By Bob Yirka, Phys.Org A team of marine biologists, conservationists and environmentalists affiliated with multiple institutions in Australia has found that controlled culling of starfish can revitalize or promote regrowth of sections of the Great Barrier Reef. In their paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, the group describes how they conducted …
Ocean spray emits more PFAS than industrial polluters, study finds
By Tom Perkins, The Guardian Research into release of ‘forever chemicals’ raises concerns about contamination and human exposure along world’s coastlines. Ocean waves crashing on the world’s shores emit more PFAS into the air than the world’s industrial polluters, new research has found, raising concerns about environmental contamination and human exposure along …
NOAA confirms 4th global coral bleaching event
NOAA This three-panel image shows a boulder star coral in St. Croix, USVI, as it shifted from healthy (May 2023), to bleached (October 2023), to recovered (March 2024), following extreme marine heat stress throughout the Caribbean basin in 2023. (Image credit: NOAA) The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching …
A silent killer stalks sea turtles. A small town is trying to stop it.
By Ana Vanessa Herrero, Yahoo News LA SABANA, Venezuela – Pedro Luis Pérez woke up early on the clear, sunny morning to check on his hatchlings. At his nursery, a small, fenced-in square on the beach in this coastal town, a tiny loggerhead sea turtle struggled to break free from …
Rope-entangled right whale spotted off coast of New England
The Guardian The marine mammals are increasingly endangered as warmer waters push them into ship traffic and fishing gear. Right whales, such as the one entangled in rope off New England (pictured), number less than 360. Photograph: AP A North Atlantic right whale has been spotted entangled in rope off New …
These plants evolved in Florida millions of years ago. They may be gone in decades.
By Jerald Pinson, Phys.Org Scrub mints are among the most endangered plants you’ve probably never heard of. More than half of the 24 species currently known to exist are considered threatened or endangered at the state or federal level, and nearly all scrub mints grow in areas that are …
Spinning, whirling fish in south Florida prompt emergency response
By Maya Yang, The Guardian Smalltooth sawfish are behaving oddly, eliciting a first-ever plan to rescue and rehabilitate the species from the wild. The NOAA reports 28 smalltooth sawfish have died in the lower Florida Keys as of 24 March. Photograph: Jupiterimages/Getty Images The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is …
Climate change is shifting the zones where plants grow – here’s what that could mean for your garden
By Matt Kasson, The Conversation With the arrival of spring in North America, many people are gravitating to the gardening and landscaping section of home improvement stores, where displays are overstocked with eye-catching seed packs and benches are filled with potted annuals and perennials. But some plants that once thrived in your …
‘Tourists ask a lot of questions’: Great Barrier Reef guides face up to bleaching tragedy
By Graham Readfearn, The Guardian Tour boat divers have long borne witness to mass bleaching events. Once reluctant to wade into discussions about global heating, they are now opening up. “You can see it on their faces,” says scuba diving instructor Elliot Peters. “There’s definitely some remorse and sadness.” Peters …
Are we breaking the Atlantic Ocean?
By Brian Resnick, Vox The climate change scenario that could chill parts of the world, explained. Of all the potential consequences of global warming, one of the most unexpected is that temperatures in some parts of the world could plummet. A recent paper in Science Advances outlined a scenario where, given enough ice melting …