Ocean Sentry
A pair of researchers has found evidence that suggests that large marine animals are still being threatened by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) despite international regulations forbidding their use. In their paper published in the journal Science, Paul Jepson with the Zoological Society of London and Robin Law with the Centre …
June, 2016
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17 June
Mangroves can counter ocean acidification, study reveals
The researchers discovered that mangrove forests can buffer ocean acidification because they are known to increase the alkalinity of the waters surrounding these ecosystems. Ocean acidification can harm the ecosystem just like the “climate change.” It is actually referred to as the evil twin of climate change. About one-quarter of …
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17 June
Killing Nemo: Cyanide threat to tropical fish
Many of the real-life Nemos swimming in children’s fish tanks are caught using cyanide, said research Thursday which highlighted the danger to corals. Friday’s release of Pixar’s “Finding Dory”, an animated film about a forgetful blue tang, will likely boost demand for aquarium specimens of the tropical fish, and fuel …
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16 June
Modern mussel shells much thinner than 50 years ago
Shells of California mussels collected from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington in the 1970s are on average 32 percent thicker than modern specimens, according to a new study published by University of Chicago biologists. The decreasing thickness over time, in particular the last few decades, is likely …
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16 June
Biodegradable plastic ‘false solution’ for ocean waste problem
Biodegradable plastic water bottles and shopping bags are a false solution to the ubiquitous problem of litter in the oceans, the UN’s top environmental scientist has warned. Some of the biodegradable additives in plastic to allow it to break down made it harder to recycle, and potentially harmful in the …
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15 June
The atmosphere has hit a grim milestone — and scientists say we’ll never go back ‘within our lifetimes’
Scientists who measure and forecast the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere said Monday that we may have passed a key turning point. Humans walking the Earth today will probably never live to see carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere once again fall below a level of 400 parts …
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13 June
Dozens of Philippine fish species in danger – study
Dozens of fish species have disappeared or are on the verge of being lost from marine biodiversity hotspot the Philippines, an environmental group said Friday, June 10, citing a new study. Fishermen reported that 59 coral reef species had gone missing from catches since the 1950s, according to the study conducted …
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8 June
Coral reefs victim to overfishing, pollution, ocean warming
One of the longest and largest studies of coral reef health ever undertaken finds that corals are declining worldwide because a variety of threats — overfishing, nutrient pollution and pathogenic disease — that ultimately become deadly in the face of higher ocean temperatures. Researchers found the combination of warming and other …
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7 June
The Arctic might lose all its ice this summer for first time in 100,000 years, claims scientist
According to one of the world’s leading scientist, Peter Wadhams, the Arctic is losing its ice and losing it fast. For the first time in 100,000 years, the land of snow and polar bears may go completely ice-free this summer, all thanks to global warming….
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6 June
Ships flagged for illegal fishing still able to get insurance: UBC study
New research from the University of British Columbia finds that rogue fishing vessels are able to secure insurance including those that have been flagged by international watchdogs for unlawful activity…
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6 June
Fish eat plastic like teens eat fast food, researchers say
Young fish become hooked on eating plastic in the seas in the same way that teenagers prefer unhealthy fast food, Swedish researchers have said. Their study, reported in Science, found exposure to high concentrations of polystyrene makes perch larvae favour the particles over more natural foods…
May, 2016
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31 May
Great Barrier Reef bleaching kills ’35% of coral’ in northern and central section
More than one third of the coral in the northern and central parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is dead or dying, though the southern sections have been largely spared. The latest figures from researchers at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies who carried out months of aerial …