Monday, June 20, 2011

Monday Mass Extinction and Coral Cams

It was bad enough that I rolled out of bed this morning to discover that it was Monday, but now we're talking about mass extinction. What gives?!?

In case you haven't heard the news, the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO, for short) released a report today on the cumulative human impact on the oceans. The report was the result of three-day workshop for marine scientists, co-sponsored by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (ICUN, for short), which focused on the multitude of threats facing the world's oceans today.

One of the more disturbing findings of the report was the potential for widespread extinction of marine species, particularly for those species which rely on coral reefs. Dr. Alex Rogers (Director of IPSO) elaborates on this in the following video:



For the full report and to watch more videos of dry-yet-articulate-and-well-informed marine scientists, click here.

On a lighter note, you can now follow the daily life of small section of the Great Barrier Reef online, via a webcam installed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Tune in every 15 minutes for updates!

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