Author: cmsd (Page 2)

‘Ontwikkeling bij Oostpunt zal rif doen afsterven’

Bron: AMIGOE woensdag, 07 november 2012 09:51 WILLEMSTAD — “Als men daadwerkelijk op zodanige wijze tot ontwikkeling vanaf Lagun Blanku tot aan Punt Kanon zou overgaan, dan zal dit rif met zekerheid binnen 4,5 jaar kapot gaan ofwel afsterven. Dat staat vast”, stelt Rolf Bak, een autoriteit op het gebied van wereldwijd koraalwetenschappelijk onderzoek. Hij reageert nadat de overheid onlangs een openbare hoorzitting heeft georganiseerd om het publiek te informeren over de plannen met betrekking tot Oostpunt en de mogelijke [...]

News and developments relevant to the Jan Kok Oilspill

News and developments relevant to the Jan Kok Oilspill UPDATE MAANDAG 5 NOVEMBER: DE OPRUIMWERKZAAMHEDEN ZIJN GEREED. ALLE MEDEWERKENDE ORGANISATIES EN VRIJWILLIGERS WORDEN HARTELIJK BEDANKT VOOR HUN INZET GEDURENDE DE AFGELOPEN DRIE MAANDEN. HOEWEL HET GEBIED ER NU "SCHOON" UITZIET, BLIJFT NADER ONERZOEK VEREIST OM VAST TE STELLEN WELKE LANGE TERMIJNS GEVOLGEN DEZE OLIE RAMP OP DE BINNENBAAI EN DE KORAALRIFFEN HEEFT GEHAD. This report is solely intended to describe the efforts conducted so far to mitigate the effects of the [...]

Educational videos about coral reefs

Program: Changing Seas Episode: Mysterious Microbes From: http://video.wpbt2.org/They are some the ocean’s tiniest inhabitants. On coral reefs, microorganisms are copious creatures. But in a world that’s invisible to the naked eye, drastic changes are taking place. Throughout Florida, scientists painstakingly work to identify key players within this microbial community. Recent breakthroughs revealed a direct link between a human pathogen and a devastating coral disease Clich here to see this video Microbes rule the reef. They determine both coral reef health and decline. Exploration [...]

New Carmabi report on the current state of Curacao’s coral reefs 2012

To download the report, Vermeij MJA (2012) Curacao State of the reef 2012 Carmabi (c)2012 Papiamentu follows english below The coral reefs of Curaçao represent one of the best reef systems left in the Caribbean at present. However, this does not mean that these reef systems are doing well.  On the contrary: increased coastal development has resulted in pollution of near shore waters through the release of (untreated) sewage, nutrients and chemicals and overfishing represent some of the factors that have [...]

Strange symptoms in reef fish

Recently a large number of fish species has been observed carrying signs of what could be a disease. Two types have been observed and herbivorous fish seem most affected. The first "disease" was historically observed on surgeonfish (A. bahianus), but is now also occuring on several species of grunts and hamlets. Indiviuals affected are covered by dark, round patches, usually dark grey/ black in color, that can occur all over their body. Examples of this "disease" are shown  in [...]

New study on the state of Bonaire’s reefs

Although Bonaire’s coral reefs remain among the healthiest and most resilient in the Caribbean, a new  IUCN report based on the IUCN Resilience Assessment of Coral Reefs highlights some of the threats that exist to Bonaire’s coral reefs, and which could have serious implications for resilience to future climate change and other threats. The report identified recommendations for addressing the current threats, as well as high and low resilience sites. Carmabi helped with the study which can be found [...]

UPDATED: Caribbean coral species identification tool

There have also been some updates on the coral ID pages. Carmabi compiled a series of pictures that show combinations of corals that are often mistaken  for one another. Because terminology to describe each species is often  subjective (i.e. has larger polyps or smaller ridges) having both  species in one picture might help to get a better idea of how such  closely related/ similar looking "species" can be distinguished from one  another. Corals are now divided in four main [...]

High seawater temperatures cause worst coral bleaching since 1998

Temperatures continue to look bad for the Caribbean in 2010. At this point, our Degree Heating Week product is as bad as, or worse than, this time in 2005. Our Seasonal Bleaching  Outlook indicates there continues to be a risk of thermal stress in 2010 at levels similar to 2005. The good news is that areas north of the Greater Antilles and in the Gulf of Mexico do  not seem to be at as high a risk. Temperatures in [...]

Coral Reef Systems: to the middle of the Pacific to find untouched reefs

We invite you to join us in exploring coral reefs - some of the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Follow us as we travel to untouched parts of the globe to conduct scientific research aimed at protecting these special places. Read our blog to hear about our adventures in the field.  Browse photos and video from our expeditions and take a step into an underwater world.  Check out our lively book, Coral Reefs in the Microbial [...]

Unidentifiable fish species

On the evening of May 30th a fish was caught by local fishermen at a depth of approximately 100 meters. At present no one has any idea what species this fish might be. A picture is shown below and all who know what species this fish is are invited to send an email to m.vermeij@carmabi.org with the supposed species name so the information can be shared with the local fishing community. Thanks in advance. Update June 3rd 2010: After sending the [...]