It demonstrates that the onset of reef growth on the outer shelf was preceded by a rise in summer temperature from ~26° to ~28°C at around 700 thousand years ago (marine isotope stage 17). This ...

Coral reefs are made up mostly of coral colonies like these. Corals are live animals made up of a colony of individual "polyps." Each polyp produces a hard skeleton in a cuplike shape for protection ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Q: What are coral reefs? A: Coral reefs are massive structures made of limestone that ...

How well ocean reefs recover from the growing damage caused by warming sea temperatures depends both on how much the tiny coral polyps can eat, and how healthy they can keep the microscopic algae that ...

Imagine a coral reef and you probably picture colourful creatures living amongst rocky, plant-like structures in warm, shallow water. Not all corals are found in tropical environments, however.

Researchers have identified the biological process of mineralization that occurs in a young coral that shifts from the plankton (swimming) stage to the 'settled' stage in which it forms the skeleton ...

PhD student Fabian Gösser from the Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity has been studying how corals react to changing environmental conditions and how their stress response could ...