Saturday, February 27, 2016

Week in Review: Ocean Acidification Causes Young Corals to Develop Deformed Skeletons

1. Ocean Acidification Causes Young Corals to Develop Deformed Skeletons

coral, corals, coral reef, reef, coralli, barriera corallina, under the sea, abissi, abiss, colour, wonderful, mare, oceano, ocean,:
This week, a research article published in Science Advances revealed that young corals develop deformed and porous skeletons when they grow in more acidified waters, potentially making it more difficult for them to establish themselves on the reef and survive to adulthood. Coral skeletal growth is affected by two factors, ocean temperature and carbon dioxide. The research concluded that the increase in temperature did not have a negative impact on skeletal growth but, the high CO2 conditions did. Under the current CO2 emissions trajectory, young corals will not be able to effectively build their skeletons.  Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

2. 16 Reasons to Love (And Respect) The Ocean


The team at Sea Save Foundation has around 4 billion reasons why we love and respect the ocean! This week, the Huffington Post published a nice synopsis of why everyone should love the ocean. The facts and details outlined in the article provide the public with some fascinating insight into the deep see and it's wondrous creatures. Read more...




-----------------------------------------------

3. Intense Deep-Ocean Turbulence Could Drive Global Circulation

Intense deep-ocean turbulence in equatorial Pacific could help drive global circulationThe findings, presented this week at the annual American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences conferences and recently published online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, could help improve the future climate forecasts. According to Ryan Holmes, a graduate student at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, "climate models don't do a great job of simulating global ocean circulation because they can't simulate the small scales that are important for deep ocean mixing".  The article describes the scientific methods used to determine and predict the ocean turbulence and the impacts that it will have on the Earth's climate system.  Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

4. Shark Research Produces the Unexpected

Scientists at James Cook University have researched the activity of female blacktip reef sharks. Their studies reveal that the females and their young stay close to shore over long time periods while the males only appear during the breeding season. This was the first study in the Pacific to show these results. This study highlights yet another importance of protecting the coastal habitats. Read more...


-----------------------------------------------

5. What Whales Do at Night



Have you ever thought about it? What do whales actually do at night? Scientists have studied whales for years but most of the research has been done from daylight observations. Last week, some associates with the New England Aquarium took a small boat out to observe the New Atlantic right whales. By using infrared cameras, the team was able to reveal temperature differences between healing and surrounding tissues in some of the right whales. There were hot spots on the heads of the whales could indicate infections.  The whales were also seen skim-feeding, leaving a trail of cool spots on the ocean surface. Utilizing this new technology will continue to teach the world new details into the species. There are only 500 right whales left in the world and nearly 83% of the whales have been entangled in fishing equipment.   Read more...



-----------------------------------------------


Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Week in Review: Preferred Conservation Polices of Shark Researchers

1. What Do The World's Leading Shark Researchers Think of Shark Conservation Policy?

New global strategy to save sharks and rays
The University of Miami Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy researchers recently surveyed over 100 scientists and natural resource managers to assess the collective expertise of the world's largest professional shark research societies. The survey results were published this week in the journal Conservation Biology. The survey responses indicated that most scientists do support conservation policies but, the majority support regulations that allow for sustainable fishing over attempts to eliminate all fishing when possible. Respondents were also concerned about some bad actors in the environmental community who use incorrect facts to focus on issues that are flashy but not the most pressing. Interested in reading the details that the study revealed? Read here...

-----------------------------------------------

2. Coalition of US States Pledge to Accelerate Renewable Energy Efforts

This week, governors from 17 states have signed a pledge to accelerate their efforts to create a green economy. The governors are from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, said that the coalition of states can effectively " develop an effective national energy policy to ensure a safer, greener, and more sustainable future for all". Last year, wind and solar energy accounted for 5.4% of the nation's energy.  Read more...


