Feature Channels: Marine Science

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Matt Ajemian, Ph.D., has received a $1,103,081 NSF CAREER grant for a project that will build fundamental knowledge on where and when large shell-crushing predators feed in order to ensure a sustainable future for shellfish species. Further, the work can provide guidance to shellfish restoration programs that are currently “flying blind” with respect to predation risk.

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Plastic rubbish is everywhere and now broken-down microplastics have been found in variable concentrations in blue mussels and water within the intertidal zone at some of southern Australia’s most popular and more remote beaches.

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An international team of environmental scientists have published a series of significant recommendations to protect, conserve and study the world’s coral reefs – the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ of climate change.

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Helping green sea turtles suffering with large debilitating tumors may be a simple as sunlight. Turtles with fibropapillomatosis are treated at rehab facilities where the tumors are surgically removed. Many do not survive or the tumors regrow. Researchers compared vitamin D levels in green sea turtles with and without evident tumors to see if sunlight exposure would influence vitamin D levels and other health parameters. Turtles receiving treatment were housed in tanks exposed to higher or lower levels of sunlight. Results showed that turtles exposed to greater sunlight showed greater increases in plasma vitamin D and a more successful recovery. Turtles kept in the sun tanks also experienced less regrowth of tumors compared to those exposed to low UV light conditions.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), one of the world’s leading independent ocean research organizations, and Pangaea Logistics Solutions (Pangaea), a U.S. based, international maritime and logistics transportation company, today announced the launch of a new science program aboard Pangaea’s fleet of ships. Science RoCS (Science Research on Commercial Ships) is an innovative program pairing scientists with commercial vessels to regularly monitor the vast and open ocean, particularly along repeat routes in hard-to-reach areas where critical gaps in monitoring exist.

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The study found that while a combination of factors contributes to red tide blooms, human activity has played a consistent role in intensifying them during the past decade.

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The new Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, or CIROH, will be headquartered at the Alabama Water Institute. It is a consortium of 28 academic institutions, non-profit organizations and government and industry partners — including the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) — bringing together a powerful team of hydrologic researchers across the United States and Canada to develop and deliver national hydrological analyses, forecast information, data, guidance and equitable decision-support services to inform essential emergency management and water resources decisions.

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While octopus and cuttlefish are famous for their use of camouflage to match the color of the substrate, a third type of cephalopod—the squid—has never been reported displaying this ability.

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Even the High North can’t escape the global threat of plastic pollution.

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An international team of researchers, including several from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa, has quantified five critical ecological processes on more than 500 coral reefs worldwide to understand how these processes relate to each other, what may distinguish the most functional reefs, and what that means for our management of reef functioning.

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To further investigate and track kelp growth and survival over time, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Nature Conservancy, University of California Los Angeles, and the University of California Santa Barbara have launched the world’s largest map of kelp forest canopies extending from Baja California, Mexico to the Oregon-Washington border.

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A new fitness tracker that’s very much like a ‘Fitbit for fish’ is revealing new information about fish health and behavior.

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A network of West African Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covers key sites used by green turtles, new research shows.

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A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led research team has been awarded $7.6 million from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The project, “An Operational System Using Real-time Subsurface Observations to Improve Loop Current Forecasts”, is one of three consortia that will undertake the third phase of the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS) program (UGOS-3), helping address forecasts of important currents of the Gulf of Mexico.

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An article says that microplastics have been found in human blood for the first time. We rate this claim as true, although more studies are needed to determine if these substances in humans are associated with a public health risk.

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Coral reefs in remote or protected areas can recover quickly after mass coral bleaching events, new research shows.

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Allied male bottlenose dolphins maintain weaker yet vital social relationships with whistle exchanges, researchers at the University of Bristol have found.

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A new study led by Georgia Tech points to possible help for restoring marine ecosystems — and provides more data on the role microbes play in marsh plant health and productivity.

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A first-of-its-kind study shows that some ocean animals may be able evolve their way out of troubles caused by climate change—but at a high cost. By artificially evolving 23 generations of a marine copepod, Acartia tonsa, a team of scientists at the University of Vermont found that the tiny creatures could adapt to the high temperatures and carbon dioxide levels forecast for the warming oceans. But to get there, the populations had to spend a lot of their genetic flexibility—leaving them vulnerable to new stresses, like low food.

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Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) have been proven particularly resistant to global warming, rising water temperatures and bleaching events that are crippling their counterparts elsewhere around the world.

