Study: 'Sobering' Decline Of Caribbean Big Fish; Loss Of Predators May Have 'Surprising And Unanticipated Effects'
Tallahassee, Floirida - May 7, 2009 08:24 EST
Sharks, barracuda and other large predatory fishes disappear on Caribbean coral reefs as human populations rise, endangering the region's marine food web and ultimately its reefs and fisheries, according to a sweeping study by researcher Chris Stallings of The Florida...

New Ocean Data Improves Search And Rescue Ability; Probable Paths Of Drifting Craft, Floating Victims Available
- May 6, 2009 18:03 EST
A new set of ocean observing data that enhances the ability to track probable paths of victims and drifting survivor craft should improve search and rescue efforts along the U.S. coast. The data comes from the Integrated Ocean Observing System...

A Dent In The Iron Hypothesis: Plankton Blooms Found Do Not Send Atmospheric Carbon To The Deep Ocean
Berkeley, California - May 6, 2009 17:57 EST
Oceanographers Jim Bishop and Todd Wood of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have measured the fate of carbon particles originating in plankton blooms in the Southern Ocean, using data that deep-diving Carbon Explorer floats collected around...

Marine Scientists Return From Expedition To Erupting Undersea Volcano; 'the Ground In Front Of Us Shuddered And Quaked'
Arlington, Virginia - May 5, 2009 17:43 EST
Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano appears to be continuously active, has grown considerably in size during the past three years, and its activity...

Study: Climate Change Threatens Lake Baikal's Unique Biota; Reduced Ice Cover Impacts Diatoms
Boston, Massachusetts - May 4, 2009 18:43 EST
Siberia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest and most biologically diverse lake, faces the prospect of severe ecological disruption as a result of climate change, according to an analysis by a joint US-Russian team in the May issue of BioScience. The...

U.S. Commerce Secretary Extends 2008 Disaster Declaration Due To Poor Salmon Returns
Washington, D.C. - May 4, 2009 18:27 EST
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said today he was extending the 2008 West Coast salmon disaster declaration for California and Oregon in response to expected poor salmon returns to the Sacramento River, which have led to management reducing commercial salmon...

24° 27' N, 81° 44' W: Locator Map Released For The Proposed Vandenberg Artificial Reef Site Off Key West
Key West, Florida - May 4, 2009 18:13 EST
The locator map of the proposed Vandenberg Artificial Reef site off Key West, Fla., in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, has been released. The coordinates of the proposed site are 24° 27' N, 81° 44' W, which is...

Threat Of Dogfish Sharks Unite Commercial And Recreational Fishermen From Maine To North Carolina
Trenton, New Jersey - May 4, 2009 18:00 EST
An unprecedented alliance of commercial, recreational and party/charter boat fishermen and associated businesses has formed Fishermen Organized for Rational Dogfish Management (FORDM) to deal with a looming crisis. FORDM has requested assistance from Dr. Jane Lubchenco, newly appointed National Oceanic...

Industry: Mercury Study Misleads Americans About Seafood And Health; 'Levels In Actual Fish Aren't Increasing'
Washington, D.C. - May 3, 2009 19:03 EST
A new study about mercury in the Pacific Ocean is completely irrelevant to consumers who eat tuna and other marine fish, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) said today. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, whose work was published today...

Landmark Study Documents Link Between Air Pollution, Contaminated Seafood; 'Mercury Researchers Typically Look Skyward'
Washington, D.C. - May 3, 2009 19:00 EST
A new landmark study published today documents for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a...

Voting Continues As Underwater Channel.tv's Face Of Australia Competition Narrows Down To Three Presenters
London, England - May 2, 2009 19:12 EST
The international competition launched by The Underwater Channel.tv and PADI to find an experienced and knowledgeable Aussie diver to join The Underwater Channel.tv's team of presenters has seen the field narrowed to three candidates. The three finalists are Bess,...

Turtle Tagged 21 Years Ago By Florida Lab Returns For Rehab; 'Vicki Lee' Receives Fluids
Sarasota, Florida - Apr 30, 2009 19:09 EST
A stranded adult female loggerhead sea turtle tagged 21 years ago by Mote Marine Laboratory was rescued Thursday and transported to Mote's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital. The turtle, weighing an estimated 225 pounds with a 3-foot-long carapace, stranded near the...

NOAA Announces Emergency Rule To Protect 'Threatened' Sea Turtles In The Gulf Of Mexico
Washington, D.C. - Apr 30, 2009 18:56 EST
NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced an emergency rule to protect threatened sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The temporary rule, which takes effect May 18, will require the commercial reef fish longline fleet to fish seaward of a line approximating...

