February 9th, 2009
Oceans of woe: getting crabs and losing coral
Warmer oceans do not simply mean more sunny beach holidays. A new research report warns there’s a creeping danger for sea life around the Antarctic. As the waters there warm predatory crabs are poised to move in and wipe out many of the creatures that have lived protected by the colder waters of the past. Not only are humans speeding up global warming with greenhouse gas emissions, large ships dump ballast water for other areas. That, say biologists, is introudcing species for other parts of the ocean, including the Arctic. We could see the demise of entire plant and animal communities in the Antarctic Ocean.
Want even more good news? Something’s causing coral reefs to die off, and we’e not sure why. Warmer oceans is one suspect, pollution another. Well a tiny genechip may help science find that answer. Here’s what it looks like:
Courtesy of DOE and Lawrence Laboratory, Berkeley.
This chip can help profile the microbial community living alongside any coral colony. Fortunately, there are ways to give coral a health checkup. Science has learned healthy coral supports certain microbial populations. Diseased and dying coral inflicted with diseases such as White Plague Disease have different microbial populations.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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