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Runoff in coastal waters is linked to pollution and degradation of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

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A new research paper says, ‘wave reserves’ are a good way to ensure the conservation of ecologically valuable coastal areas

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Scientists have developed a model that predicts six tropical fish species will expand into northern parts of Japan as sea temperatures rise.

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A collaboration between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, aims to increase whale detection efforts along the U.S East Coast, particularly for North Atlantic right whales, and reduce the potential for ship strikes along critical shipping routes.

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Don't miss these articles in our Staff Picks channel

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As Florida and other states become more urbanized, an increasing number of stormwater ponds are built. Florida already has 76,000 such ponds. The newer ones emit more carbon than they store, a new University of Florida study finds. Researchers hope this finding will inform policy makers and others about when, where and how to install stormwater ponds.

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A new analysis outlines 150 years of sea-surface temperature history throughout the Greater Caribbean region, highlighting significant warming trends that have disrupted coral reef ecosystems.

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Some marine worm larvae are pint-sized predators. The small, blobby babies, less than a millimeter long, ensnare and devour microscopic crustaceans and other prey living in plankton, University of Oregon researchers report. Their observations suggest a new lifestyle option for larval-stage invertebrates living in the ocean. Scientists usually think of plankton-dwelling larvae either growing by grazing on nanoplankton — mostly unicellular algae — or relying on the egg's yolk reserves to become full-fledged adults. Instead, it appears there’s a third strategy: carnivory.

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A unique data set following Chinook salmon as they negotiate hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River is now available to researchers worldwide.

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A new study reveals that the iconic extinct Megalodon or megatooth shark grew to larger sizes in cooler environments than in warmer areas.

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Colleen Hansel, senior scientist in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology within the American Society of Microbiology (ASM). Sixty-five fellows from around the world, including Hansel, were inducted into the Class of 2022 for their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.

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Hosted by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, the Gulf of Mexico Conference (GoMCon) will bring together participants to collaborate on research and management in the Gulf of Mexico.

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University of Washington-led research suggests moon jellies are feasting on zooplankton, the various tiny animals that drift with the currents, in the bays they inhabit. This could affect other hungry marine life, like juvenile salmon or herring — especially if predictions are correct and climate change will favor fast-growing jellyfish.

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The Slope Sea off the Northeast United States is a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), a new paper affirms. This finding likely has important implications for population dynamics and the survival of this fish, according to the paper, “Support for the Slope Sea as a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna: evidence from larval abundance, growth rates, and particle-tracking simulations,” published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

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FishSounds.net is the first online, interactive library for the sounds fish make when communicating or interacting with their environment. Fish sounds provide scientists valuable data for studying and conserving underwater ecosystems. An accompanying review study found that just under a 1,000 fish make sounds for communication, though this is likely an underestimate.

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New research shows turtles can experience temporary hearing loss from an excess of underwater noise. This phenomenon, previously noted in other marine animals such as dolphins and fish, was not widely understood for reptiles and underscores another potential risk for aquatic turtles. This high volume of sound, referred to as underwater noise pollution, can be caused by passing ships and offshore construction.

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Fish are exposed to pollutants, like tire-derived 6PPD-quinone, in rain runoff. The compound has been linked to massive die-offs of coho salmon. Now, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters report exposure can also be deadly for two important trout species.

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Disposable face masks could be harmful to wildlife, according to researchers who have observed harmful effects of the masks on keystone marine animals in coastal areas.

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A team of scientists used an emerging genetic tool that analyzes DNA in water samples to detect whales and dolphins in New York waters.

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Each year, pregnant female elephant seals take an approximately 240-day trek over 10,000 kilometers across the Eastern North Pacific Ocean before returning to their breeding beaches to give birth within five days of their arrival. Now, a study appearing February 28 in the journal biology Current Biology finds that this impressive navigation ability depends on an internal map sense, which functions much like a built-in GPS.

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An unnoticed network of channels is cutting across the coastal plain landscape along the Gulf Coast and influencing how water flows, according to research from The University of Texas at Austin that could help predict flooding from major storms in the future.

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For the first time, a glider deployed in the Gulf of Mexico traveled south into the Gulf Stream, around the tip of Florida, through the Florida Straits and north to South Carolina — a trip of some 2,387 miles (3,842 km). The trip was a test to see whether the glider could navigate around Florida and up the East Coast successfully while gaining information about multiple marine systems — all during a single mission.