From fluffy crabs that wear sea sponge hats to worms that glow in the dark, scientists are constantly finding amazing new life forms in the ocean.
A highway loops around a tailings pond at the Syncrude facility in Fort McMurray, Alta. The proximity of such toxic wastewater ponds to nature threatens its biodiversity.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
As toxic water continues to spill from tailings ponds across mining developments, decades of scientific research provides evidence of how wildlife will be affected.
Images of the snailfish seen at the Izu-Ogasawara Trench.
University of Western Australia
Raw seafood dishes such as sushi, poke bowls and ceviche are increasingly popular, but can harbour fish-borne parasites. What’s the best way to protect ourselves?
Establishing the financial worth of a river’s fish is complicated when many people don’t sell the fish they catch.
Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images
Putting a dollar value on nature has staunch opponents who say it’s morally wrong, but without it, building dams and other infrastructure can run roughshod over vital ecosystems.
Sightings of thin killer whales have led researchers to blame the decline of these whales to the shortage of Chinook salmon.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Keith Holmes, Hakai Institute
Antioxidants in salmon’s diet give the fish their distinctive colour, but internet rumours proliferate about how farmed salmon achieve the same colour.
3D rendering of the tiktaalik, an extinct walking fish.
Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock
Over 100 shark and ray species were recently added to an international treaty, known as the CITES list, to protect them from the threat of unsustainable and illegal trade.
Synthetic clothing sheds tiny plastic fragments known as microfibres when washed.
Cultura Creative RF/Alamy Stock Photo
Pam Longobardi collects and documents ocean plastic waste and transforms it into public art and photography. Her work makes statements about consumption, globalism and conservation.
Carp can make riverbeds look like golf balls – denuded and dimpled, devoid of any habitat. Releasing carp herpes virus is a controversial proposition, so let’s weigh up the risks and benefits.
Neuroactive compounds in antidepressants enter our wastewater and affect how fish function. Identifying the potential damage to fish is paramount for protecting our aquatic ecosystems.
Invasive rats can fundamentally alter the functioning of surrounding marine ecosystems.
Bluerain/Shutterstock
Roxanne Razavi, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Hadis Miraly, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Karin Limburg, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
A new study shows that a time stamp can be put on mercury that accumulates in fish eyes, offering a window into their lifetime exposure.
Researchers discovered five new species of black corals, including this Hexapathes bikofskii growing out of a nautilus shell more than 2,500 feet (760 meters) below the surface.
Jeremy Horowitz
Black corals provide critical habitat for many creatures that live in the dark, often barren, deep sea, and researchers are learning more about these rare corals with every dive.
Executive Director and Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Gulbali Institute (Agriculture, Water and Environment), Charles Sturt University, Charles Sturt University