It appears that the brittle star, the humble, five-limbed dragnet of the seabed, moves very similarly to us.

Why bother with turns or pivots? The brittle star doesn’t turn as most animals do. It simply designates another of its five limbs as its new front and continues moving forward. (Credit: Henry Astley/Brown University)

In a series of first-time experiments, Brown University evolutionary biologist Henry Astley discovered that brittle stars, despite having no brain, move in a very coordinated fashion, choosing a central arm to chart direction and then designating other limbs to propel it along. Yet when the brittle star wants to change direction, it designates a new front, meaning that it chooses a new center arm and two other limbs to move. Brittle stars have come up with a mechanism to choose any of its five limbs to be central control, each capable of determining direction or pitching in to help it move.

Read the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120510100345.htm

The research team has produced the first published study on the use of satellite telemetry to track the open-ocean journeys of the world’s largest ray, which can grow up to 25 feet in width. Researchers say the manta ray — listed as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — has become increasingly threatened by fishing and accidental capture and now needs more protection.

The study was published May 11 in the online journal PLoS ONE. The authors include: Rachel T. Graham of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Exeter; Matthew J. Witt of the University of Exeter; Dan W. Castellanos of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Francisco Remolina of the National Commission of Protected Areas, Cancun, Mexico; Sara Maxwell of the Marine Conservation Institute and the University of California-Santa Cruz; Brenden J. Godley of the University of Exeter; and Lucy A. Hawkes of Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom.

Read the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120511122228.htm

Martin Croucher. May 4, 2012 . http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/

DUBAI // A marine biologist hopes she may soon be lending her name to a new species of shark she discovered in UAE waters.

Rima Jabado, who for the past two years has been cataloguing shark species in the Emirates’ waters, recently found the fish at a landing site in Ras Al Khaimah.

She said her curiosity was sparked by subtle differences in the teeth and the shape of the sharks’ mouths.

“They are smaller sharks, similar to the milk sharks,” Ms Jabado said. “They don’t grow very big. I found very few of them but they just looked slightly different.” Read full story at http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/environment/new-shark-species-found-in-rak

But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a way that mitigates warming near a handful of islands right on the equator.

Those islands include some of the 33 coral atolls that form the nation of Kiribati. This low-lying country is at risk from sea-level rise caused by global warming.

Surprisingly, these Pacific islands within two degrees north and south of the equator may become isolated climate change refuges for corals and fish.

Read more at

But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a way that mitigates warming near a handful of islands right on the equator.

Those islands include some of the 33 coral atolls that form the nation of Kiribati. This low-lying country is at risk from sea-level rise caused by global warming.

Surprisingly, these Pacific islands within two degrees north and south of the equator may become isolated climate change refuges for corals and fish.

Read more at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120430114941.htm

Pieces of plastic debris found in the oceans are smaller than many people think. Most are measured in millimeters. (Credit: Sea Education Association)

After taking samples of water at a depth of 16 feet (5 meters), Proskurowski, a researcher at the University of Washington, discovered that wind was pushing the lightweight plastic particles below the surface. That meant that decades of research into how much plastic litters the ocean, conducted by skimming only the surface, may in some cases vastly underestimate the true amount of plastic debris in the oceans, Proskurowski said.

Reporting in the journal Geophysical Research Letters this month, Proskurowski and co-lead author Tobias Kukulka, University of Delaware, said that data collected from just the surface of the water commonly underestimates the total amount of plastic in the water by an average factor of 2.5. In high winds the volume of plastic could be underestimated by a factor of 27.

“That really puts a lot of error into the compilation of the data set,” Proskurowski said. The paper also detailed a new model that researchers and environmental groups can use to collect more accurate data in the future. Read more at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120425192843.htm

CLAYTON SOUTH, Victoria — A clear change in salinity has been detected in the world’s oceans, signaling shifts and an acceleration in the global rainfall and evaporation cycle.

In a paper published today in the journal Science, Australian scientists from CSIRO and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, reported changing patterns of salinity in the global ocean during the past 50 years, marking a clear fingerprint of climate change.

Lead author, Dr Paul Durack, said that by looking at observed ocean salinity changes and the relationship between salinity, rainfall and evaporation in climate models, they determined the water cycle has strengthened by four percent from 1950-2000. This is twice the response projected by current generation global climate models. Read more at http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=63845910720

A compilation of papers (listed below) covering the major bleaching
event in Thai waters in 2010 has recently been published. The papers
include those considering the physical factors leading to bleaching; the
ecological impacts of the bleaching event and previous bleaching events
dating back to 1991; the incidence of disease following bleaching;
survival of coral recruits post-bleaching and management strategies
employed by the Thai government to mitigate damage to the reefs during
the bleaching period. Papers can be accessed at the following web-site:
http://www.pmbc.go.th/webpmbc/ResearchBulletin/re/71.php

