Campaigners Condemn 900 'Last Resort' Seal Shootings In Scotland
East Sussex, England - Mar 18, 2013 20:06 EST
The Seal Protection Action Group (SPAG) today condemned the Scottish Government for publishing details about the shooting of hundreds of seals in Scotland on an obscure website, so avoiding public scrutiny and further public outrage at the killings. The Marine Scotland...

Study: Fragments Of Continents Hidden Under Lava In The Indian Ocean
Potsdam, Germany - Feb 24, 2013 17:37 EST
The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden...

Study: Modelling Shows Some Oceans Left Behind By Sea-Level Rise; Pacific Up, Poles Regions Down
Bristol, UK - Feb 19, 2013 20:06 EST
Sophisticated computer modeling has shown how sea-level rise over the coming century could affect some regions far more than others. The model shows that parts of the Pacific will see the highest rates of rise while some polar regions will...

How The Purple And Pink Sunscreens Of Reef Corals Work; Chromoproteins 'Don't Re-Emit Light'
Southampton, United Kingdom - Jan 23, 2013 18:36 EST
New research by the University of Southampton has found a mechanism as to how corals use their pink and purple hues as sunscreen to protect them against harmful sunlight. Many reef corals need light to survive, as they benefit from sugars...

Olivine Eyed As Researchers Analyze 'rock Dissolving' Method Of Geoengineering
Bremerhaven, Germany - Jan 22, 2013 19:10 EST
The benefits and side effects of dissolving particles in our ocean's surfaces to increase the marine uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2), and therefore reduce the excess amount of it in the atmosphere, have been analysed in a new study published...

Study: No Evidence Of Increasing Jellyfish Population Over Last Two Centuries
Southampton, England - Dec 31, 2012 17:57 EST
Scientists have cast doubt on the widely held perception that there has been a global increase in jellyfish. Blooms, or proliferations, of jellyfish can show a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations – clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists,...

Study: Warm Sea Water, 'Change In Ocean Circulation' Is Melting Antarctic Glaciers
Gothenberg, Sweden - Dec 6, 2012 14:18 EST
The ice sheet in West Antarctica is melting faster than expected. New observations published by oceanographers from the University of Gothenburg and the US may improve our ability to predict future changes in ice sheet mass. The study was recently...

Scientists: Projected Sea-Level Rise May Be Underestimated; IPCC 'Far From Being Alarmist'
Potsdam, Germany - Nov 28, 2012 20:44 EST
That sea level is rising faster than expected could mean that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) sea-level rise projections for the future may be biased low as well, their results suggest. Sea-level rise potentially affects millions of people all...

Real Life Horror Film Too Scary For TV: Group Launches Film That Exposes The Gory Truth Of Shark Finning
London, England - Nov 1, 2012 14:07 EST
Shark conservation charity, Bite-Back chose yesterday, Halloween, to launch a shocking real life horror film that exposes the gory truth about the shark fishing industry and the controversial practice of 'finning' live sharks at sea. In 24 hours the film...

Scientists Discovers New Cave-Dwelling Reef Coral In The Indo-Pacific; 'One Who Dwells In Holes'
Leiden, The Netherlands - Oct 11, 2012 22:29 EST
Coral specialist Dr. Bert W. Hoeksema of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, The Netherlands, recently published the description of a new coral species that lives on the ceilings of caves in Indo-Pacific coral reefs. It differs from its closest relatives...

Water Never Forgets: Scientists Examine The Chemical Memory Of Seawater; 'The Largest Active Carbon Reservoirs On Earth'
Berlin, Germany - Oct 1, 2012 22:01 EST
Water does not forget, says Prof. Boris Koch, a chemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association. Irrespective of what happens in the sea: whether the sun shines, algae bloom or a school...

Researchers: Preserving Old Female Cods Key To Population Conservation; 'Don't Seem To Have Aged Physiologically'
Gothenburg, Sweden - Sep 26, 2012 22:31 EST
Cod are among Sweden's most common and most popular edible fish and have been fished hard for many years. One consequence is the risk of serious changes in cod stocks, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In overfished...

Licensed To Kill: Campaigners Condemn Increase In Scottish Seal Killings
Lewes, East Sussex, UK - Sep 17, 2012 18:24 EST
The Seal Protection Action Group (SPAG) today condemned an increase in seal shootings in Scotland in the first six months of 2012, the second year of a government license scheme introduced to reduce them. Government figures just released show that 201...

