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The coral reefs of the lesser Sunda-Banda seascape in southeastern Indonesia host some of the planet’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems, which remain relatively untouched even as overfishing ravages sea life to the country’s west and all over the world.
In 2019, a hydrology professor at The University of Texas at Austin set out on a research project to see if he could identify harmful nutrients flowing through groundwater into a delicate coral reef sanctuary in the Philippines.
Remote localities are generally considered as potential reservoirs for biodiversity, but this is just part of the story. With regard to fish communities, researchers have produced a global map of risk that shows that no place is safe, regardless of distance from humans.
The ocean is a big place with many deep, dark mysteries. Humans have mapped no more than 20% of the sea, and explored less. Even the kelp forests of Southern California – among the best studied patches of ocean on the planet – hide species not yet described by science.
Some corals can recover after massive mortality episodes caused by the water temperature rise. This survival mechanism in the marine environment -known as rejuvenation- had only been described in some fossil corals so far. A new study published in the journal Science Advances reveals the first s ...
The kelp forests of the oceans are a habitat for a wide range of marine species, rivaling even the great tropical forests for sheer richness of biodiversity, according to scientists from the KELPER project, which studies these marine algae ecosystems.
Tropical reefs are vulnerable ecosystems, sensitive to a variety of environmental conditions and disturbances, which can change their composition from vibrant coral reefs to vast fields of seaweed or barren rubble.
Marine mammals are particularly sensitive to noise pollution because they rely on sound for so many essential functions, including communication, navigation, finding food, and avoiding predators. An expert panel has now published a comprehensive assessment of the available science on how noise e ...
In October 2021, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will meet in China to adopt a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework to reverse biodiversity loss and its impacts on ecosystems, species and people. The conference is being held during a moment of great urgency: According to a re ...
What would a tropical reef look like if it could escape the man-made perils of global heating and overfishing? A new study suggests it would look like Rowley Shoals, an isolated archipelago of reefs 260km off Australia’s north-west coast.
Understanding the impact of modern fishing techniques is critical to ensure the sustainability of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna fishery—the largest tuna fishery in the world that accounts for 55% of the total tropical tuna catch and provides up to 98% of government revenue fo ...
A sockeye salmon's life ends right back where it began, culminating in an anadromous drama of sex, decay and sacrifice.Patty Zwollo says that it's all part of sexual maturation in salmon: They swim up out of the Pacific into the same streams in which they were born and into the lives, literature ...
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.
Creating the conditions for sustainable seagrass restoration in Maputo and Inhambane bays “People can’t think of Inhaca without thinking about seagrass,” says Salamao Bandeira of Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University, knee-deep in the shallow waters on the seaward side of Maputo Bay, as he points ...
This week, world leaders gather in Norway to focus on the health of our oceans at a critical time. For island nations such as the Federated States of Micronesia, threatened as never before by climate change, seriousness of purpose isn’t elective, it’s existential.
Vividly coloured coral reefs are a beautiful backdrop in tropical scenes, like living sculptures designed for the jewel-toned fish that glide over and around them.
Swimming off Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean, Ilena Zanella had her first close encounter with hammerhead sharks.
H E Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, took part in the fifth edition of the Indian Ocean Conference in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The Conference’s fourth day, focused on the role of the scientific community, to enable the blue transformation of humankind’s relationship with the ocean.
Tropical waters are known for their bright sunlight above and their richly colorful biodiversity below. These two things aren’t unrelated; for the many tropical species that exhibit biofluorescence — that is, the ability to absorb light energy and reemit it as different colored light — the sunli ...
The mesmerizing red algal species Phymatolithon calcareum clumps together to form habitats called maerl beds in coastal regions across the northeast Atlantic, but researchers have discovered a pocket of the algae near Cornwall in the UK that's genetically distinct from the rest of the region.
The Nature Conservancy has completed a significant new project: a region-wide publication of maps of all shallow water coral reefs in the Caribbean. Now, the Caribbean has a clear picture of the habitats found beneath its waves.
The world's coral reefs are in dire shape because of climate change. Severe bleaching in 2016 and 2017 killed off nearly 50 percent of the Great Barrier Reef.
