Feature Channels: Marine Science

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Whether fish hunt nearshore or in the open water and what prey they eat affect the amount of mercury that accumulates in them, a Dartmouth College study shows.

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Dust from the Saharan desert is bringing needed iron and other nutrients to underwater plants in the Caribbean, but bacteria may be the first thing to prosper from that dust. The dust is causing the bacteria to bloom and also become more toxic to humans and marine organisms.

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Earth system scientists from the University of California, Irvine have taken water samples from the north Pacific, north and south Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in search of repositories of black carbon, soot from burning biomass and diesel engines, among other sources. They’ve found considerably less of the material than expected, and they’ve discovered that it exists in at least two varieties, a younger pool closer to the ocean’s surface that is absorbed into the environment in a roughly 100-year cycle and an ancient reserve that remains stable for millennia.

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For the first time ever, an international research team under his direction studied the geographical pattern by which new species of corals and reef fish evolved over the millions of years of evolutionary history using a computer model.

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A provocative new book by Loyola Medicine radiation oncologist James S. Welsh, MD, “Sharks Get Cancer, Mole Rats Don’t: How Animals Could Hold the Key to Unlocking Cancer Immunity in Humans,” explores how animals can help us understand how the immune system can be used to fight cancer.

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The Simons Foundation has awarded $540,000 to University of Arkansas biologist Andrew Alverson to study the evolution of microscopic marine algae in the Baltic Sea.

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The sea urchin’s intricate mouth and teeth are the model for a claw-like device developed by a team of engineers and marine biologists at the University of California, San Diego to sample sediments on other planets, such as Mars. The researchers detail their work in a recent issue of the Journal of Visualized Experiments.

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Influence of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming is shaped by varying temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, new study shows

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In a new study, University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science researchers found that the limestone that forms the foundation of coral reefs along the Florida Reef Tract is dissolving during the fall and winter months on many reefs in the Florida Keys. The research showed that the upper Florida Keys were the most impacted by the annual loss of reef.

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When it comes to reducing the number of walleye, anglers take a back seat to Mother Nature. That’s the one of the insights on harvest dynamics emerging from a research project to assess movement, mortality and the impact of anglers on walleye populations along the Missouri River from the Oahe Dam near Pierre, South Dakota, north to the Garrison Dam near Riverdale, North Dakota.

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A drop in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the oceans due to climate change is already discernible in some parts of the world and should be evident across large parts of the ocean between 2030 and 2040, according to a new study.

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Centuries before modern countries such as Dubai and China started building islands, native peoples in southwest Florida known as the Calusa were piling shells into massive heaps to construct their own water-bound towns.

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Here's another reason to start saving for that beach house: New research suggests that residents with a view of the water are less stressed.

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Beachgoers may soon be able to know in a timely manner if the water is clean enough for swimming, thanks to some new technology.

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A reduction in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the oceans due to climate change is already discernible in some parts of the world and should be evident across large regions of the oceans between 2030 and 2040, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

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Just as the sun begins to set, hundreds to thousands of groupers gather at their favorite hangouts to spawn - and luckily they're pretty vocal about, providing vital data on their reproductive behaviors as well as their favorite mating spots.

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Federal investigators found the “black box’’ that could reveal why the El Faro cargo ship sank off the Bahamas in a hurricane last fall. The University of Rhode Island played a key role in the discovery. URI’s acclaimed Inner Space Center at the Graduate School of Oceanography provided telepresence technology—and its expertise—to assist with the search.

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One of the startling discoveries about life on Earth in the past 25 years is that it can − and does − flourish beneath the ocean floor, in the planet’s dark, dense, rocky crust.

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New study with 'shark-eye' camera reveals that biofluorescent catsharks increase light contrast underwater; might be used for communicating with each other.

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Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was the major driver behind the global climatic shifts that occurred between 53 and 34 million years ago, according to new research led by the University of Southampton.

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Most stream-resident fish stay throughout winter despite the ice. This has been shown by Christine Weber, previous researcher at Umeå University, by tagging trout and sculpins with transponders to follow fish migration. Fish's general state of health is the single most important factor for surviving winter. The findings have been published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

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As large rivers empty into the world’s oceans in areas known as plumes, they typically create gaps in the reef distribution along the tropical shelves—something that makes finding a reef in the Amazon River plume an unexpected discovery.

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A research team studying biodiversity at the Hannibal Bank Seamount off the coast of Panama has captured unique video of thousands of red crabs swarming in low-oxygen waters just above the seafloor.

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Just four hours south of the UC San Diego campus lives the most endangered marine mammal in the world: the vaquita porpoise. Despite the Mexican government’s ban on gillnet fishing in the northern Gulf of California, fishermen on the hunt for totoaba fish and shrimp continue to use the nets illegally, leading to the incidental capture of vaquita, which become tangled in the nets and drown. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the estimated 100 individuals remaining are at risk of becoming extinct by 2018 if incidental capture is not prevented immediately.

