Hashtag: #CoralReefs
Column: Plastic Threats To World’s Coral Reefs
[Opinion column written by Joleah Lamb] There are more than 11 billion pieces of plastic debris on coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific, according to our new research, which also found that contact with plastic can make corals more than 20 times more susceptible to disease. In our study, published in Science, we examined more than 124,000 reef-building... Read more of this article
‘Citizen Scientists’ Health Check Bermuda Reefs
For the fifth consecutive year, the Bermuda Zoological Society event REEF Watch trained teams of corporate professionals, teenagers and families to conduct coral reef surveys, fish counts and assessments of our reef ecosystem. Scientists collecting dive slates Nineteen teams set out on Saturday, 23 September to sample reefs across the northern platform.... Read more of this article
Marking Five Years Of “Kids On The Reef”
The XL Catlin Kids on the Reef programme, a partnership between the Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] and the I Am Water Foundation, sponsored by XL Catlin has now completed its fifth successful year. The programme brings together world-class free-diving conservationists and local marine ecology educators to take local public middle school students beyond... Read more of this article
Living Reefs To Host ‘Coral Garden Party’
The Bermuda’s Living Reefs Foundation will host a ‘Coral Garden Party’ on May 19 at 6.30pm at the Rosewood Tucker’s Point Resort. A spokesperson said, “Have you ever heard of Coral Gardening? This relatively new approach to restoring coral reefs is now launched in Bermuda. Since August 2016, Bermuda’s Living Reefs Foundation has... Read more of this article
Bermuda Coral Reef Health Report Released
Historically abundant predatory fishes such as groupers and snappers are rare and at critically low numbers on Bermuda reefs based on international standards, according to a recently released report by Bermudian scientists Thaddeus and Jessie Murdoch through the Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping [BREAM] Programme. In good news, however,... Read more of this article
Reef Watch Event Postponed Due To Karl
The Bermuda Zoological Society has announced that due to the possibility of Karl impacting Bermuda over the weekend, the Reef Watch event will be postponed until Saturday, 8th October. “Due to inclement weather, we are extending our Reef Watch teams’ survey opportunities for anytime in the next two weeks to ensure that they have a positive experience,”... Read more of this article
BZS: Help Raise Funds For Reef Conservation
For a fourth consecutive year, the Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] is heading out on the water with its team of citizen scientists to survey coral reefs around the island as a part of the annual BZS REEF Watch, with the excursion taking place with the support of lead sponsor HISCOX. The event, which is also supported by Groundswell, contributes to... Read more of this article
Video: Coral Gardening At Bermuda’s Reefs
A recently published video is showcasing the work that the Living Reefs Foundation is doing with the help of 11th Hour Racing to help protect Bermuda’s coral reefs. The Foundation’s website says, “Living Reefs, a Bermuda Registered Charity, was formed in 2014 to help implement some of the measures needed to keep Bermuda’s reefs... Read more of this article
Video: “Biological Hotspot” Found On Seamount
[Updated with video] Scientists from Nekton undertaking the XL Catlin Deep Ocean Survey, have discovered a new “biological hotspot” on Argus Seamount, some 30 miles south west of Bermuda. Diving in cutting-edge manned submersibles adapted with the latest scientific and filming equipment, the scientists are the first to biologically document... Read more of this article
“Kids On The Reef” Educational Programme
“Despite living walking distance to the shoreline, many Bermudian young people have never seen the world just beneath the waves. With no exposure to the wonder and excitement of the ocean, how would Bermuda’s future generations appreciate their own big blue backyard?” – I Am Water Foundation. The Bermuda Zoological Society, and lead sponsor... Read more of this article
NASA Field Expedition To Study Coral Reefs
A new three-year NASA field expedition gets underway this year to survey more of the world’s coral reefs, with Dr Eric Hochberg from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences set to be involved in the study. NASA said, “Coral reefs, sometimes called the rainforests of the sea, are home to a quarter of all ocean fish species. They protect shorelines... Read more of this article
New Study Links Local Coral Reef Chemistry
Five years of data collected on reefs and offshore in Bermuda shows that coral reef chemistry – and perhaps the future success of corals – is tied not only to the human carbon emissions causing systematic ocean acidification, but also to seasonal and decadal cycles in the open waters of the Atlantic, and the balance of biochemical processes in the... Read more of this article
