Coral reefs distant from human population were sampled in the Red Sea and one-third showed degradation by predator outbreaks (crown-of-thorns-starfish = COTS observed in all regions in all years) or bleaching (1998, 2010). Models were built to assess future trajectories. They assumed variable coral types (slow/fast growing), disturbance frequencies (5,10,20 years), mortality (equal or not), and...

coral is one of the richest ecosystems in the world and divided into two major groups. first group consist of soft corals living in tropical and semitropical oceans and seas. people in the past used these kinds of coral to make jewelry and decorative objects. second group contains hard coral which have been used as construction material in coastal zones. this paper presents the role of corals i...

Unprecedented development along tropical shorelines is causing severe degradation of coral reefs primarily from increases in sedimentation. Sediment particles smother reef organisms and reduce light available for photosynthesis. Excessive sedmentation can adversely affect the structure and function of the coral reef ecosystem by altering both physical and biological processes. Mean sediment rat...

While coral reefs support more species than any other marine system, coral reef ecology bo"ows heavily from theoretical advances in lowdiversity te"estrial systems. This article reviews recent developments in ecology on coral reefs and weaves together the relevant information within a theoretical framework that aims toward predictive modeling of coral populations and communities. The author beg...

by side. Conservation measures must thus work to ensure that on balance growth outpaces destruction, and that the natural ability of reefs to recover from disturbance ('resilience') is maintained. To date, marine protected areas have been the focus of most attention. Conspicuous successes include placing about one third of the Great Barrier Reef in no-take zones, and protection of the Northwest...

Coral reefs are, per unit area, the most productive and diverse ecosystems on the planet. Their complexity and, in some places, fragility provide many complications to scientists conducting high quality research in these environments. Scientific diving has been, for the past six decades, a highly cost-effective and productive tool in coral reef research. Using high impact outputs and based main...

In the past decade, the investment in fisheries development has grown remarkably in the Persian Gulf region. A 1800 km of northern coastline of the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea and more than 14 islands belong to Iran have provided great possibilities of economic activities. In-shore marine islands such as Kish, Farour, Hendurabi, Tonb made a good opportunity for fishing and harvesting of ornament...

The natural beauty of coral reefs attracts millions of tourists worldwide resulting in substantial revenues for the adjoining economies. Although their visual appearance is a pivotal factor attracting humans to coral reefs current monitoring protocols exclusively target biogeochemical parameters, neglecting changes in their aesthetic appearance. Here we introduce a standardized computational ap...

ALTHOUGH a small group of carbonate excavating sponges can dismantle reefs, and some sponges can overgrow corals, it is now known that sponges also substantially benefit coral reefs and associated ecosystems. Sponges benefit reefs by efficiently filtering small (<5um) organic particles from the water column, binding live corals to the reef frame, facilitating regeneration of broken reefs, provi...