Study: Fish May Feel Pain Much Like Humans; Behavior Changed After 'An Aversive Experience'
West Lafayette, Indiana - Apr 29, 2009 16:42 EST
Fish don't make noises or contort their faces to show that it hurts when hooks are pulled from their mouths, but a Purdue University researcher believes they feel that pain all the same. Joseph Garner, an assistant professor of animal...

Research: Contrary To Recent Hypothesis, 'Chevrons' Are Not Evidence Of Megatsunamis; 'Wind'
Seattle, Washington - Apr 29, 2009 16:20 EST
A persistent school of thought in recent years has held that so-called "chevrons," large U- or V-shaped formations found in some of the world's coastal areas, are evidence of megatsunamis caused by asteroids or comets slamming into the ocean. University of...

Study: Large Sponges May Be Reattached To Coral Reefs; 90% Success Rate In Deep Water
Key Largo, Florida - Apr 27, 2009 18:16 EST
A new study appearing in Restoration Ecology describes a novel technique for reattaching large sponges that have been dislodged from coral reefs. The findings could be generally applied to the restoration of other large sponge species removed by human activities...

Lights Out On Florida Beaches As Turtle Nesting Season Kicks Off; 'Just One Light Can Kill Thousands'
Tallahassee, Florida - Apr 27, 2009 17:54 EST
Sea turtle nesting season has begun on Florida’s beaches, which means beach residents and visitors need to follow a few precautions to ensure a successful season. Lights along the beach should be managed to prevent disorienting a female that comes ashore...

Study Rules Out Ancient Bursts Of Seafloor Methane Emissions; 'It Was Like Working In A Quarry'
Corvallis, Oregon - Apr 23, 2009 18:11 EST
Measurements made from the largest Greenland ice sample ever analyzed have confirmed that an unusual rise in atmospheric methane levels about 12,000 years ago was not the result of a catastrophic release of seafloor "hydrate deposits," as some scientists had...

Vandenberg Arrives In Key West; Second Largest Artificial In The World Reef Set To Be Sunk Before June
Key West, Florida - Apr 23, 2009 17:53 EST
Following an 1,100-mile voyage and more than a decade of planning and acquiring funding resources, the Florida Keys newest artificial reef, the ex-military missile tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg arrived in Key West Wednesday. The Vandenberg is docked behind the...

Missing Link Fossil Shows How Seals Got Flippers; Arctic A Geographic Center In Pinniped Evolution
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Apr 22, 2009 17:26 EST
Researchers from the United States and Canada have found a fossil skeleton of a newly discovered carnivorous animal, Puijila darwini. New research suggests Puijila is a "missing link" in the evolution of the group that today includes seals, sea lions,...

Sea Level Rise Simulations Are Now Available Online; SLAMM Simulations To Aid Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. - Apr 22, 2009 17:09 EST
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released a new user-friendly internet tool that allows the public to view simulations of sea level rise. Released in honor of Earth Day, this program is designed to help people understand the potential...

Research: Increasing Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Linked To The Ozone Hole
Cambridge, UK - Apr 21, 2009 16:49 EST
Increased growth in Antarctic sea ice during the past 30 years is a result of changing weather patterns caused by the ozone hole according to new research published this week. Reporting in the journal Geophysical Research Letters scientists from British...

Researchers Fire The Starting Gun For The Great Turtle Race; 'This Is Data That Can Be Used'
Nova Scotia, Canada - Apr 18, 2009 18:23 EST
That old Aesop’s fable about the turtle and the hare might have you underestimating the turtle; after all, that hare would have won if only it stayed on track—right? Fact is, while turtles are slow and clumsy on land, they can...

Increasing Carbon Dioxide, Decreasing Oxygen In The Oceans Will Make It Harder For Deep-sea Animals To 'Breathe'
Monterey, California - Apr 17, 2009 16:52 EST
New calculations made by marine chemists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) suggest that low-oxygen "dead zones" in the ocean could expand significantly over the next century. These predictions are based on the fact that, as more and...

Scientists Celebrate As Aussie 'Ocean Glider' Comes Home After Two-month Voyage
Victoria, Australia - Apr 16, 2009 17:10 EST
Scientists are celebrating the first successful deployment and retrieval in Australia of a remotely controlled, deep ocean-going robotic submarine destined to play a central role in measuring changes in two of Australia's most influential ocean currents. Under the joint CSIRO...

Research: Microbes Thrive In Harsh, Isolated Water Under Antarctic Glacier; 'A Unique Sort Of Time Capsule'
Cambridge, Massachusetts - Apr 16, 2009 17:02 EST
A reservoir of briny liquid buried deep beneath an Antarctic glacier supports hardy microbes that have lived in isolation for millions of years, researchers report this week in the journal Science. The discovery of life in a place where cold, darkness,...

