By JUSTIN GILLIS This year’s extreme heat is putting the world’s coral reefs under such severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people. Read the full story
ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2010) — Coral living off the coast of Puerto Rico may provide researchers valuable information about the potential impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Read the full article
ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2010) — Global fisheries, a vital source of food and revenue throughout the world, contribute between US$225-$240 billion per year to the worldwide economy, according to four new studies. Researchers also concluded that healthier fisheries could have prevented malnourishment in nearly 20 million people in poorer countries. Read the full article
ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2010) — A report issued September 3 by key environmental and scientific federal agencies assesses the increasing prevalence of low-oxygen “dead zones” in U.S. coastal waters and outlines a series of research and policy steps that could help reverse the decades-long trendead. Read the full article
ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2010) — Scientists have for the first time estimated the physical footprint of human activities on the deep seafloor of the North East Atlantic. The findings, published in the journal PLoS ONE, reveal that the area disturbed by bottom trawling commercial fishing fleets exceeds the combined physical footprint of other major human […]
ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2010) — Leading international marine scientists are proposing radical changes in the governance of the world’s oceans to rescue them from overfishing, pollution and other human impacts. Read the full article
September 10, 2010 Scientists on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico are finding a substantial layer of oily sediment stretching for dozens of miles in all directions. Their discovery suggests that a lot of oil from the Deepwater Horizon didn’t simply evaporate or dissipate into the water — it has settled to the […]
(Reuters) – The world should safeguard coral reefs with networks of small no-fishing zones to confront threats such as climate change, and shift from favoring single, big protected areas, a U.N. study showed. Read the full article
A still-smoldering fire that raged out of control for two days at an oil storage facility on the Caribbean island of Bonaire has left residents shaken and wondering how island wildlife, which drives tourism, will fare in the aftermath. And with echos of the BP Deepwater Horizon, they wonder how such a disaster, consuming 20,000 […]
ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2010) — The first genetic study to compare nuclear DNA of endangered Antillean manatees in Belize with Florida manatees confirmed their designation as separate subspecies. Belize’s manatees, however, were found to have extremely low genetic diversity, raising questions about their long-term genetic viability. Read the full article