Research Guides: Under a White Sky : The Nature of the Future: Into the Wild: Coral Reefs

On the Shelf at CCBC Libraries

Life on the Rocks by Juli Berwald The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily diverse, deeply interconnected, and full of wonders. When they're thriving, these fairy gardens hidden beneath the ocean's surface burst with color and life. They sustain bountiful ecosystems and protect vulnerable coasts. Corals themselves are evolutionary marvels that build elaborate limestone formations from their collective skeletons, broker symbiotic relationships with algae, and manufacture their own fluorescent sunblock. But corals across the planet are in the middle of an unprecedented die-off, beset by warming oceans, pollution, damage by humans, and a devastating pandemic. Juli Berwald fell in love with coral reefs as a marine biology student, entranced by their beauty and complexity. Alarmed by their peril, she traveled the world to discover how to prevent their loss. She met scientists and activists operating in emergency mode, doing everything they can think of to prevent coral reefs from disappearing forever. She was so amazed by the ingenuity of these last-ditch efforts that she joined in rescue missions, unexpected partnerships, and risky experiments, and helped rebuild reefs with rebar and zip ties. Life on the Rocks is an inspiring, lucid, meditative ode to the reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds. As she also attempts to help her daughter in her struggle with mental illness, Berwald explores what it means to keep fighting a battle whose outcome is uncertain. She contemplates the inevitable grief of climate change and the beauty of small victories.
Call Number: QE565 .B465 2022
The Great Barrier Reef by Ben Daley The Great Barrier Reef is located along the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia and is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. Designated a World Heritage Area, it has been subject to increasing pressures from tourism, fishing, pollution and climate change, and is now protected as a marine park. This book provides an original account of the environmental history of the Great Barrier Reef, based on extensive archival and oral history research.nbsp; It documents and explains the main human impacts on the Great Barrier Reef since European settlement in the region, focusing particularly on the century from 1860 to 1960 which has not previously been fully documented, yet which was a period of unprecedented exploitation of the ecosystem and its resources. The book describes the main changes in coral reefs, islands and marine wildlife that resulted from those impacts.nbsp; In more recent decades, human impacts on the Great Barrier Reef have spread, accelerated and intensified, with implications for current management and conservation practices. There is now better scientific understanding of the threats faced by the ecosystem. Yet these modern challenges occur against a background of historical levels of exploitation that is little-known, and that has reduced the ecosystem's resilience. The author provides a compelling narrative of how one of the world's most iconic and vulnerable ecosystems has been exploited and degraded, but also how some early conservation practices emerged.
Call Number: QE566.G7 D35 2014
The Biology of Coral Reefs by Charles R. C. Sheppard; Simon K. Davy; Graham M. Pilling Coral reefs represent the most spectacular and diverse marine ecosystem on the planet as well as a critical source of income for millions of people. However, the combined effects of human activity have led to a rapid decline in the health of reefs worldwide, with many now facing completedestruction.This timely book provides an integrated overview of the function, physiology, ecology, and behaviour of coral reef organisms. Each chapter is enriched with a selection of 'boxes' on specific aspects written by internationally recognised experts. As with other books in the Biology of HabitatsSeries, the emphasis in this book is on the organisms that dominate this marine environment although pollution, conservation, climate change, and experimental aspects are also included. Indeed, particular emphasis is placed on conservation and management due to the habitat's critically endangeredstatus. A global range of examples is employed which gives the book international relevance.This accessible text is intended for students, naturalists and professionals and assumes no previous knowledge of coral reef biology. It is particularly suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students (in departments of biology, geography, and environmental science) taking courses incoral reef ecology, marine biology, oceanography and conservation biology, as well as the many professional ecologists and conservation biologists requiring a concise overview of the topic. It will also be of relevance and use to reef managers, recreational divers, and amateur naturalists.
Call Number: QH95.8 .S54 2010
Are the World's Coral Reefs Threatened? by Charlene Ferguson (Editor) Fulfills some or all of the high school national curriculum standards for social studies, English, science, and health.
Call Number: QH541.5.C7 A74 2005

Online From CCBC Libraries

Coral Reefs: a Very Short Introduction by Charles Sheppard Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringCoral reefs are among the most beautiful, and most diverse, of ecosystems. Early seafarers were wary of them, naturalists were confused by them, yet many coastal people benefited greatly from these mysterious rocky structures that grew up to the surface of the sea. They have been rich in theirsupply of food, and they provided a breakwater from storms and high waves to countless coastal communities that developed from their protection. Their scale is enormous and their value high. Found in countless locations around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean andAustralia, they support both marine and human life.But today coral reefs are in trouble, with many dying or suffering from over-exploitation, pollution, and the warming and acidification of the oceans. Understanding reefs, their conservation and management, is vital, and so is conveying this to authority if we are to preserve these remarkableecosystems. In this Very Short Introduction Charles Sheppard describes the complex structure and interdependencies of a reef, how reefs have evolved, the diversity of marine life that they support, and their importance to the human population who live beside them. This new edition describes thelatest research on the complex symbioses of coral animals with microorganisms. It also highlights the scale of the challenge facing our reefs today, following recent ocean heatwaves - part of wider climate disruption - that killed half the world's reefs, and considers what can be done to preservethese essential and vibrant ecosystems.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Publication Date: 2021
Coral Reefs by Stewart L. Ortiz (Editor) This book provides current research on the ecosystems of coral reefs, as well as the environmental impact and current threats to the coral reefs. Chapter One studies proteins responsive to variable temperature exposure in the reef-building coral Seriatopora hystrix. Chapters Two and Three examine the impact of arachidonic acid's (ArA) on coral reefs. The final chapter discusses environmental monitoring in the Gulf of Thailand, and the use of coral skeletons as metal pollution recorders.
Publication Date: 2016

Databases

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Articles on environmental topics.
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Articles on any subject. This is a good place to start.
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Articles on science topics.

Websites

What is Coral Bleaching?
from National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Everything You Need to Know about Coral Bleaching—And How We Can Stop It
from World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Streaming Video

Coral Reef Spawning
Coral reefs regenerate themselves. Some corals are hermaphroditic, releasing packages of eggs and sperm. Somehow, it works out that dozens of different species release eggs and sperm at the same time. They float together and begin fertilization, creating larvae. The larvae then settles, and morphs into a polyp. The polyps secrete a hard skeleton of limestone. Slowly and gradually, a huge coral reef is formed. They are the largest structures built by living creatures in the world, and take millions of years to build. But it only takes a little time for careless divers, boaters, and global warming to destroy huge parts of them. Not only is this a problem for the coral, but also a quarter of all sea creatures call the reefs home.
Saving Troubled Coral Reefs
Scientists study causes of coral bleaching.

Webcam

Coral City Camera
The Coral City Camera is an underwater camera streaming live from an urban coral reef in Miami, Florida. The CCC is a public art and scientific research project by Coral Morphologic produced with Bridge Initiative and Bas Fisher Invitational.

Assisted Evolution

Coral Assisted Evolution
Collaborative research at the
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology & Australian Institute of Marine Science
Assisted Evolution
from the Australian Institute of Marine Science
Ethics of Assisted Evolution in Marine Conservation PERSPECTIVE article Front. Mar. Sci., 30 January 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00020
Building coral reef resilience through assisted evolution Assisted evolution in coral Madeleine J. H. van Oppen, James K. Oliver, Hollie M. Putnam, Ruth D. Gates Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb 2015, 112 (8) 2307-2313; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1422301112