Latest Marine biology Stories

Ian Jonsen, a research associate and adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University and co-lead investigator of the Future of Marine Animal Populations Project (FMAP), has teamed up with Barbara Block at Stanford University and several other American researchers to conclude a two year study entitled, "Tracking apex marine predator movements in a dynamic ocean" published in the science journal Nature released June 22.The study summarized the results from a ten...

The world's oceans are declining much faster than previously believed, a consortium of ocean experts warned on Monday.Ocean life is "at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history," the scientists said in their report, blaming the problem on pollution, overfishing and other man-made causes that are acting simultaneously in ways not seen before.The panel of 27 of the world's top ocean experts said these conditions are pushing the oceans to...

A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) shows that jellyfish are more than a nuisance to bathers and boaters, drastically altering marine food webs by shunting food energy from fish toward bacteria.An apparent increase in the size and frequency of jellyfish blooms in coastal and estuarine waters around the world during the last few decades means that jellies' impact on marine food webs is likely to increase into the future.The results of the study, led by...

According to new findings, seas off Papua New Guinea suggest that acidifying oceans will severely hit coral reefs by the end of the century. Carbon dioxide bubbles into the water from the slopes of a dormant volcano there, making it more acidic. Coral is badly affected and not growing at all in the CO2-rich zone. The scientists say this "lab" mimics conditions that will be widespread if CO2 emissions continue.The oceans absorb some of the carbon dioxide that human activities are...

By Cheryl Dybas, NSFMarine scientists discover wave disturbance, nutrient levels affect California giant kelp growthMarine scientists have a new view of the giant kelp in the Pacific Ocean--through a scuba mask and a satellite's "eye."Forests of giant kelp, or Macrocystis pyrifera, are found in temperate coastal regions and are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth.In a melding of data from the beneath the waves and from the skies above, researchers have developed a method...

Reef fishes and many other marine species live all their adulthood in one place but early in their lives, when they're eggs and larvae, spend a short period of time drifting and swimming in the open ocean. It seems intuitive that the duration of this open water period should determine the geographic extent over which species are found as species that spend longer drifting at sea are likely to reach greater distances. Interestingly enough, numerous studies have consistently failed to find any...

University of Miami scientists using the geologic record of corals to understand how reef ecosystems might respond to climate changeClimate change is already widely recognized to be negatively affecting coral reef ecosystems around the world, yet the long-term effects are difficult to predict. University of Miami (UM) scientists are using the geologic record of Caribbean corals to understand how reef ecosystems might respond to climate change expected for this century. The findings are...

After the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history "“ 250 million years ago "“ algae and bacteria in the ocean rebounded so fast that they consumed virtually all the oxygen in the sea, slowing the recovery of the rest of marine animals for several million years.A mass extinction is hard enough for Earth's biosphere to handle, but when you chase it with prolonged oxygen deprivation, the biota ends up with a hangover that can last millions of years.Such was the situation with the greatest...

By David Malmquist, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceAn international team of researchers including professor Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has published a comprehensive new analysis showing that loss of plant biodiversity disrupts the fundamental services that ecosystems provide to humanity.Plant communities"”threatened by development, invasive species, climate change, and other factors"”provide humans with food, help purify water supplies, generate oxygen,...

Phytoplankton peak arising up to 50 days early, with unknown impacts on marine food chain and carbon cyclingWarming temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may be behind a progressively earlier bloom of a crucial annual marine event, and the shift could hold consequences for the entire food chain and carbon cycling in the region.Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, along with colleagues in Portugal and Mexico, plotted the yearly spring bloom of...