This is the final part of the introduction to coral reefs.
General
Little is known about the coral reefs that can be found in Scandinavian waters. They normally live at great depths but can at some places be found as shallow as 40 meters (the Trondheim fiord). Although several types of coral exists in cold waters, only [...]
This is part 6 of the essay about coral reefs.
Tropical storms
Tropical storms are the perhaps largest source of massive reef mortality. Hurricanes may mechanically destroy large areas of a reef, which is a major problem since most reefs are located in areas frequently traversed by typhoons or hurricanes.
Crown of thorns – Acanthaster planci
The sea star [...]
This is part 5 of the essay about coral reefs.
The number of fish species that can be found on coral reefs exceeds all other environments on earth and most of them are also brilliantly coloured. Reef areas in the Philippines have the greatest number of species, over 2000. As for coral, the numbers of species [...]
This is part 4 of the essay about coral reefs.
Competition
The coral reefs are generally no open space at all. Coral or algae cover every single area. This results, of course, in fierce competition. Generally speaking there are two types of competition, exploitative competition and interference competition.
Exploitative competition is in general for fast growing corals such [...]
This is part 3 of the essay about coral reefs.
Nutrition
Coral reefs require lots of nourishment, which means that the surrounding ocean is notoriously poor in plankton. Some corals use their ciliary mucous mechanism for capturing plankton but the most common is to snare them directly with the tentacles.
Plankton can, however, not support an entire reef. [...]
This is part 2 of the essay about coral reefs.
Tropical coral reefs occupy about 0,17% of the total area of the planet. It has been estimated that 4-5% (91000) of all living species are found on coral reefs (Karlson, 1999). About half the calcium that enters the world’s oceans every year is taken up and [...]
This is an essay I wrote a few years ago when studying marine biology at the university. It is divided in 7 parts and are ideally read in order. This is the first section.
Overview
Coral reefs demonstrate one of the most attractive marine environments for humans visiting sea while scuba diving. The diversity of life is truly [...]
Diving the wreck of an airplane is rather strange the first time. These are machines who were never intended to be under water – rather the opposite and yet they lie on the bottom under the sea. They are also considerably smaller than ship wrecks which makes the dives very different and much more focused [...]
Anyone interested in the physiology of scuba diving can find interesting stuff at Rubicon Foundation. It is a depository of scientific articles which can be downloaded for free which is very impressive. The trick is of course to know what to download. I have a couple of favourites I can recommend:
Narcotic properties of N2, CO2 [...]
The environment in the Mediteranean Sea is unique. The geography of it has created conditions that have developed over millions of years into what we have today – a unique and fragile environment.First time visitors to the Mediterranean are sometimes surprised when they have a first look under the surface. It does not look like [...]
Few places in the world can offer World War Wrecks only a minute away from the nations capital. The intense bombings during 1942 sank many shjps and one of the most accessible ones is the HMS Maori. Although she is fairly broken down it is still one of the most famous sites in Malta which [...]
This is a dive which is very popular among both local divers and visitors to the Island. She is a tug which was scuttled in 1992 as an attraction for an underwater submarine for tourists.
Personally I am very dubious to dives like this. On the good side – the wreck is intact, there is plenty [...]
Independent Scuba uses a ranking system which goes from 1 to 5. The different numbers mean:
1 – A training dive.
2 – A descent dive which may be good as a night dive or for specific activities such as macro photography or other specialised activities.
3 – A good dive. Here you can find some specific features unique [...]
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