January 2012
1 post
November 2011
3 posts
Whale meat withdrawn from sale at Iceland airport →
Cyclops shark discovered →
'Zombie' Worms Found in Mediterranean Fossil →
July 2011
3 posts
Biofuels from the Sea: Seaweed May Prove a Viable... →
Sharks swim in safety, in The Bahamas at least →
t is now illegal to fish for sharks in the waters around The Bahamas.
The islands’ government announced yesterday that the 630,000 square kilometers (or 243,244 square miles) of the country’s waters are now off limits to commercial shark fishing.
:)
Bluefin Tuna at Risk of Collapse →
June 2011
3 posts
Whales suffering sunburn in Gulf of California →
Scientists working in the Gulf of California have found whales exhibiting the type of sun damage typically associated with sunburn in humans.
Ladybird made into 'zombie' bodyguard by parasitic... →
“A parasitic wasp protects itself from predators while cocooned by turning its ladybird host into a “bodyguard”.” - Nature is seriously weird and gross.
Discards Ban 'Will Boost Fisheries', Says New... →
May 2011
1 post
EU unveils plans to pay fishermen to catch plastic... →
April 2011
10 posts
Giant fish species of Mekong River →
US oil spill: Transocean 'contributed' to Gulf... →
A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year’s explosion, the US Coast Guard says.
One Year Later, Oil Spill’s Impact on Gulf Not... →
One year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, two Cornell experts comment on the known and unknown impacts to wildlife — in the air, on the land and in the sea.
Propeller Turbulence May Affect Marine Food Webs,... →
Turbulence from boat propellers can and does kill large numbers of copepods — tiny crustaceans that are an important part of marine food webs.
Fossil Sirenians, Related to Today's Manatees,... →
Squid and Octopuses Experience Massive Acoustic... →
Humpback whale song spreads to other whales →
Cod ranching: The new sustainable form of fishing? →
Penguins suffer as Antarctic krill declines
Full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13036795
Fish Farm Waste Can Drift to Distant Shores
Concentrated waste plumes from fish farms could travel significant distances to reach coastlines, according to a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics.
Full article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407092034.htm
March 2011
3 posts
Redondo Beach Dead Fish: Toxins Found In Sardines... →
piratesheart:
Domoic acid, a toxin most often associated with algal blooms, has been found in the sardines that died massively at Redondo Beach. Could it be the beginning of an unstable marine ecosystem due to more algal blooms? It’s too soon to say for sure. Read the article by clicking the link above.
Pollution forms an Invisible Barrier to Marine...
An article describing how pollution is increasing genetic differentiation between populations of sea stars in California, affecting the evolution of the species: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110310093800.htm
One million' dead sardines clog Redondo Beach...
US officials fear a public health hazard after an estimated one million sardines that inexplicably washed up in a California marina begin to rot.
To read the full article go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12682145
February 2011
14 posts
'Blue Carbon' Plan Takes Shape
There is something unsettling about quantifying the value of an ecosystem based on artificial currency units…all ecosystems should be equally prized, not for their carbon reserves or their economic value, but because, well, because they’re awesome.
Saying that, any protection is better than nothing.
“An international effort to protect coastal wetlands by assigning them carbon...
Coral Reefs Heading for Crisis
Three-quarters of the world’s coral reefs are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, climate change and other factors, says a major new assessment.
To read the full article go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12530439
BP reneges on deal to rebuild oyster beds, repair... →
piratesheart:
“Uhh, I didn’t do anything wrong!” This is the war cry of British Petroleum, many months after they agreed to help pay for the damage caused by their oil spill. The only reason they have so much leeway is that they supply the lifeblood of our economy. Read the whole article here.
The Life of an Ocean Activist: Applause for... →
On January 1, 2011 Italian government legislation introduced an outright ban on plastic shopping bags, which will have to be replaced by biodegradable alternatives.
Italy is the first country in Europe to ban plastic shopping bags. Plastic bags are banned also in Corsica, Eritrea, Kenya,…
Fish Oil Health Benefits: Worth pushing fish to the brink?
Fish oil health benefits are exaggerated, says a new study appearing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. And yet, it warns, increased consumer demand for fish oil is pushing fish populations to the brink.
