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Announcing 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-finalists – Ages 15-19

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Two days ago, we announced the semi-finalists of the 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 11-14 year old category. Today, we are thrilled to announce the semi-finalists in the older group of students 15-19 years of age.

This international student art contest engages students in important marine science and conservation issues through art. The theme of this year’s challenge is “The Magic of Mangroves,” and students were asked to illustrate one or more of the benefits mangroves provide to people, other organisms, or the environment. They did not disappoint.

Once again, our judges were put to the test to make some incredibly difficult decisions evaluating the almost 330 pieces of artwork entered in this category. They came to a consensus to include 34 of these entries as semi-finalists. Like with the younger semi-finalists group, students used a variety of styles, techniques and media to portray the importance of mangroves. Some students created artwork that illustrates mangroves in their local community, while others drew inspiration from far off places. Overall, students in this category ranged from 13 different countries.

We would now like to invite you to meet our 15-19 year old semi-finalists:

Announcing 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-finalists – Ages 11-14

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is delighted to announce the first round of semi-finalists for the younger category of students ages 11-14 years old, who participated in our 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge. Each year we choose a different conservation focused theme for the contest. For the first time in its history, we chose a theme related to mangroves called “The Magic of Mangroves.” We asked students to create a piece of art that illustrates how mangroves are important.

Coral Reefs: Trouble in Paradise

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In the middle of the Indian Ocean, more than 1000 miles from the nearest continental landmass, the research vessel Golden Shadow arrives in paradise. For the scientists aboard, it’s a moment they have been waiting for, a chance to explore a world almost empty of human impacts but full of life. They’re hoping these flourishing reefs will reveal secrets of how other reefs can survive the looming onslaught of climate change, but what they find challenges their expectations—both in the sea and on land. Their amazing journey offers new insights into the dangers facing coral reefs worldwide.

Reef fish thriving in the Chagos Archipelago

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted two coral reef research missions in the Chagos Archipelago as components of our Global Reef Expedition. Between March and May of 2015 the Living Oceans Foundation and a team of international scientists assessed the status of coral reefs and coral reef species within 12 large areas in the Chagos Archipelago. The Chagos Archipelago is hailed by coral reef scientists as one of the last untouched coral habitats in the Indian Ocean with incredible live coral cover and species diversity. But perhaps what rivaled the lush coral landscape was the thriving reef fish communities.

Coral Bleaching: A Shift in Perspective

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As a marine ecologist, being able to survey the reefs of the Chagos Archipelago, considered the last frontier of coral reefs, was a very exciting prospect. After many hours flying, and even more on the ship transiting to our first destination, we finally arrived in the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area where the Chagos reefs are found. From our first dive, I knew this would be a trip to remember. Prior to this, I had participated on many of the GRE expeditions, but this one felt different. I was awestruck by the beautiful reefs with large, healthy assemblages of corals and incredible fish communities. We came across unique reefs with monospecific stands of corals unlike seen in other parts of the world. The benthic communities appeared to be thriving with a balance of coral, CCA, other algae that supported the flourishing invertebrate and fish populations.

However, later in our trip, things started to change right before our eyes. We later discovered we were the first to observe what would be one of the most catastrophic global bleaching events on record. The water was exceptionally warm, causing the beautiful coral we had been observing to show signs of stress.

KSLOF Publishes Findings from the Global Reef Expedition Mission to the Chagos Archipelago

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Today, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation published our findings on the state of coral reefs in the Chagos Archipelago. This research mission gave us the chance to study some of the most isolated and well-protected coral reefs in the world. Our research, based on thousands of scientific surveys, found reefs in the Chagos Archipelago were some of the most diverse and had a higher density of fish than all of the reefs studied on the Global Reef Expedition, the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition in history.

Will fewer sharks impact the food web on the Great Barrier Reef?

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Shark populations are dwindling worldwide, and scientists are concerned that the decline could trigger a cascade of impacts that hurt coral reefs. But a new paper published in Ecology suggests that the effects of shark losses are unlikely to reverberate throughout the marine …

Last chance to enter our student art contest, the Science Without Borders® Challenge!

There is still time to participate in our international student art competition, the Science Without Borders® Challenge! Submit your artwork by Monday, April 20 for your chance to win up to $500. 

This year the theme for the Science Without Borders® Challenge is “The Magic of Mangroves.” Mangroves are extremely important ecosystems that provide many benefits, such as coastal protection, nursery grounds, and habitat. For this year’s theme, we are asking students to create a piece of art that illustrates how mangroves are important. 

Education Partner Teacher Profile: Lianna Burrows

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In honor of International Education Week, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has chosen to profile Lianna Burrows at Friends of the Environment (FRIENDS). Lianna works with us on our Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (B.A.M.) program, which teaches students about mangrove forests while helping them restore this vital ecosystem.

Mapping the abyssal depths of the Northern Red Sea

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During a month-long expedition in 2007, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) conducted a comprehensive assessment of the coral reefs situated in the Ras Qisbah region of the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Thirteen years later, KSLOF Chief Scientist Sam Purkis is embarking on a return mission to revisit this area and extend the mapping of the shallow-water reefs conducted by KSLOF into the abyssal depths of the Northern Red Sea.