Ocean Sentry
The fin fanning of damselfish in the Red Sea helps boost the rate of photosynthesis of the algae that live inside corals. We already knew that the damselfish (Dascyllus marginatus) lives in symbiosis with the coral Stylophora pistillata. The fish use coral branches as shelters and nests, and in return they …
May, 2017
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17 May
In Indonesia, another coral reef devastated by global warming
A recent expedition to the Chagos Archipelago, a collection of at least 60 small islands in the Indian Ocean, has revealed devastating coral bleaching and coral death there, too…
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17 May
Marine scientists determine how the larvae of a common coral species respond to environmental stresses
This study really looks at how ocean changes like warming and acidification will impact the ability of coral larvae to disperse and contribute to creating new reefs,” said senior author Gretchen Hofmann, a professor in UCSB’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology…
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16 May
New Zealand’s mainland yellow-eyed penguins face extinction unless urgent action taken
Iconic Yellow-eyed penguins could disappear from New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula by 2060, latest research warns. Researchers call for coordinated conservation action. In a newly published study in the international journal PeerJ, scientists have modelled factors driving mainland Yellow-eyed penguin population decline and are calling for action to reduce regional threats…
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16 May
Unborn rays traumatized when their mothers are captured, study finds
The stress of unintentional fishing capture has a detrimental impact not only on pregnant rays, but also their unborn offspring, research that is the first of its kind in the world has found…
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16 May
Rare Mexican porpoise faces ‘imminent extinction’
An immediate extension of a fishing ban is desperately needed to save the world’s most endangered marine species. Campaigners say there are only 30 vaquita porpoises left, with their population having plummeted by 90% since 2011…
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16 May
Rise of aggressive reef predator may impede sea urchin recovery, study finds
A new study suggests that an aggressive reef competitor — the Threespot Damselfish — may have impeded the recovery of Caribbean long-spined sea urchin populations after a mysterious disease outbreak caused a massive die-off of these animals over three decades ago…
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16 May
38 million pieces of plastic waste found on uninhabited South Pacific island
One of the world’s most remote places, an uninhabited coral atoll, is also one of its most polluted. Henderson Island, a tiny landmass in the eastern South Pacific, has been found by marine scientists to have the highest density of anthropogenic debris recorded anywhere in the world, with 99.8% of …
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15 May
Climate change effects: Hurricane winds threaten bird migration as global warming makes more storms
Climate change models predict more frequent hurricanes, and that could be a problem for the migrating birds that fly right into them. Researchers focused on one particular Atlantic seabird, the sooty tern, and mapped the path they take while migrating every year using data from tagged birds over the last several …
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15 May
Polar bears shift from seals to bird eggs as Arctic ice melts
Polar bears are ditching seafood in favour of scrambled eggs, as the heat rises in the Arctic melting the sea ice. A changing coastline has made it harder for the predators to catch the seals they favour and is pushing them towards poaching goose eggs…
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15 May
Climate change, not poaching, the bigger threat to hawksbill turtles in Seychelles
Poaching is no longer the main threat to hawksbill turtles in Seychelles but rather the effects of climate change, a local conservationist said now that the nesting season has ended…
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11 May
Australian scientists say shark cull could wreck marine ecosystems
Scientists are speaking out against a proposed shark cull in Australia. Killing large numbers of sharks won’t limit shark attacks and could severely damage marine ecosystems, researchers argue…