Immersion in seawater kills sea turtle eggs, suggesting that sea turtles are increasingly at risk from rising seas, according to research published today in Royal Society Open Science.
Icy waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula.
Kathryn Smith
Hundreds of meters below the surface of the freezing ocean surrounding Antarctica, the seafloor is teeming with life. The animals living there have no idea that an army is on the brink of invading their tranquil environment.
The cycles of nutrients into the oceans following the building of mountains may have been a prime driver of evolutionary change.
John Long, Flinders University
California is the latest state to attempt to ban microplastics from consumer care products. Why these commonly used microbeads are causing major health and environmental problems.
A US Coast Guard icebreaker cuts a swathe through the icy the Southern Ocean earlier this year, on its way to rendezvous with a stricken fishing vessel.
Allyson Conroy/US Coast Guard/Wikimedia Commons
On the eve of a summit in Chile to discuss the protection of marine life in Antarctic waters, much still needs to be done to guard against overfishing, climate change and other threats.
‘Hoff’ crabs live in the strange realm of deep-sea vents.
NERC Chesso Consortium
New deep-sea research reveals intimate details of the secret lives of ‘Hoff’ crabs, living in thermal vents where cold Antarctic waters meet hot springs.
Vanessa Bezy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Turtle development is affected by low oxygen in the nest, new research carried out in Costa Rica shows. And there are lessons for conservation globally.
Kelp covered landscape in Western Australia.
Dan Smale
Thomas Wernberg, The University of Western Australia and Dan Smale, Marine Biological Association
Western Australia’s marine environment is unique. Two world heritage areas, the largest fringing coral reef in Australia, and more than a thousand kilometres of underwater forests, supporting incredible…
Phytoplankton are responsible for half the world’s productivity. Here, a phytoplankton bloom in the northern Pacific.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Flickr
You may not have heard of them or given them much thought, but phytoplankton — the microscopic plants that grow throughout the world’s oceans — are the foundation of oceanic food webs. Although tiny, they…
Young Steller sea lions in Prince William Sound, Alaska. NMFS Permit 14336.
Markus Horning
A decade ago, we set out to unravel deep ocean crime scenes we weren’t even sure existed. The crime? Endangered Steller sea lions were rapidly disappearing in parts of Alaska. Their numbers dropped by…
Apollo Bay in Victoria. Australia’s coastal towns are vulnerable to changes in the surrounding seas.
ccdoh1/Flickr
Australia’s coastal towns, many built around fisheries and tourism, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. South east and south west Australia are marine hotspots — they are warming much faster…
Australia’s Commonwealth marine parks were designed to protect marine life, including important foraging areas for sea birds.
In June 2012 the Labor government announced the “world’s largest” system of marine parks, adding 2.3 million square kilometres and taking the overall size of Australia’s Commonwealth marine reserves to…
Zebrafish given alcohol speed up their swimming when around other fish, compared to swimming alone. Researchers from NYU…
The United Nations is concerned about port expansions and dredging disposal in the Great Barrier Reef – but that bigger picture is ignored in new ‘Reef Facts’ commercials.
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
New “Reef Facts” commercials are currently airing during prime-time television shows in Australia, purporting to tell the “facts” about the environmental health of the Great Barrier Reef. It comes amid…
No matter how well a country like New Zealand protects its borders, introduced species will sneak in.
Queensland University of Technology
Rebecca Priestley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Historically, geographically, culturally – there are many points of comparison between Australia and its neighbour to the east, New Zealand. But there are notable differences. This week, The Conversation…
The catastrophic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform allowed five million barrels of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico between April and July 2010. Since then, remediation and restoration…