Study Probes Sources Of Mississippi River Phosphorus; Don't Blame Cow And Over-Fertilization
Madison, Wisconsin - May 9, 2011 17:13 EST
In their eagerness to cut nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, people have often sought simple explanations for the problem: too many large animal operations, for instance, or farmers who apply too much fertilizer,...

Shark Men: 18-Footer Is Biggest Great White Shark Caught, Released; 'He Was Just A Bad-Ass'
Washington, D.C. - May 6, 2011 19:02 EST
The crew of National Geographic Channel's hit series Shark Men today announced that they have broken the previous record for capturing the largest great white shark ever caught and released alive. The crew landed a 17-foot, 9-inch-long male great...

From A Bucket Of Seawater, New Understanding Of The Ocean; 'Predation, Viral Infections, And The Divergent Fate Of Close Relatives'
New Brunswick, New Jersey - May 6, 2011 18:03 EST
From a bucket of seawater, scientists have unlocked information that may lead to deeper understanding of organisms as different as coral reefs and human disease. By analyzing genomes of a tiny, single-celled marine animal, they have demonstrated a possible way...

After A Three-Decade Hiatus, Sea-Level Rise May Return To The West Coast; 'Wind Stess Shift'
San Diego, California - May 5, 2011 10:19 EST
The West Coast of North America has caught a break that has left sea level in the eastern North Pacific Ocean steady during the last few decades, but there is evidence that a change in wind patterns may be occurring...

Sea Elite Systems Recalls 'Scout' And 'Profile' Buoyancy Control Devices Due To Drowning Hazard
Washington, D.C - May 4, 2011 18:23 EST
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to...

Battle Scars Seen On An Ancient Sea Monster; 'Such Finds Have Also Rarely Been Reported'
Uppsala, Sweden - May 4, 2011 17:24 EST
Scars on the jaw of a 120 million year old marine reptile suggest that life might not have been easy in the ancient polar oceans. The healed bite wounds were probably made by a member of the same species. Such...

What Lies Beneath The Seafloor? Report Provides Results From First Microbial Subsurface Observatory Experiment
Miami, Florida - May 3, 2011 18:39 EST
An international team of scientists report on the first observatory experiment to study the dynamic microbial life of an ever-changing environment inside Earth's crust. University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science professor Keir Becker contributed the...

Study: Rare Deep-Sea Starfish Lose Legs, Stuck In Juvenile Body Plan; 'Many Could Not Recognize It'
Columbus, Ohio - May 2, 2011 17:58 EST
A team of scientists has combined embryological observations, genetic sequencing, and supercomputing to determine that a group of small disk-shaped animals that were once thought to represent a new class of animals are actually starfish that have lost the large...

Study: 'Small Fry' Fish Just As Vulnerable To Population Plunges As Sharks Or Tuna; 'All Species Of Fishes Can Collapse'
Palo Alto, California - May 2, 2011 17:42 EST
On land, being small and lurking at the bottom of the food chain is a far better strategy for species survival than being big, fierce and perched on top, at least when humans are after you – just ask the...

Shark Tourism Worth US$18m Annually For Pacific Island Nation; 'A Viable Economic Engine'
Washington, D.C. - May 2, 2011 17:32 EST
A single reef shark can contribute almost US$2 million in its lifetime to the economy of Palau, according to a new study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Western Australia. The analysis quantified the...

Capt. Kidd Shipwreck Site To Be Dedicated 'Living Museum Of The Sea' By Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana - May 2, 2011 17:12 EST
Nearly three years after the discovery of the shipwreck Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, the underwater site will be dedicated as a "Living Museum of the Sea" by Indiana University, IU researcher and...

Centuries-Old Gold And Emerald Ring Discovered By Divers Off Florida Coast; 'When You See It, You Just Know It'
Key West, Florida Keys - May 2, 2011 14:26 EST
Only a few days into launching their 2011 search and recovery season, divers for Keith Webb's Blue Water Ventures of Key West have discovered an elegant gold and emerald ring, along with a gold "flake," a piece of ornate silver,...

Scientists Eavesdrop On Lake, Detect Early Warning Signal For Aquatic Ecosystem Collapse; 'It Is A Strong Signal'
Madison, Wisconsin - May 2, 2011 10:06 EST
Researchers eavesdropping on complex signals emanating from a remote Wisconsin lake have detected what they say is an unmistakable warning — a death knell — of the impending collapse of the lake's aquatic ecosystem. The finding, reported today (April 29) in...

Researchers: Mercury Converted To Its Most Toxic Form In Ocean Waters
Edmonton, Alberta - Apr 30, 2011 18:47 EST
University of Alberta-led research has confirmed that a relatively harmless inorganic form of mercury found worldwide in ocean water is transformed into a potent neurotoxin in the seawater. After two years of testing water samples across the Arctic Ocean, the...