-----------------------------------------------

3. Ocean Oases: How Islands Support More Sea-Life 

This week, an article was published in Nature Communications that proved a 60 year old theory to explain why seas surrounded by islands and atolls are more productive. The Island Mass Effect is a hypothesis that explains why waters surrounding small islands, reefs, and atolls support a greater abundance of sea-life than is found in the near-by open ocean. The marine biologist from Bangor University's School of Ocean Science and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured the phytoplankton populations in the waters surrounding 35 small islands. They recorded 86% more phytoplankton in those waters than open ocean. The increase in microscopic organisms has an effect right up the food chain to the top predators.  Read more...


-----------------------------------------------

4. Female Bamboo Shark if Due for Virgin Birth at Sea Life Centre in UK

A female shark who has had no contact with males of its species for more than two years is currently pregnant! The white-spotted bamboo shark currently has produced two fertile eggs by the process called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is when females manage to add an extra set of chromosomes to their eggs to produce offspring that are either clones or half-clones of themselves.  Read more...




-----------------------------------------------

5. Baby Dolphin Killed By Tourists




This week, a baby dolphin was killed after it was pulled out of the ocean because tourists wanted to take selfies with it. The rare La Planta dolphin was on the beaches of Argentina and was manhandled by humans and unprotected under the hot sun. To see the videos of the horrible act, click here...



-----------------------------------------------



Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Week in Review: Don't Shrink Australia's Ocean Sanctuaries!

1. Don't Shrink Australia's Ocean Sanctuaries!

The Australian government is currently going through a review of the size of the ocean sanctuaries in hopes to reduce the area to increase areas permitted for commercial fishing. There has not been any scientific review of the implications of rezoning. Australia's leading scientists are now pushing back and presenting the detrimental effects that this could have on the ecosystem that the nation has worked for years to preserve. In 2012 the decision was made to protect more than 2.3 million square km of ocean and offered $100m in compensation to the fishing industry. The current environment minister Greg Hunt states that " unlike the previous government, we are committed to getting the management plans and the balance of zoning right".  Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

2. Ocean Plastics Continue to Impact the Ecosystem

A recent estimate puts the amount of plastic floating in the world's oceans at more than 5.25 trillion pieces, weighting more than 268,000 metric tons. This week, a number of studies were published discussing the changes caused by ocean plastic. 

The first story we will review discusses the introduction of microbes into the oceans. The foreign microbes use the plastics as a resident to float through the oceans. These floating synthetic dwellings and their microbial inhabitants are referred to as the plastisphere. The impact of the plastisphere is still being determined. Read more...

This week, a study was published in Nature that discussed the impact of ocean plastics on oysters. The team of scientists studied Pacific oysters in water laced with micrometre sized polystyrene spheres. The study reveals that oceans consuming these small pieces of plastic litter produce fewer and less robust offspring. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

3. Why Studying Fertility in Sea Urchins Makes Sense
A book was recently written by Marah J, Hardt entitled Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection with Sex- Changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters, Kinky Squid, and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep.  Although the book has a racy title, it discusses reproduction  of marine species and the scientific value of studying the fertilization processes. One example included in the book is sea urchin fertilization. Hardt describes the process and draws the connection to the similarities that it has to our current day fertility treatments and IVF. This is just another example of the innovations that we can develop from nature. Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

4. Catastrophic Failure of Ice Age Dam Changed Ocean Circulation and Climate

Catastrophic failure of ice age dam changed ocean circulation and climateA study performed by scientists at the University of Bristol and Aberystwyth University discusses the catastrophic release of fresh water from a vast South American lake at the end of the last Ice Age. The full publication in Scientific Reports reveals that the lake, which was about one third the size of Whales, drained everal times between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago, with devastating consequences. The draining impacted the circulation and regional climate of the Pacific Ocean.   Read more...

-----------------------------------------------

5. Sharks May Help Humans Grow New Teeth


Sharks are one species who have the capacity for lifelong regeneration of highly specialized teeth. A research team at the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences studied this process to determine how the genes in sharks allow them to replace rows of their teeth using a conveyor belt-like system. A special set of epithelial cells, called the dental lamina, form in sharks and are responsible for the lifelong tooth development. Humans possess the same cells but our tooth regeneration ability is limited. Could this study help develop therapies for human tooth loss?  Read more...



-----------------------------------------------


Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Thursday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.