Thermal anomaly is among factors initiating coral bleaching and mortalities and threatening coral reefs worldwide. Therefore, susceptibility of corals to thermal stress is a central concern in reef conservation. In this study, we evaluated underwater temperature during 2012-13 and bleaching status of corals during summer 2012 in Hengam Island located in the eastern Persian Gulf. Hengam coral...

the δ18o, δ13c, and strontium/calcium (sr/ca)-record was measured from a 7-year old platygyrasinensis coral located offshore larak island in the persian gulf at a resolution of 22 samples/year. an increasedsampling resolution of 55 samples/year over two annual cycles was also compared with the 22 sampleresolution to evaluate the effectiveness of the sampling procedure. the resulting data exhibi...

Quantitative structure-property/activity relationships (QSPRs/QSARs) are a tool to predict various endpoints for various substances. The "classic" QSPR/QSAR analysis is based on the representation of the molecular structure by the molecular graph. However, simplified molecular input-line entry system (SMILES) gradually becomes most popular representation of the molecular structure in the databa...

The Republic of Maldives is an atoll country entirely composed of coral reefs and is vulnerable to the many threats that may impair the resilience of coral reefs. Ongoing projects aim to enhance scientific knowledge of Maldives ecosystems and promote conservation. As a contribution to the Atoll Ecosystem Conservation project (AEC) focused on Baa Atoll, we identified high priority conservation a...

Figure 1: The potential effects of bleaching on coral reefs. Image courtesy of G. Roff. Coral reefs are biologically-complex ecosystems that support a wide variety of marine organisms. These are fragile communities under enormous threat from natural and human-based influences. Sea surface temperatures have increased over the past few decades, resulting in widespread coral bleaching at an ever-i...

Artificial reefs in Florida have been especially popular since the 1970s. With the advent of State Legislative funding in the 1990s, numerous local government and private interests have been able to develop reefs. The principal purpose is to enhance recreational fishing opportunities. But there are an increasing number of reefs being built as scuba diving sites and also to repair or mitigate da...

A challenge for conservation science is predicting the impacts of co-occurring human activities on ecological systems. Multiple anthropogenic and natural stressors impact ecosystems globally and are expected to jeopardize their ecological functions and the success of conservation and management initiatives. The possibility that two or more stressors interact synergistically is of particular con...

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...