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Current measurement methods may be vastly underestimating the amount of plastic in the oceans. Due to ocean's movement, trash may be well below the surface, making it difficult to adequately measure and remove.

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The oceans hold more than four billion tons of uranium—enough to meet global energy needs for the next 10,000 years if only we could capture the element from seawater to fuel nuclear power plants. Major advances in this area have been published.

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A recent study by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, published this month in the journal Toxins, may finally put to rest the ongoing debate about whether to use cold or heat to treat jellyfish stings. Their systematic and critical review provides overwhelming evidence that clinical outcomes from all kinds of jellyfish stings are improved following treatment with hot packs or hot-water immersion.

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Field experiment aims to uncover new clues about how oil and other pollutants move in the ocean.

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The billions of single-celled marine organisms known as phytoplankton can drift from one region of the world's oceans to almost any other place on the globe in less than a decade, Princeton University researchers have found.

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A new University of Washington study shows that impacts associated with shoreline armoring can scale up to have cumulative, large-scale effects on the characteristics of Salish Sea shorelines and the diversity of life they support.

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The ecology of the Rhode Island shore has changed dramatically in the last two decades due to one relatively recent invader: the Asian shore crab.

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Evolutionary changes could lead to reduced fishery yields. A new IIASA study shows how alternative management practices could mitigate the problem in a key North Sea fishery.

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A series of seismic surveys for oil and gas planned for the mid- and southeastern Atlantic coastal areas of the United States pose a substantial threat to one of the world’s most endangered whale species, according to a group of renowned marine mammal scientists urging a halt to the surveys in a statement released today.

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Researchers visited Christmas Island, the world's largest coral atoll, to measure the effects of El Nino. Eighty percent of the coral is dead.

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Rylinn Sorini, who is currently a senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland duel majoring in biology and environmental studies, grew up in Rockville, just a few miles from the Potomac River — home to some of the most sought after oysters in the United States. Last summer, she began researching the effects of plastics on Eastern Oysters as part of a paid internship through St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SMURF) program. This year, she extended her research to include three additional experiments on oysters as part of her St. Mary’s Project (SMP), entitled “How Does Polyethylene Plastic Impact Crassostrea virginica (Eastern Oyster) Health?” Her findings reveal bad news for oyster lovers.

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Coral reefs are early casualties of climate change, but not every coral reacts the same way to the stress of ocean warming. Northwestern University researchers have developed the first-ever quantitative “global index” detailing which of the world’s coral species are most susceptible to coral bleaching and most likely to die. Based on historical data, the index can be used to compare the bleaching responses of the world’s corals and to predict which corals may be most affected by future bleaching events.

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Global carbon dioxide emissions are triggering permanent changes to ocean chemistry along the North American West Coast that require immediate, decisive action to combat. That action includes development of a coordinated regional management strategy, concluded a panel of scientific experts including Andrew Dickson, a professor of marine chemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

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New regulations by the government of Ecuador to protect the waters around the Galapagos Islands as a marine preserve, including main feeding areas for Galapagos penguins.

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Sometimes called the “graveyard of the Atlantic” because of the large number of shipwrecks there, the waters off Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina coast are some of the least understood on U.S.’s eastern seaboard.

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The ocean chemistry along the West Coast of North America is changing rapidly because of global carbon dioxide emissions, and the governments of Oregon, California, Washington and British Columbia can take actions now to offset and mitigate the effects of these changes.

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The journal Marine Resource Economics recognized James Anderson for his 1985 paper, “Market Interactions between Aquaculture and the Common-Property Commercial Fishery.” Most articles written 30 years ago have been forgotten, but some researchers are still looking at this one, Anderson said.

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A new study addresses a controversial hypothesis regarding the potential ramming function of the sperm whale’s head. This hypothesis was instrumental in inspiring Herman Melville to write the novel Moby Dick but its mechanical feasibility had never been addressed.

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New research on coral reefs suggests that existing biodiversity will be essential for the successful adaptation of ecosystems to climate change.

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Researchers are studying how marine mammals—which have naturally high levels of carbon monoxide—might shed light on the protective effects of carbon monoxide. The findings could help refine approaches for carbon monoxide-based therapies currently being tested in several ongoing clinical trials.

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A rescued sea turtle undergoing rehabilitation at the Seattle Aquarium became the first nonhuman treated in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Virginia Mason Hospital earlier this week when medical experts and marine wildlife veterinarians collaborated in an effort to compress internal gas bubbles that prevent the reptile from diving or remaining under water.

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Sandia National Laboratories has created an Urban Resilience Analysis Process to help cities consider infrastructure improvements to make them more resilient. The framework includes key elements of Sandia’s critical infrastructure modeling and simulation tools, risk-consequence assessment and systems analysis expertise.

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The formation of a distinct pattern of sea surface temperatures in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean can predict an increased chance of summertime heat waves in the eastern half of the United States up to 50 days in advance.

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Saving seagrass isn’t just a pipefish dream. That’s the claim of a new Practitioners perspective article written by researchers from Swansea University and Cardiff University who help run the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass.