On my recent trip to the Mediterranean I was able to witness the effect this year’s abnormally high temperatures have had on the region’s gorgonians.One of the most interesting and downright attractive of the Med’s ecosystems is the deep rocky reefs dominated by the gorgonian [...]
Divers and underwater photographers have a bit of a soft spot for Oxycirrhites typus, the Long Nose Hawkfish. Any fish that has its own hand signal (a gesture with one hand, reaching away from the face to suggest a long nose) has clearly ‘arrived’. But why are they so popular? O. typus is a [...]
Caribbean coral reefs are frequently dominated by tall, branching octocorals known colloquially as “gorgonians”. Identifying these to genus is often simple enough, as most taxa are unique in shape and structure, but correctly diagnosing to species is often wrought with uncertainty. Proper [...]
Along with an international team, researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science simulated the impacts of elevated CO2 levels (and associated decrease in pH, aka ocean acidification) on the calcification rates of Eunica fusca, a species of soft [...]