by WHOI scientist Anne Cohen, builds the world’s first Coral Reef Digital Twin, a 4-dimensional virtual replica of a living coral reef powered by state-of-the art data and models.
Read MoreSome coral reefs are keeping pace with ocean warming
Some coral communities are becoming more heat tolerant as ocean temperatures rise, offering hope for corals in a changing climate. After a series of marine heatwaves hit the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) in the central Pacific Ocean, a new study finds the impact of heat stress on the coral communities lessened over time.
Read MoreOcean acidification causing coral ‘osteoporosis’ on iconic reefs
Scientists have long suspected that ocean acidification is affecting corals’ ability to build their skeletons, but it has been challenging to isolate its effect from that of simultaneous warming ocean…
Read MoreHow microbes reflect the health of coral reefs
A collaborative study compared seawater from 25 reefs in Cuba and the U.S. Florida Keys varying in human impact and protection, and found that those with higher microbial diversity and lower concentrations of nutrients and organic carbon—primarily caused by human activities—were markedly healthier.
Read MoreClownfish can’t adapt to rapid environmental changes
The beloved anemone fish popularized by the movies “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory” don’t have the genetic capacity to adapt to rapid changes in their environment, according to a new study in the journal Ecology Letters.
Read MoreCoral Larvae Use Sound to Find a Home on the Reef
Choosing a place to call home is one of the most consequential choices a coral can make. In the animal’s larval stage, it floats freely in the ocean, but once it settles down, it anchors itself permanently to the rocky substrate of a reef, and remains stuck there for the rest of its life. Exactly how these larvae choose a specific place to live, however, is largely unclear.
Read MoreStudy Tracks Severe Bleaching Events on a Pacific Coral Reef Over Past Century
As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, coral reefs worldwide are experiencing mass bleaching events and die-offs. For many, this is their first encounter with extreme heat. However for some reefs in the central Pacific, heatwaves caused by El Nino are a way of life. Exactly how these reefs deal with repeated episodes of extreme heat has been unclear. A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has uncovered the history of bleaching on a reef in the epicenter of El Nino, revealing how some corals have been able to return after facing extreme conditions. The study was published October 26, 2018, in the journal Communications Biology.
Read MoreTravel Distances of Juvenile Fish Key to Better Conservation
WHOI scientists and their international colleagues conducted the largest, most comprehensive study of larval dispersal at coral reefs. Their findings have important implications for the sizing and spacing of marine reserves.
Read MoreStudy Reveals Corals’ Influence on Reef Microbes
As they grow, corals are bathed in a sea of marine microbes, such as bacteria, algae, and viruses. While these extremely abundant and tiny microorganisms influence coral communities in a variety of ways, a new study by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) reveals that corals also have an impact on the microbes in waters surrounding them
Read MoreThe Sound of a Healthy Reef
A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will help researchers understand the ways that marine animal larvae use sound as a cue to settle on coral reefs. The study, published on August 23rd in the online journal Scientific Reports, has determined that sounds created by adult fish and invertebrates may not travel far enough for larvae – which hatch in open ocean – to hear them, meaning that the larvae might rely on other means to home in on a reef system.
Read MoreUltrasounds for Coral Reefs?
In a study, published Aug. 6, 2015 in Marine Ecology Progress Series, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) used low-cost autonomous underwater recorders over four months to collect “soundscapes” of reefs in in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They showed how the collective sound recordings of reef inhabitants painted vivid pictures of the reefs’ abundance and diversity.
In a second study, published the same day in Marine Pollution Bulletin, the researchers recorded boat noise—showing how it could mask vital sounds that organisms make to reproduce, feed, and find new homes. They also demonstrated how underwater recorders could help marine managers keep an ear on potentially disruptive human activity in far-off locations.
Read More