Study: Surprise As Coral Reef Thriving In Sediment-Laden Waters; 'Calls For A Rethink'
Exeter, Devon - Aug 4, 2012 20:40 EST
A new study has established that Middle Reef – part of Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef – has grown more rapidly than many other reefs in areas with lower levels of sediment stress. Led by the University of Exeter, the study...

EU Commission Makes History With Proposal To Phase Out Bottom Trawling For Deep-Sea Species
Brussels, Belgium - Jul 19, 2012 21:03 EST
In a move that will help protect one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth, the European Commission today proposed phasing out destructive bottom trawling and bottom gillnetting among deep sea fishing fleets in the Northeast Atlantic. The Pew Environment...

Carbon Sink: Researchers Publish Results Of Iron Fertilization Experiment
Berlin, Germany - Jul 18, 2012 20:47 EST
An international research team has published the results of an ocean iron fertilization experiment (EIFEX) carried out in 2004 in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature. Unlike the LOHAFEX experiment carried out in 2009, EIFEX has shown that...

Research: Increased Growth, 'Innate Immune Response' Responsible For Color Changes In Coral Reefs
Southampton, United Kingdom - Jul 9, 2012 19:29 EST
Research from the University of Southampton and National Oceanography, Southampton has provided new insight into the basic immune response and repair mechanisms of corals to disease and changing environmental conditions. The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Coral...

Investigation: Greenland Is Killing Whales To Feed Tourists
Wiltshire, UK - Jun 26, 2012 21:18 EST
The real reasons behind Denmark's pleas to increase the number of whales it needs to kill for native Greenlandic peoples have been exposed by Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS). Despite a ban on commercial whaling, the WDCS undercover investigation has...

North-East Passage Soon Free From Ice Again? Measurements Point To Early And Large-Scale Summer Melt
Berlin, German - Jun 15, 2012 20:49 EST
The North-East Passage, the sea route along the North coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer. The forecast was made by sea ice physicists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine...

New Product To Replace Fishmeal Could Help Prevent Global Food Shortage; 'Plant Protein Food'
Liverpool, UK - May 15, 2012 19:55 EST
Scientists at the University of Liverpool are developing a new plant-based product that could replace fishmeal, reducing the need for farmers to feed fish to other fish at a time when more than 90% of EU waters are at risk...

Researchers: Sulphur And Iron Compounds Common In Old Shipwrecks, Presenting Preservation Problems
Gothenburg, Sweden - May 15, 2012 19:36 EST
Sulphur and iron compounds have now been found in shipwrecks both in the Baltic and off the west coast of Sweden. The group behind the results, presented in the Journal of Archaeological Science, includes scientists from the University of Gothenburg...

New Species Of Fish Discovered In Sweden: Reticulated Dragonet
Gothenburg, Sweden - May 14, 2012 20:45 EST
Reticulated dragonet have been found in Väderöarna – "Weather Islands" – off the west coast of Sweden. It is not often that a new species of fish is discovered in Sweden. Lars-Ove Loo is the underwater photographer who has captured the...

Research: Pufferfish At The 'Beak' Of Evolution; 'A Very Alternative, And Unique, Dentition'
Western Bank, Sheffield - May 8, 2012 20:23 EST
New research focusing on tooth development in the deadly fish -unchanged through evolution - shows that after the first generation of teeth the program for continued tooth replacement modifies to form a distinctive and unusual `parrot like´ beak. The study, which...

Campaigners Condemn Scottish Government's Complacency As Seven Months Of Seal Killings Remain Unreported
Lewes, East Sussex - May 8, 2012 19:03 EST
The Seal Protection Action Group has today condemned the failure of the Scottish Government to release figures on the number of seals shot over the past seven months under its new Seal License Scheme, introduced at the beginning of 2010....

Scientists: Glowing Belly Helps Tiny Shark Hide From Predators
Louvain, Belgium - Apr 26, 2012 20:43 EST
Some sharks deserve a blood curdling reputation, but not the diminutive smalleye pygmy shark (Squaliolus aliae). Reaching a maximum length of only 22cm, the tiny animals are more likely to be on someone else's menu. Silhouetted against weak light penetrating...

Research: It's The Bowl That Makes Goldfish Stupid; Fish Brains Adjust To Meet Environmental Needs
Helsinki, Finland - Apr 25, 2012 21:30 EST
A goldfish in a bowl is a stock allegory for stupidity we know for example from Donald Duck. Recent brain research supports this assumption. But it is not the fish that is stupid as such, it is the bowl that...

