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coral reef
Trends
- 1Corals Face Existential Threat as Super El Niño Heats Oceans●Corals Face an Existential Threat as the Super El Niño Heats Up
Conservation groups warn that the strong El Niño event is pushing ocean temperatures to levels that threaten coral reefs worldwide, with warming waters causing mass bleaching that corals may not survive. Environmental commentators describe the situation as an existential threat to reef ecosystems, which support roughly a quarter of marine life and protect coastlines.
- 2Bacteria on coral reef fish gills carry chemosynthesis genes●DNA reveals chemosynthesis genes in bacteria living on coral reef fish gills
Researchers have found that bacteria living on the gills of coral reef fish carry genes for chemosynthesis, the process of making food from chemicals rather than sunlight. DNA analysis revealed these genetic pathways in the gill microbes, suggesting reef fish may host bacteria capable of producing nutrients in ways previously associated with deep-sea ecosystems rather than sunlit reefs.