Company Launches Sleek High Tech Underwater Scooter For Two; 'Something You Should Do At Least Once In Your Lifetime'
Plantation, Florida - Apr 30, 2011 18:02 EST
Building upon the success of the single seat AS1 model, Aqua Star envisioned a two person scooter, the AS2. After intense design and engineering, it is now a reality. Now couples can share the underwater experience together. The second person...

Scalloped Hammerheads Declared Overfished In U.S. Atlantic; 83% Population Decline
Washington, D.C. - Apr 29, 2011 18:48 EST
Shark Advocates International is highlighting a new National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determination that U.S. Atlantic scalloped hammerhead sharks are overfished and subject to excessive fishing pressure. Scientists estimate that the population has declined by more than 80% from its...

Researchers: Eddies Found To Be Deep, Powerful Modes Of Ocean Transport
Woods Hole, Massachusetts - Apr 29, 2011 18:14 EST
Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies—known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface—can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500...

New Method For Measuring Biomass Reveals Fish Stocks Are More Stable Than Widely Believed
Seattle, Washington - Apr 28, 2011 15:36 EST
Fish and marine species are among the most threatened wildlife on earth, due partly to over exploitation by fishing fleets. Yet there are differences in assessing trends in worldwide fishing stocks which, researchers writing in Conservation Biology argue, stem from...

Researcher: Jump In Communication Skills Led To Species Explosion In Electric Fishes; 'It Sounds Like A Frying Pan'
St. Louis, Missouri - Apr 28, 2011 15:21 EST
Bruce Carlson stands next to a fish tank in his lab, holding a putty colored Radio Shack amplifier connected to two wires whose insulation has been stripped. At the bottom of the tank a nondescript little fish lurks in a...

Research: Fish Can Detect And Record Marine 'Dead Zones'
Syracuse, New York - Apr 28, 2011 10:48 EST
The discovery that fish can pick up — and physically record — evidence of "dead zones" in oceans and coastal waters could help scientists understand how fish deal with the growing problem of low-oxygen areas that threaten fisheries and tourism...

Researchers Determine How Fire Ants Build Waterproof Rafts; 'A Fluid Composed Of Ant 'Molecules''
Atlanta, Georgia - Apr 28, 2011 10:37 EST
It's a naturally occurring phenomenon that has puzzled biologists for decades: Place a single fire ant in water and it will struggle. But a group of fire ants will bind together and float effortlessly for days. Georgia Tech researchers – Nathan...

June 3: Animal Planet's Whale Wars Returns For The Ultimate Battle That May End The Antarctic Whaling War Forever
New York, New YOrk - Apr 27, 2011 23:22 EST
When the Japanese whale meat processing ship - the Nisshin Maru - turned around and set its course back to its home port in mid-February, Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherds declared a cautious victory. Watson and his international...

Study: 'Explosive' Evolution In Seen Pupfish, Changing Up To 130 Times Faster
Davis, California - Apr 27, 2011 22:29 EST
Two groups of small fish, one from a Caribbean island and one from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, exhibit some of the fastest rates of evolution known in any organism, according to a new UC Davis study. About 50 species of...

Scientists Can Track Origin Of Shark Fins Using 'Zip Codes' In Their DNA; 'Identify Source Populations'
Stony Brook, New York - Apr 27, 2011 21:59 EST
An international team of scientists, led by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, has used DNA to determine that groups of dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) living in different coastal regions across...

Record Number Of Whales, Krill Found In The Antarctic Bays; 'The Lack Of Sea Ice Is Good News For The Whales'
Durham, South Carolina - Apr 27, 2011 19:47 EST
Scientists have observed a "super-aggregation" of more than 300 humpback whales gorging on the largest swarm of Antarctic krill seen in more than 20 years in bays along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. The sightings, made in waters still largely ice-free...

Operation Squid Skin: Team To Mimic Camouflage Skill Of Marine Animals In High-Tech Materials
Woods Hole, Massachusetts - Apr 27, 2011 19:25 EST
Camouflage expert Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is co-recipient of a $6 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to study and ultimately emulate the exquisite ability of some marine animals to instantly change their skin...

Prey-Tell: Why Right Whales Linger In The Gulf Of Maine; 'The Behavior Of The Prey Influences The Behavior Of The Whales'
Woods Hole, Massachusetts - Apr 26, 2011 18:17 EST
As they might with most endangered animals, scientists consider the whereabouts and activities of right whales extremely important. "It is helpful to know where they go, why they go there and what they do when they're there," says Mark F....

