marine sciences Rare corals aplenty According to researchers from James Cook University rare coral species might not be at high risks of extinction due to small population sizes.Their tendency to hybridize saves them. The previous prediction was that small population sizes led to decreased genetic diversity, which in turn decreased their adaptive capability. However, some

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the world's oceans due to climate change, combined with rising sea temperatures, could accelerate coral bleaching, destroying some reefs before 2050, says a new Australian study.

The study says earlier research may have significantly understated the likely damage to the world's reefs caused by man-made change to the Earth's atmosphere.

BARCELONA: Few people call it eco-friendly when a company like Royal Dutch Shell, to pump natural gas and make petroleum products, disturbs coral reefs and damages the habitats of rare desert truffles and vulnerable birds. But the energy giant may have found a way to turn local environmental losses into a plus for biodiversity - and its business.

The crown-of-thorns starfish, a notorious threat to coral in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, comprises four species, not one, biologists reported on Tuesday. The spiny predator, known by its Latin name of Acanthaster planci, has been a worsening peril to reefs for at least three decades, latching onto coral polyps and digesting them.

Regrowing affected population made easy Researchers of the National Institute of Oceanography (nio) in Goa have artificially repopulated corals in the Lakshadweep islands. Three years ago, the scientists started experimenting to develop a cost effective method to re-grow corals. About 60 per cent of them had died in 1998 in the islands. After trying different substrates