This is a story of a unique data set quantifying the relationship between the loss of adult corals and new coral recruitment. It is reported in Terry P Hughes et al Global warming impairs stock-recruitment dynamics of corals. Recruitment occurs when tiny coral larvae transition from their open-water zooplankton stage and settle. Once settled, they […]

On coral reefs, tiny cleaner fish and shrimps remove parasites from large fish “clients”. The cleaners obtain nourishment by eating the parasites.  Although some clients are fearsome predators, the cleaners are rarely prey.   Scientific studies of this remarkable relationship provide insight into behaviour for mutual benefits, how it could be employed in aquaculture, and […]

  This book describes the animals, plants and other organisms of the reef, and the biological, chemical and physical processes that influence them. It also has chapters on shelf slopes, fisheries, climate change, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, coral disease, seabirds, invasive species and much more. Pat Hutchings led the editorial team. She is a Senior Fellow […]

My colleagues and I are researching how plastic consumption may affect the transition (recruitment) that fish make from an open water (pelagic) existence to settlement in a coral reef community. Microplastics have been found in the digestive tracts of juvenile coral trout caught at Lizard Island.  It is likely fish misidentify these particles as a potential food […]

[Dr Daniela Pica is a marine scientist based at Università Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona Italy. Her research is expanding scientific knowledge of shallow water lace corals, most recently in Indian and Pacific Ocean locations. This is her report of recent field work at Lizard Island.  Ed.]   Globally, 330 stylasterid (lace coral) species have […]

The Crown of Thorns Starfish (CoTS) invoke horror and wonder.  They also spur important science. Horror and wonder  CoTS (Acanthaster) are indigenous to the Great Barrier Reef.  They eat coral. In “normal” periods there are relatively few adult CoTS to be found and their presence does not threaten the Reef ecosystem.  But every decade or so they […]

Recently-published research shows larval Crown of Thorns Starfish (CoTS) clone themselves.  A larval CoTS can split, resulting in TWO larval CoTS, each having the capacity to become a fully fertile adult.  It takes less than a second. One moment there is a single larval CoTS, then suddenly there are two.   See Allen at al (2019)* (PDF) […]

On the 11th of September my family and I arrived on Lizard Island. To get to the Island we flew on a tiny plane which could only fit 12 people on board. You could also see the captain flying it! The first lizard We arrived at Lizard Island on one side of the island. It […]