> | KB | > | Results |
The number of new corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef has plunged by 89% since unprecedented bleaching events in 2016 and 2017, scientists say. The events, which damaged two-thirds of the world's largest reef system, are now being blamed for triggering a collapse in coral re-growth last year.
Squids and octopuses could be considered the “parrots of the ocean”. Some are smart, and many have complex behaviours. And, of course, they have strange, bird-like beaks. They are the subject of ancient myths and legends about sea monsters, but they do not live for decades. In fact, their high i ...
Ship engines, underwater blasts, sonar and oil drilling are filling the seas with sound. Researchers are now trying to pin down the damage humanity’s growing acoustic footprint has on ocean life.
The surface of our Blue Planet is 71 percent ocean – benign, mysterious and threatening in equal measure. But today the oceans themselves are in a state of crisis and change as a result of human actions. We harvest the seas for their abundant food, mineral, and energy resources.
The microorganisms that help keep coral reef ecosystems healthy and thriving have different levels of activity at night and during the day, according to a new study. Corals are just one part of a reef ecosystem, and each piece plays a key role in the health and adaptability of coral reefs.
As governments work towards an international pledge to protect at least 10 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2020, scientists are proposing an even wider movement to save more than one-third of the marine ecosystem.
The Seychelles president has gone below the surface of the Indian Ocean to call for better protection for the world's seas. Danny Faure said that a healthy ocean was "crucial for the survival of humanity" in a broadcast made 124m (406ft) below sea level.
Global non-profit The Nature Conservancy has announced a $1.6 billion plan to help save and restore the world's oceans by selling "blue bonds" to coastal and island countries.
Conservation plans should consider such links between land-based and marine ecosystems
Nearly 200,000 new marine viruses were identified in the Earth’s oceans by a team of scientists who spent four years travelling the world on a research boat.
April 2019: The UN Secretary-General has released a report on oceans and the law of the sea. The report presents an overview of ocean science, highlights gaps in information, knowledge and capacity, and suggests ways to fill existing gaps and advance ocean science.
Corals are animals — yes, immobile animals — with peculiar sex lives.
The Indonesian island of Java has lost 70 percent of the mangroves that once protected its coast from erosion and flooding.
A study published in January in the journal Science found that the oceans are heating up faster than predicted, resulting in rising sea levels, acidification and deoxygenation that are destroying coral reefs and have the potential to bring forth more extreme weather events.
Ocean samples collected from around the world produced a twelvefold increase in the number of marine viruses known.
In comic books, falling into a vat of toxic chemicals can give you super powers. The same is sort of true for one species of fish – with help from a superhero relative.
New research has uncovered a missing nutrient source in coastal oceans, which could promote better water quality and sand management on popular beaches.
SUNGAI NIBUNG, Indonesia — The phone signal comes and goes and the electricity grid has yet to reach this patch of jungle on the west coast of Borneo.
This is the same sperm whale pod Blue Planet filmed off Sri Lanka – but flocking tourists are making it less of a safe place for these stunning animals
It’s easy to lose sight of good news amid the barrage of negative stories about the threats facing the ocean—everything from growing plastic pollution to dying coral reefs.
Warming ocean temperatures have been blamed for luring tropical fish thousands of kilometres into New Zealand waters, threatening vulnerable native species as they compete for resources.
Lush underwater forests of large brown seaweeds (kelps) are particularly striking in the Arctic, especially in contrast to the land where ice scour (scraping of sea ice against the sea floor) and harsh climates leave the ground barren with little vegetation.
PARIS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The first UNESCO International Water Conference, which aims to present innovative solutions to problems related to the governance and management of water, opened here on Monday.
Bacteria from the ocean floor can beat superbugs and cancer. But habitats are at risk from the hunger for marine minerals
When we think of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes, we don’t immediately think of shark habitats.
A glance at the map of India is enough to understand how vast and wide-ranging the country’s biophysical environment is — from alpine meadows on the Himalayan slopes to coral reefs along the ocean floors.
After centuries of fishing we do not know what natural conditions are. Only marine reserves will give us such insights
For ocean species to survive climate change, large populations needed
Swimming off Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean, Ilena Zanella had her first close encounter with hammerhead sharks.
Repeat coral bleaching caused by rising sea temperatures has resulted in lasting changes to fish communities, according to a new long-term study in the Seychelles.
The oceans are not only under “unprecedented pressure” due to climate change, but “half of all living coral has been lost in the past 150 years”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, addressing the latest gathering of nations which are party to the UN Convention on t ...
A huge international research programme has been launched to assess the health of the Atlantic Ocean.
Interview with JJ Harvey, Director of The Reef-World Foundation, about the charity’s new Dive Guide e-Course—a free online course to train dive guides on best environmental standards.
Analysis of a strange skull in storage for the last 30 years has shown it belonged to the offspring of a narwhal mother and a beluga whale father.
It was on a family visit to Hong Kong that Kristyn Wong-Tam noticed her uncle – a well-regarded chef – was the only person at the table not touching a bowl of shark fin soup.
Torre Guaceto, an eight-kilometre long stretch of coastline north-west of Brindisi, used to be known as a centre for poor fishing practices, black market smuggling and a drop-off point for illegal immigration.
Feeding aquatic sponges could provide biologists with unexpected underwater data collection assistance. Sponges (phylum Porifera) are immobile aquatic animals that eat by filtering out food particles from the water around them.
June 27 (UPI) -- At least one coral species has a taste for microplastic pollution. According to a new study, the coral species Astrangia poculata prefers the tiny plastic bits to its normal diet.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A crackdown on unregulated explosives in the aftermath of deadly terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka may help in the fight against illegal blast fishing in the country’s waters, according to marine researchers.
The oceans are losing oxygen. Numerous studies based on direct measurements in recent years have shown this.
Aquatic organisms in marine systems and freshwaters are threatened by fungal and fungal-like diseases globally.
Japan resumed commercial whaling for the first time in 31 years, and a fleet of vessels began catching its first whales on Monday.
Greenpeace report reveals 29 floor-exploration licences have been granted worldwide
A floating mass of seaweed stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico is now the biggest seaweed bloom in the world, according to satellite observations.
OTTAWA -- The federal government has announced new measures to protect North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that have been dying from ship strikes and getting caught in fishing gear.
“We got lucky she appeared when she did. We were about to get off the water when she popped up out of nowhere,” explains Alex Rendell, a Thai actor and conservationist, and founder of the Environmental Education Centre, of his encounter with the seven-month old dugong baby called Marium. “I’ve b ...
Coral reefs are retreating from equatorial waters and establishing new reefs in more temperate regions, according to new research.
Study is world's longest record of reactive nutrients, algae concentrations for coral reefs
Iron particles released by industrial activities are falling into the seas in greater quantities than previously thought
The ban on the wasteful discards of healthy and edible fish at sea has failed, according to a Lords report.