To read full article go here: http://www.macroevolution.net/fish-oil-health-benefits.html
Photo: Terence Ong
Giganto cypris - Member of the Ostracods
These animals live at depths of 900-1,300 metres in the ocean where there is no sunlight, and use their huge eyes to find prey in the darkness. Exceptionally large for ostracods at 25mm across, they tumble through the ocean never touching a hard surface.
-Wikipedia
Images taken from the Science Photo Library
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Could the Humble Sea Cucumber Save Our Seas?
Not only is this salty Asian delicacy a rich source of nutrients, it is also an important part of the marine ecosystem. Much like worms working soil in a garden, sea cucumbers are responsible for cleaning up the sea bed — moving, consuming and mixing marine sediments.
Used widely in Chinese medicine and cuisine, sea cucumbers are also a rich source of glucosamine and chondroitin which...
The Plight of the Eel in Reaching Spawning Grounds in the Sargasso Sea
ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2011) — Eel stocks are currently undergoing a steep decline, although no one knows exactly why. This is why researchers from a number of institutions including DTU Aqua are in the process of examining the European eel’s (Anguilla anguilla) behaviour in order to understand what happens during its...
January 2011
12 posts
Shark Nations Failing on Conservation Pledges
Many countries whose fishing fleets catch large numbers of sharks have failed to meet a 10-year-old pledge on conserving the species.
To see full article go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12297191
Atlantic sharks face extinction due to overfishing... →
piratesheart:
This news story, dated January 27th 2011, warns that more than 25% of sharks in the north east Atlantic are facing extinction. Read the entire article by following the link!
Narwhal Tusk Discovery
For centuries, the tusk of the narwhal has fascinated and baffled. Narwhal tusks, up to nine feet long, were sold as unicorn horns in ages past, often for many times their weight in gold since they were said to possess magic powers. In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth received a tusk valued at ?10,000 - the cost of a castle. Austrian lore holds that Kaiser Karl the Fifth paid off a large...
Why I love sea creatures...
creature-feature:
handfish, going for a stroll
Coral Reefs May Migrate North with Global Warming
Reefs may simply move house when the oceans heat up.
Nicola Jones
Corals around Japan are fleeing northwards, according to a new study. One type has been spotted ‘sprinting’ at 14 kilometres a year, thanks to a lift from ocean currents. That means ocean ecosystems could shift rapidly in the face of climate-change impacts such as warming seas, the authors say.
The...
Oil Giant Plans New Platform Near Breeding Ground...
Photo taken from http://www.kosherpickle.com/
ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2011) — Sakhalin Energy Investment Company — part owned by Shell — has announced plans to build a major oil platform near crucial feeding habitat of the Western North Pacific gray whale population.
Only around 130 whales of the critically endangered Western population exist today, and their primary feeding...
Sharks are probably colour-blind
By Victoria Gill http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9365000/9365750.stm Science and nature reporter, BBC News The researchers examined 17 species of shark, including the bull shark
Researchers in Australia have discovered a secret weakness of one of the ocean’s most impressive predators.
Sharks, it seems, are completely colour blind.
The scientists, who examined retinas of...
A sad day for salmon.
Nature Studies by Michael McCarthy: Of all our conservation failures, this is the saddest - The Independent
A hoary old cliché, the dream that died, but perhaps we may be allowed to write the dream that is dying: for such is the situation facing anyone who has supported the noble aim of restoring salmon, the finest of all freshwater fish, to the River Thames. After more than 30 years of trying,...
Kittiwakes migrate further when unsuccessful at...
http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=902
NEWS
Kittiwakes migrate further when unsuccessful at breeding
6 January 2011, by Tamera Jones
One of Britain’s best known seabirds migrates to different sides of the Atlantic depending on how successful its breeding season was, researchers have found.
Kittiwake on the nest.
Unsuccessful kittiwakes tend to spend their winter on the...
New Marine Algae Discovered
ScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2011) — A team of biologists has discovered an entirely new group of algae living in a wide variety of marine and freshwater environments. This group of algae, which the researchers dubbed “rappemonads,” have DNA that is distinctly different from that of other known algae. In fact, humans and mushrooms are more closely related to each other than rappemonads are...
I have a blog.
It will be about the sea.
:)
