BiotechMashup

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is showing an extraordinary range of benefits from the network of protected marine reserves introduced there five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study published.

(NOAA Headquarters) Today two of the world's largest marine protected areas announced a historic alliance to enhance the management and protection of almost 300,000 square miles of marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean.

(SeaWeb) The brightest minds in coral reef science and management will descend upon Australia for the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, on July 9-13.

(United Nations University) Networks of biologically-connected marine protected areas need to be carefully planned, taking into account the open ocean migrations of marine fish larvae that take them from one home to another sometimes hundreds of kilometers away.Research published today in the international journal Oecologia sheds new light on the dispersal of marine fish in their larval stages, important information for the effective design of marine protected areas (MPAs), a widely advocated conservation tool.

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) New study of Glover's Reef challenges whether corals will benefit from Marine Reserves' Protection.

by Adam Barnett, Kátya G. Abrantes, Jamie Seymour, Richard Fitzpatrick

Scientists have created a framework that increases the effectiveness of critical reef monitoring techniques. The new framework improves the accuracy and efficiency of fish counts and can be used to determine the best long term management strategies -- whether the reefs are in Florida, Hawaii or anywhere around the world.

In five days, world population is projected to reach 7 billion. How we respond now will determine whether we have a healthy, sustainable and prosperous future or one that is marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks, according to The State of World Population 2011 report, published Oct. 26, 2011 by the United Nations Population Fund.

(Dalhousie University) Scientists from 49 nations demonstrated that the ability of reef fish systems to produce goods and services to humanity increases rapidly with the number of species. However, growing human populations hamper the ability of reefs to function normally, and the most diverse reef fish systems suffer the greatest impairments from stressors triggered by human populations.