Research: Baltic Gray Seals Consume As Much Fish As The Fishing Industry Catches; 'Competition'
Gothenburg, Sweden - Apr 2, 2012 19:49 EST
The grey seals in the Baltic Sea compete for fish with the fishing industry. The seals locally eat about the same quantities of cod, common whitefish, salmon, sea trout and eel as those taken by fishermen. This is the conclusion...

Giant Squids' Giant Eyes: The Better To See Hungry Whales With; 'Eyes Are Expensive To Build And Maintain'
Lund, Scania - Mar 16, 2012 19:29 EST
It's no surprise that giant and colossal squid are big, but it's their eyes that are the real standouts when it comes to size, with diameters measuring two or three times that of any other animal. Now, researchers reporting online...

Clash Of The Crayfish: Why The Americans Are Winning
Leeds, U.K. - Mar 15, 2012 20:29 EST
Aggressive American signal crayfish are threatening Yorkshire's native white-clawed crayfish populations because they have better resistance to parasites and are less fussy about what they eat. The native crayfish suffers from two parasites; plague, which is carried by the American...

Suba: New 'Intelligent' BCD Aims To Automatically Stabilize Divers, Eliminate The Bends
Lausanne, Switzerland - Mar 13, 2012 10:36 EST
The Suba system aims to become to diving what the automatic pilot is to flying. Developed by a student from EPFL, it will be released to the market by his start-up company: Pandora Underwater Equipment, starting from April 2012. When a...

First As Researchers Find Fish Use Sounds, Smells And Visual Cues To Navigate Reefs
Bristol, U.K - Mar 12, 2012 20:16 EST
Young coral reef fish use sounds, smells and visual cues to find their nursery grounds, according to new research from the University of Bristol, published today in Ecology. Ever had to find your friend in a crowd? Imagine at...

Climate Change Study Warns Against One-Off Experiments; Warming May Produce More Copepods
Aberdeen, Scotland - Feb 21, 2012 19:35 EST
Scientists examined how different climate change scenarios affected one of the most important organisms in our ocean - tiny marine crustaceans called copepods, which are the preferred prey of cod and herring larvae. Understanding how copepods are affected by climate change...

Study: Ocean Warming Causes Elephant Seals To Dive Deeper; 'Food In The Sea Is Unevenly Distributed'
Berlin, Germany - Feb 9, 2012 15:58 EST
Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association cooperating in a joint study with biologists...

Study: Ocean Warming Causes Elephant Seals To Dive Deeper; 'Food In The Sea Is Unevenly Distributed'
Berlin, Germany - Feb 9, 2012 15:54 EST
Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association cooperating in a joint study with biologists...

Scottish Seal Killings Can And Must End Say Campaigners; 'Indelible Stain'
Lewes, East Sussex - Feb 2, 2012 18:50 EST
The Scottish Government has just reported that a total of 362 seals were shot in the first nine months of 2011 under its new 'Seal Licence' scheme, introduced at the beginning of the year. In 2012, 58 licenses have been...

What Do Killer Whales Eat In The Arctic? 'Whatever They Can Catch'
London, United Kingdom - Jan 29, 2012 19:26 EST
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer...

World's Most Extreme Deep-Sea Vents Revealed; Deeper Than Any Seen Before, And Teeming With New Creatures
Southampton, Hampshire - Jan 10, 2012 21:06 EST
Scientists have revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, 5 kilometers down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor. The undersea hot springs, which lie 0.8 kilometers deeper than any seen before, may be hotter than 450...

Researchers: 'Lost World' Discovered Around Antarctic Vents
Oxford, United Kingdom - Jan 4, 2012 18:32 EST
Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents. The discoveries, made by teams led by the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and British Antarctic...

RSPCA: Don't Buy 'Fashion Accessory' Fish Tanks This Christmas
Southwater, West Sussex - Dec 9, 2011 21:14 EST
The RSPCA is concerned about the growing trend for 'fashion accessory' aquariums which are designed as ornaments rather than suitable homes for fish. We are urging Christmas shoppers against buying 'decorative' fish tanks such as globe-shaped bowls, tanks built into furniture,...

Fish Show Females Choose Sexier Friends To Avoid Harassment
Exeter, UK - Dec 7, 2011 20:21 EST
Scientists have observed a strategy for females to avoid unwanted male attention: choosing more attractive friends. Published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study is the first to show females spending time with those more sexually...