Great Barrier Reef

(Newser) - Parts of the Great Barrier Reef bleached by warming waters 3 years ago have made a speedy recovery because of a few lucky breaks, the Guardian reports. Reefs typically take at least a decade to overcome human-created crises, but a combination of biological factors helped the reef's speedy healing, Australian...

(Newser) - The Great Barrier Reef isn't growing as fast as it should, and the consequences could be devastating for the vast species of marine life that it supports, say Australian scientists. A 13% decline in coral growth rate since 1990 is the first such drop in 400 years, says their report...

(Newser) - While some consider global warming a cautionary tale of things to come, its effects are already being felt all over the world, reports Scientific American. The worst-hit:

• Darfur: The deserts have been crippled by a decades-long drought, and can no longer support farmers or their grazing herds.
• America's Gulf Coast:

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(Newser) - Over 100 new ocean species have been discovered in coral reefs off Western Australia during a global census of marine life. They include exotic soft corals, new kinds of jellyfish, rays and shellfish, and parasites that feed on the tongues of fish, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The discoveries are...