Genes From Tiny Marine Algae Suggest Unsuspected Avenues For New Research; 'No One Knows What They Do'
Moss Landing, California - Apr 14, 2009 16:47 EST
By sequencing the DNA of two tiny marine algae, a team of scientists has opened up a myriad of possibilities for new research in algal physiology, plant biology, and marine ecology. The project was led by Alexandra Worden at the...

The Vandenberg Leaves For Key West; 13-year Process To Create Artificial Reef Clears 'Major Hurdle'
Key West, Florida - Apr 12, 2009 19:41 EST
The Vandenberg is finally headed to Key West and the last steps in a 13-year process to create the newest artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Sunday, tugboats eased the 523-foot-long retired Air Force missile tracking ship...

Cousteau Campaign Launched On Toxic Flame Retardants, Impacts On Human Health And Marine Environment
Santa Barbara, California - Apr 9, 2009 16:05 EST
During a recent expedition, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society team were faced with an alarming fact: many populations of killer whales are contaminated with toxic, synthetic flame retardant chemicals known as PBDEs. The most toxic of these flame...

Animal Planet's Controverisal 'WHALE WARS' Embarks On Another Season Of Antarctic Drama
New York, New York - Apr 8, 2009 19:05 EST
Last month, when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel The Steve Irwin docked in Hobart, Tasmania, it was met by two dozen members of the Australian Federal Police. They were there to confiscate hundreds of hours of videotape, launching an...

Animal Planet's 'River Monsters' Reels In Best Series Debut In Network History
New York, New York - Apr 8, 2009 17:48 EST
This past Sunday evening, Animal Planet and extreme angler Jeremy Wade’s new series RIVER MONSTERS made a huge splash during its premiere, snaring a big audience with 1,020,000 homes (1.1 household rating) and 647,000 P25-54 viewers, making it the network’s...

Biologists Use DNA To Study Migration Of Threatened Whale Sharks; 'The Only Real Threat Is Us'
Chicago, Illinois - Apr 7, 2009 13:34 EST
Whale sharks -- giants of the fish world that strike terror only among tiny creatures like the plankton and krill they eat -- are imperiled by over-fishing of the species in parts of its ocean range. That threat is underscored in...

Seafloor Mud Volcanoes And Brine Pools Reveal New Information On Their Microbial Processes
Athens, Georgia - Apr 6, 2009 19:39 EST
Everyone knows of volcanoes and their ability to do anything from burying cities to changing the climate. Less-well-known are mud volcanoes, vents bubbling gases and a slurries of fine solids suspended in liquids. The most familiar of the latter are...

Study Reveals The Genetic Secrets Of The Pacific Sea Louse; 'First We Need To Do The Basic Science'
Victoria, British Columbia - Apr 6, 2009 19:04 EST
Sea lice found in the Pacific Ocean are very different genetically from sea lice in the Atlantic Ocean, a study team co-led by a University of Victoria researcher has found. The discovery could have significant management implications for wild fisheries and...

The Fragility Of The World's Coral Is Revealed Through A Study Of The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Santa Barbara, California - Apr 6, 2009 18:42 EST
A new study by researchers from UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) sheds light on how threats to the world's endangered coral reef ecosystems can be more effectively managed. In a recent issue of the journal...

NOAA Reports Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Reef Ecosystems In Good Condition
Washington, DC - Apr 2, 2009 18:37 EST
Marine life and habitats at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument are in good overall condition, but face emerging threats, according to a new NOAA report on the monument’s health. Prepared by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the peer-reviewed Papahānaumokuākea Marine...

Research: Evolution Of Fins, Limbs Linked With That Of Gills; 'Genetic Architecture... Is The Same'
Chicago, Illinois - Apr 2, 2009 13:51 EST
The genetic toolkit that animals use to build fins and limbs is the same toolkit that controls the development of part of the gill skeleton in sharks, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by...

UN Report: Overfishing Threatening Stocks Of Sea Cumbers; Asian Markets Put Pressure On Population
Rome, Italy - Apr 1, 2009 17:15 EST
For many in the western world, they're a summer oddity — strange blobs we sometimes see bobbing about on the seafloor beneath us during a day at the beach. But across Asia, sea cucumbers have long been a staple in peoples'...

Scientists Help Decode Mysterious Green Glow Of The Sea; Bioluminescence Linked To Mating, Defense
San Diego, California - Apr 1, 2009 16:38 EST
Many longtime sailors have been mesmerized by the dazzling displays of green light often seen below the ocean surface in tropical seas. Now researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have uncovered key clues about the bioluminescent...

Roni Avissar Named Dean Of The University Of Miami's Rosenstiel School Of Marine And Atmospheric Science
Coral Gables, Florida - Mar 31, 2009 12:51 EST
Roni Avissar, a Duke University climatologist who has studied the way Amazon deforestation affects precipitation patterns around the world and was one of the first to employ a specially equipped helicopter to collect environmental data, today was named the new...