Angel Effect: National Geographic Features Cave Diver's Story Of Life, Death And The Third Man
Lexington, Kentucky - Apr 25, 2011 18:28 EST
University of Kentucky geologist and cave diver Stephanie Schwabe recalls her 1997 dive into the Mermaid's Lair, on the south side of Grand Bahama Island quite plainly. Schwabe is not one to embellish or exaggerate. A simple account of her...

Trustees Announce $1 Billion 'Milestone Agreement' To Fund Early Gulf Coast Restoration Projects
Washington, D.C. - Apr 23, 2011 17:42 EST
Under an unprecedented agreement announced today by the Natural Resource Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Trustees), BP has agreed to provide $1 billion toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address injuries to natural resources...

Serial Abalone Poacher Gets Prison Sentence, $20,000 Fine, Lifetime Fishing Ban; Profit 'Clearly Outweighs The Risks Of Getting Caught'
San Francisco, California - Apr 22, 2011 17:23 EST
A San Francisco man who was caught taking abalone out of season three times over a three-week span has been convicted on poaching charges. Qiong Wang, 32, pled guilty to felony conspiracy and taking abalone for commercial purposes in Mendocino...

How Fish Swim: 'Treadmill For Fish' Reveals Contribution Of Fins To Propulsion
Cambridge, Massachusetts - Apr 22, 2011 16:39 EST
There are fish tales and then there are fish tails. And a report from Harvard researchers in the current issue of the journal Biology Letters seems to demonstrate that previous theories about how bony fish move through the water were,...

Bigger Isn't Always Better In University Of Miami's Underwater Photo Contest; 'Just Spectacular'
Miami, Florida - Apr 21, 2011 16:15 EST
Tobias Friedrich of Germany has been named the Overall Winner of the 2011 Annual Underwater Photography Contest hosted by the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. The winning photograph was submitted under the Macro category...

Big Tuna: In Spite Of Widely Publicized Fears, Bluefin Tuna Populations Are Actually Rebounding
San Diego, California - Apr 21, 2011 09:55 EST
A study released on April 19 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) offers a dire prediction: More than 40 species of marine fish currently found in the Mediterranean could disappear in the next few years. According to...

Pew Applauds Chilean Senate Vote To End 'Wasteful' Shark Finning
Washington, D.C. - Apr 20, 2011 18:57 EST
Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement today in response to the Chilean Senate passage of Chile's first-ever ban on shark finning, requiring that ships catching sharks have to land them...

Andy Samberg Becomes Discovery Channel's New 'Chief Shark Officer', To Host Shark Week
Silver Spring, Maryland - Apr 20, 2011 18:48 EST
After a long and arduous process of blood typing, insurance verification and wetsuit fittings, Discovery Channel today announced the appointment of its first ever Chief Shark Officer (CSO), Andy Samberg. As CSO, Samberg will host the network's 24th annual SHARK...

Scientists: 657 Barrier Islands Newly Identified In Global Survey; 'Exist In Every Climate And In Every Tide-Wave Combination'
Durham, North Carolina - Apr 20, 2011 14:01 EST
Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College. The researchers identified a total of 2,149 barrier islands worldwide using satellite images, topographical maps and navigational charts....

Study: Propeller Turbulence May Affect Marine Food Webs; 'Reducing The Supply Of Food Energy Available To Fish'
Gloucester Point, Virginia - Apr 19, 2011 17:41 EST
A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that turbulence from boat propellers can and does kill large numbers of copepods—tiny crustaceans that are an important part of marine food webs. The study—by VIMS graduate student...

Researchers: New 'Legal Drugs' Could Help Goldfish And Koi With Fish Lice
Gainsville, Florida - Apr 18, 2011 20:35 EST
The lack of legal ways to eliminate fish lice is frustrating for goldfish and koi enthusiasts, but a University of Florida study in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health reports that a cure is in the works. Fish lice, which are...

The Feathers Have It: Mercury On The Rise In Endangered Pacific Seabirds
Boston, Massachusetts - Apr 18, 2011 19:26 EST
Using 120 years of feathers from natural history museums in the United States, Harvard University researchers have been able to track increases in the neurotoxin methylmercury in the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), an endangered seabird that forages extensively throughout the...

'This Is Your Ocean: Sharks' To Premiere At Newport Film Festival; Guy Harvey, Wyland, Jim Abernethy To Attend Showing
Newport Beach, California - Apr 18, 2011 17:21 EST
International marine and wildlife conservation artists Guy Harvey and Wyland join with renown SCUBA diver and wildlife photographer Jim Abernathy to showcase This is Your Ocean: Sharks, as the Eco Spotlight feature at the Newport Beach Film Festival, scheduled for April...