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UrduIn a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that sea cucumbers — sediment-eating organisms that function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor — play an enormous role in protecting coral from disease. The problem is, they’ve been overharvested for more than 100 years, and they’re now rare.
Tag: Marine Ecology
Mussels able to adjust heart rate to cope with marine heatwaves
New research shows that mussels are pretty crafty sea creatures: able to withstand marine heatwaves by adjusting their heart rate and other physiological functions, boding well for their survival in future decades as the world heats up.
Cal Poly study analyzes nearshore California marine heatwaves and cold spells amid changing climate conditions
The first-ever study to look at drivers of both marine heatwaves and cold spells in the shallow nearshore along the California Current.
New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats
Resilient corals, often referred to as ‘super corals’, have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs. Now, a team of scientists is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
Ancient viruses discovered in coral symbionts’ DNA
An international team of marine biologists has discovered the remnants of ancient RNA viruses embedded in the DNA of symbiotic organisms living inside reef-building corals.
Toxic effects of pesticides on the marine microalga Skeletonema costatum and their biological degradation
Since in modern agricultural systems, large amounts of pesticides are applied to specific purposes such as weeding and insecticide, and most pesticides are eventually entering the ocean, however, the toxic effects of pesticides on marine microes are unlear.
Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre “screwdriver teeth” found in Morocco
Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile.
Hammerhead sharks hold their breath on deep water hunts to stay warm
Scalloped hammerhead sharks hold their breath to keep their bodies warm during deep dives into cold water where they hunt prey such as deep sea squids. This discovery, published today in Science by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa researchers, provides important new insights into the physiology and ecology of a species that serves as an important link between the deep and shallow water habitats.
3D Innovareef: Sculpture to Restore Thai Marine Ecosystem
The Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Center of Excellence (VMARCE), Chulalongkorn University has created Innovareef—lifelike cement-based structures, convenient for planula settlement and growth, accelerating recovery of the coral reef ecosystem, promoting eco-tourism as well as functioning as smart stations for marine environmental monitoring.
Ecologists use the latest dental scanning technology to study young coral
Inspired by a trip to the dentist, Dr Kate Quigley presents a new method for monitoring coral size and growth that reduces surveying time by 99%.
Beach trash accumulates in predictable patterns on Washington and Oregon shores
Citizen scientists spent thousands of hours observing trash on beaches in Washington and Oregon. Their surveys show that certain beaches, and certain areas of a single beach, are “sticky zones” that accumulate litter. Finding patterns for where litter lands could help to better prevent and remove trash in the marine environment.
Researchers unveil key processes in marine microbial evolution
A study published recently in the prestigious journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has unveiled some of the key processes in marine microbial evolution.
‘Traffic calming’ boosts breeding on coral reefs
Coral reef fish breed more successfully if motorboat noise is reduced, new research shows.
Sea turtle success stories along African east coast – but thousands still dying Peer-Reviewed Publication
Conservation of sea turtles along much of Africa’s east coast has made good progress in recent decades – but tens of thousands of turtles still die each year due to human activity, researchers say.
Protected areas can be the beating heart of nature recovery in the UK, but they must be more than lines on a map
A new report launched today (22 April) by the British Ecological Society (BES) says that the UK government’s commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 offers the opportunity to revitalise the contribution of protected areas to nature recovery.
Marine mollusc shells reveal how prehistoric humans adapted to intense climate change
Current global climatic warming is having, and will continue to have, widespread consequences for human history, in the same way that environmental fluctuations had significant consequences for human populations in the past.
Study shows how 1.5°C temperature rise can cause significant changes in coastal species
A temperature increase of around 1.5°C – just under the maximum target agreed at the COP23 Paris meeting in 2017 – can have a marked impact on algae and animal species living on UK coastlines, new research has found.
Maritime rope could be adding billions of microplastics to the ocean every year
The hauling of rope on maritime vessels could result in billions of microplastic fragments entering the ocean every year, according to new research.
How climate change could impact algae in the global ocean
Global warming is likely to cause abrupt changes to important algal communities because of shifting biodiversity ‘break point’ boundaries in the oceans – according to research from the University of East Anglia and the Earlham Institute.
NSF grants $2.5M for seagrass, marine ecosystem research
The National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences and Environmental Biology awarded a four-year, $2.5 million grant to Drew Harvell, professor emeritus in ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, to examine the transmission pathways of seagrass wasting disease in coastal meadows.
What’s Killing Coral Reefs in Florida is Also Killing Them in Belize
Only 17 percent of live coral cover remains on fore-reefs in Belize. A study finds new evidence that nitrogen enrichment from land-based sources like agriculture run-off and sewage, are significantly driving macroalgal blooms to increase on the Belize Barrier Reef and causing massive decline in hard coral cover. With only 2 percent of hard coral cover remaining in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it’s too late to save that reef, but there’s still hope for the Belize Barrier Reef.
New Study Finds That Parasites Can Drain Energy from Hosts Prior to Infection
A new study by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences has found that a species of brain-infecting parasite can disrupt the metabolism of its host—the California killifish—both before and after infection.
New study the first to link plastic ingestion and dietary metals in seabirds
A new study by Australian scientists is the first to find a relationship between plastic debris ingested by seabirds and liver concentrations of mineral metals, with potential links to pollution and nutrition.
Marine animals live where ocean is most ‘breathable,’ but ranges could shrink with climate change
Research shows that many marine animals already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology allows. The findings are a warning about climate change: Since warmer waters harbor less oxygen, stretches of ocean that are breathable today for a species may not be in the future.
Puget Sound eelgrass beds create a ‘halo’ with fewer harmful algae, new method shows
Genetic clues show that eelgrass growing underwater along Puget Sound shorelines is associated with fewer of the single-celled algae that produce harmful toxins in shellfish. The evidence shows this effect extends 45 feet beyond the edge of the eelgrass bed.