Seaweed may poison coral reefs: study

 　　BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Some seaweeds can kill the reef-building corals around them by emitting anti-coral chemicals, a new study found.

　　The study was published Monday in the online edition of the journal Proceedings¹ of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

　　The researchers investigated the interactions between eight different species of seaweed and three species of coral growing in the waters nearby the Fiji Islands, and identified a class of anti-coral organic compounds known as terpenes.

　　These chemicals, found on the surfaces of several species of seaweed, can kill the coral by suppressing its photosynthesis².

　　The finding suggests that the living space competition with seaweeds could be a factor of the coral's worldwide decline.

　　Plant-eating fish normally controls seaweed growth on coral reefs, but the populations of these consumers are declining by the overfishing, which eventually resulted in the seaweed's dominant³ position, according to the researchers.

　　Despite overfishing, pollution and warming oceans are also the contributors to coral's worldwide decline, said Jennifer Smith, a marine⁴ ecologist at the University of California, San Diego.

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

3 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。