LIST OF PAPERS

Note on the occurrence of high sea surface temperatures in the Andaman
Sea, in 2010.
Somkiat Khokiattiwong and Weidong Yu

The record of sea temperature during the 2010 coral bleaching at Phuket,
Thailand – different datasets, different perspectives – unexplained
errors in HadISST 1.1.
Richard P. Dunne

Repeated coral bleaching in the Andaman Sea, Thailand, during the last
two decades.
Niphon Phongsuwan and Hansa Chansang

Delayed mortality in bleached massive corals on intertidal reef flats
around Phuket, Andaman Sea, Thailand.
Barbara E. Brown and Niphon Phongsuwan

Bleaching susceptibility and growth characteristics of Porites lutea
from the Andaman Sea, South Thailand.
Jani T. I. Tanzil

Observations of coral disease in Porites lutea in the Andaman Sea
following the 2010 bleaching.
Lalita Putchim, Chaimongkol Yamarunpattana and Niphon Phongsuwan

Recovery status of scleractinian corals and associated fauna in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
J.S. Yogesh Kumar and C. Raghunathan

The 2010 coral bleaching event and its impact on the mushroom coral
fauna of Koh Tao, western Gulf of Thailand.
Bert W. Hoeksema, Jennifer L. Matthews and Thamasik Yeemin

Coral mortality following the 2010 mass bleaching event at Kut Island,
Thailand.
Makamas Sutthacheep, Mathinee Yucharoen, Wanlaya Klinthong, Sittiporn
Pengsakun, Kanwara Sangmanee and Thamasak Yeemin

Impact of the 2010 coral bleaching event on survival of juvenile coral
colonies in the Similan Islands on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand.
Thamasak Yeemin, Chaipichit Saenghaisuk, Mathinee Yucharoen, Wanlaya
Klinthong and Makamas Sutthacheep

Reef communities after the 2010 mass coral bleaching at Racha Yai Island
in the Andaman Sea and Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand.
Suchana Chavanich, Voranop Viyakarn, Paul Adams, Joel Klammer and Nathan
Cook

Thailand’s response plan on the 2010 coral bleaching.
Nalinee Thongtham and Niphon Phongsuwan

A new species of staghorn coral, Acropora sirikitiae sp. nov.
(Scleractinia: Astrocoeniina: Acroporidae) from western Thailand.
Carden C. Wallace, Niphon Phongsuwan and Paul R. Muir

SUMMIT COUNTY — Leading scientists from around the world warned that unbridled commerical fishing in newly thawed Arctic waters is likely to result in resource depletion similar to what’s occurred in other areas.

“The ability to fish is not the same as having the scientific information and management regimes needed for a well-managed fishery,” the scientists wrote in an open letter, advocating for research that could help establish good baseline data about marine ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean.

“The science community currently does not have sufficient biological information to understand the presence, abundance, structure, movements, and health of fish stocks and the role they play in the broader ecosystem of the central Arctic Ocean. In the absence of this scientific data and a robust management system, depletion of fishery resources and damage to other components of the ecosystem are likely to result if fisheries commence,” they wrote.

The letter was released by the Pew Environment Group’s Arctic Ocean campaign, along with maps showing that the loss of permanent sea ice has opened up as much as 40 percent of this pristine region during recent summers, making industrial fishing viable for the first time. Read more at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/04/27/scientists-urge-protection-of-arctic-fisheries/

Three environmental groups are taking aim at how federal agencies approve dispersants to break up oil spills in marine waters.

The groups on Wednesday sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard, claiming the agencies have failed to make sure they know how chemicals in dispersants, and the reconstituted oil they target, affect endangered species.

“If chemical dispersants are going to be used after an oil spill, we have to know whether they’ll hurt or kill whales, sea turtles and other wildlife. So far, the EPA has no idea,” said Deirdre McDonnell, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, in announcing the lawsuit filed in San Francisco. “Unprecedented amounts of dispersants were dumped into the sea during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and they’re likely still affecting the Gulf of Mexico, where dead dolphins continue to wash ashore.”

A dispersant approved for the Gulf of Mexico, she said by phone, may have a far different effect on a polar bear off the coast of Alaska.

SILVER SPRING, Maryland — The recent rise in sightings of non-native Asian tiger shrimp off the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts has government scientists working to determine the cause of the increase and the possible consequences for native fish and seafood in those waters.

Asian tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) David Knott - SERTC

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working with state agencies from North Carolina to Texas to look into how this transplanted species from Indo-Pacific, Asian and Australian waters reached U.S. waters, and what the increase in sightings means for native species. Read more at http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=10017893564

Learn more about Asian Tiger Shrimp at http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=1209 and Nonindigenous Aquatic Species at http://nas.er.usgs.gov/