MARINE BIOLOGY NEWS FOCUSING ON RESEARCH, CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION
A new study from Florida State University shows that increasing microplastic accumulation along the Gulf’s beaches could alter the composition of shoreline sand and jeopardize the sensitive incubation environments of Loggerhead sea turtles. The Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is the most abundant of all the marine turtle species in U.S. waters. But persistent population […]
A female whale shark’s migration from the eastern Pacific to the western Indo-Pacific, spanning a distance of 20,142 kilometers (more than 12,000 miles) has been tracked by researchers, revealing this journey to be the longest whale shark migration ever recorded. The female whale shark (Rhincodon typus) involved in the study, was tagged near Coiba Island […]
New research has shown the existence of record amounts of microplastics in Arctic sea ice. Microplastics, refer to plastic particles, fibres, pellets and other fragments with a length, width or diameter ranging from only a few micrometres – thousandths of a millimetre – to under five millimetres. These occur in the ocean primarily as the result of the […]
A new study has revealed that global warming is affecting not just coral organisms, but many fish species that inhabit coral reefs. It has long been known that global warming is responsible for coral bleaching events across the globe. Although ocean acidification is one of the primary threats to coral reefs, the increase in water temperature […]
Due to the often unique structural and biochemical properties of seaweed, their utilisation by humans has occured for centuries. In modern times, the seaweed industry provides a wide range of products that are estimated to have a total annual value of US$5.5-6 billion, with food products for human consumption contributing to about US$ 5 billion of this […]
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have just completed a new study into the communication of Sperm Whales. Through listening to the characteristic tapping sounds (known as codas) of 7 sperm whales in the waters off the Azores, the team discovered that these sounds serve as a form of communication between individuals. This discovery is significant as […]
Overfishing has dramatically depleted sharks and other large predatory fishes worldwide except for a few remote and/or well-protected areas. The islands of Darwin and Wolf in the far north of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) are known for their large shark abundance, making them a global scuba diving and conservation hotspot. Researchers from the Charles Darwin […]
The impact of climate change on the earth’s oceans has been studied extensively over the past two decades. With an increasing amount of evidence detailing it’s negative effects on the marine environment, scientists are striving to identify ways to repair the damage that has already been done and to find solutions to prevent future damage. One of the primary impacts of […]
In the first study of it’s kind, scientists have been able to analyse the diet of an endangered Killer Whale population based on fecal samples, with salmon showing to be their primary food source. Prior to this study, diet inference was primarily based on analysis of prey remains consumed by the whales at the surface, and it […]
According to new research, Parabens, a form of preservative widely used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, have begun showing up in the tissues of various marine mammal species, including dolphins, sea otters and polar bears. The preservative is found in shampoos, commercial moisturisers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution, makeup, and toothpaste and is used to prevent bacterial growth […]