Scientists have seen for the first time how corals collaborate with other microscopic life to build and grow.A study led by The University of Queensland and James Cook University reveals at the DNA level how coral interacts with partners like algae and bacteria to share resources and build healt ...
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.
Bacteria from the ocean floor can beat superbugs and cancer. But habitats are at risk from the hunger for marine minerals
Off the coast of Guiana, a French overseas department perched on the north coast of South America, scientists scour the choppy waters for signs of life.
Together with an international team, Senckenberg scientist Angelika Brandt has published an inventory of the current knowledge and discussions concerning marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).
(CNN)An international group of scientists has surveyed more than 2,500 coral reef systems across 44 countries to determine how to save them in the face of damage caused by climate change and humans, according to a new study.
Almost 100 pilot whales have died in a mass stranding on New Zealand's remote Chatham Islands, conservation officials said Wednesday.
Fish are in trouble. It seems that every week we hear warnings about drastically reduced populations in numerous species. And did you catch the disturbing story about UK fish and chip shops serving up endangered species to unwitting customers?
Conservation plans should consider such links between land-based and marine ecosystems
As seabirds’ food security is threatened by human activity, new research in Ireland has found that birds with tracking devices have been follow fishing vessels for food.
World fisheries should be more strictly managed to relieve pressure on seabird numbers, Aberdeen experts have said.
If you ever stumble upon a seal pup far from home, best leave it alone and call for help. Humans (and their dogs) can pose a danger to seals, and the marine mammals can give humans tuberculosis.
When they are in the deep, dark ocean, seals use their whiskers to track down their prey, a study has confirmed after observing the sea mammals in their natural habitat.
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.
Good news doesn’t get any more in-your-face than this. One thousand fin whales, one of the world’s biggest animals, were seen last week swimming in the same seas in which they were driven to near-extinction last century due to whaling. It’s like humans never happened.
A marine biology expert said the country needs a dedicated bureau for coral reef management amid the challenges in preserving the marine environment in Philippine waters.
Fin-to-fin synchronised swimming, thought likely to be part of courtship, has been seen in groups of basking sharks for the first time. Video cameras attached temporarily to the sharks gave scientists an unprecedented view of their hitherto secret underwater world.
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.
As the world grapples with the climate emergency, Seychelles is leading the way in marine conservation – ten years ahead of United Nations deadlines. A marine expedition into its deep waters has analysed a huge swathe of unchartered Indian Ocean territory, providing invaluable research.
Seychelles' rich biodiversity is a goldmine of information for research and conversation organisations. Save Our Seas Foundation, which was founded in 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland, is running seven long term programmes on two remote islands in Seychelles - D'Arros and St Joseph Atoll.
A joint Nekton deep sea expedition in the waters of Seychelles and Maldives will start on Tuesday to establish a baseline of marine life and the state of the ocean in both jurisdictions. The 35-day mission will be led by a team of 50 international scientists from Nekton and the University of Oxf ...
Robust fish populations and a thriving marine ecosystem around two of Seychelles' islands could help the bleached coral reefs there, a new study found.
Sharks are the apex predator of the ocean — they are at the top of the food chain, prey to no other animal in the water. Their size, strength and, of course, their teeth make them the quintessential movie monsters. In real life, they regularly get screen time on TV news when they maim or kill a ...
Scientists in Florida have concluded that sharks possess an internal navigation system similar to GPS that allows them to use Earth’s magnetic forces to travel long distances with accuracy.
Long portrayed in pop culture as remorseless people-killers, sharks in reality are no Hollywood monsters. Sharks are a diverse group of mostly predatory fish, including the largest living fish, with skeletons made of cartilage.
Environmental groups in Florida are warning that unusually high numbers of manatee deaths in the first five months of the year, blamed in part on resurgent algal blooms contaminating and destroying food sources, could threaten the long-term future of the species.
UNC-Chapel Hill biologists examine the links between microbial mats and a type of coral disease that has become an urgent conservation concern, and they suggest mitigation strategies to help reduce its spread.