Palaeo-CSI: Mosasaurs were picky eaters
Universiteit Utrecht, Faculteit GeowetenschappenSigns of wear on teeth betray dietary preferences
Signs of wear on teeth betray dietary preferences
Off Barbados, researchers from Bremen have investigated how bacteria inadvertently release methane in order to obtain phosphorus – with significant effects on atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Researchers in ACS Central Science report a proof-of-concept device that “sniffs” seawater, trapping dissolved compounds for analyses. The team showed that the system could easily concentrate molecules that are present in underwater caves and holds promise for drug discovery in fragile ecosystems, including coral reefs.
If you’ve ever witnessed a shark breach the water—whether in person or somewhere on the Internet—that fleeting but awe-inspiring moment is just a small fraction of the time it spends at the surface of the ocean. Most of the time sharks and other large marine predators are out of sight, begging the question—where do they go?
A group of the world’s leading ocean scientific, philanthropic, and other stakeholder organizations, led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, have come together to highlight the global ocean at the upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 30 – Dec. 12, 2023. The conference is expected to host over 70,000 delegates, including heads of state and world leaders, to build consensus and facilitate progress on climate action among 197 countries, the EU and thousands of non-government organizations, companies, youth groups, and other stakeholders focused on efforts to achieve the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.
In a world grappling with a severe water crisis, contamination is a looming threat to public health. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and partners have engineered a breakthrough solution.
In October 2023, the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, officially launched a new initiative to expand biological and environmental research at the world leading X-ray and analysis facility.
Two Florida State University faculty members will receive Rising Star Awards from the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.
Sharks differ from other fish in many ways, including an apparently remarkable ability to heal from wounds, according to reports of sharks recovering from injuries sustained in the wild. While this healing ability has not yet been documented in controlled laboratory conditions, some of the chemical compounds found in shark skin may have significant biomedical potential.
A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals – including us.
New research led by a Florida State University professor shows that potential adaptive responses by sea turtles, such as shifting the timing of when they nest, may not be enough to counteract the projected impacts from climate change on hatchling production.
Specialists studied influence of increased salinity on composition of hemolymph – liquid, that circulate in vessels and intracellular hollows of mollusk Anadara kagoshimensis and also examined condition of “blood” cells – hemocytes, that fulfil function similar to blood corpuscle of vertebrates.
Viruses are the most prevalent biological entities in the world’s oceans and play essential roles in its ecological and biogeochemical balance. Yet, they are the least understood elements of marine life. By unraveling the entire genome of a certain marine protist that may act as a host for many viruses, an international research team led by scientists from Stony Brook University sets the stage for future investigations of marine protist genomes, marine microbial dynamics and the evolutionary interplay between host organisms and their viruses – work that may open doors to a better understanding of the “invisible” world of marine viruses and offers a key to the ecology and health of oceans worldwide. The research is published early online in Current Biology.
Firsthand observations of a wolf hunting and killing a harbor seal and a group of wolves hunting and consuming a sea otter on Alaska’s Katmai coast have led scientists to reconsider assumptions about wolf hunting behavior.
More than merely cracks in the ice, crevasses play an important role in circulating seawater beneath Antarctic ice shelves, potentially influencing their stability, finds Cornell University-led research based on a first-of-its-kind exploration by an underwater robot.
GEOMAR researchers reconstruct historic volcanic eruption using 3D seismics
The right whale and grey whale were eliminated from the eastern Atlantic centuries before the age of industrial whaling began
Russian hydrophysicists elaborated a method for research of salinity of the Azon Sea with the help of data from the remote sensing. Scientists matched satellite images of water surface with field measurements and discovered that they can prognose salinity of water with an accuracy to 95%.
Read the latest research news on air pollution, nanoplastics, waterborne illnesses and more in the Pollution channel on Newswise.
Greenland meltwater hardly enters open ocean, could disrupt Atlantic circulation
As climate change warms the Earth, higher-latitude regions will be at greater risk for toxins produced by algal blooms, according to new research led by Carnegie’s Anna Michalak, Julian Merder, and Gang Zhao.
The fossils of a 170-million-year-old ancient marine reptile from the Age of Dinosaurs have been identified as the oldest-known mega-predatory pliosaur – a group of ocean-dwelling reptiles closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs.
Often introduced unintentionally by human activities, invasive alien species can outcompete and overwhelm native flora and fauna, driving species to the brink of extinction and disrupting the balance of ecosystems
Dr. Jae-Woo Choi of the Center for Water Cycle Research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has developed an eco-friendly metal-organic skeleton-based solid flocculant that can effectively aggregate nanoplastics under visible light irradiation.
Global coastal adaptations are ‘incremental in scale’, short-sighted and inadequate to address the root causes of vulnerability to climate change, according to an international team of researchers.
Researchers have been able to pinpoint exactly when the muddy off-flavor emerges in farmed fish, which could help to make it easier to deal with the compounds that turn people away from farmed fish
During the Early-Middle Devonian period, a large landmass called Gondwana—which included parts of today's Africa, South America, and Antarctica—was located near the South Pole. Unlike today's icy conditions, the climate was warmer, and the sea levels were higher, flooding most of the land.
Biodegradable plastics may not be the solution to plastic pollution many hoped for, with a University of Otago study showing they are still harmful to fish.
As the wind and rain pound the blades of a wind turbine, UBC Okanagan researchers carefully monitor screens, hundreds of kilometres away analyzing if the blade’s coatings can withstand the onslaught.
New mollusk and crustacean species in symbiosis with worms in dead coral rocks
Belugas to butterflies plagued by harmful (and often ineffective) chemicals
The free event will showcase the Bristlemouth open ocean connectivity standard and feature a hands-on workshop, keynote talks from ocean innovators, and more.
A new genomic study by UCLA biologists shows that whaling in the 20th century destroyed 99% of the Eastern North Pacific fin whale breeding, or “effective,” population — 29% more than previously thought.
One of the biggest challenges for earthquake early warning systems (EEW) is the lack of seismic stations located offshore of heavily populated coastlines, where some of the world’s most seismically active regions are located.
Computer models now enable precise reconstruction of how the last glacial period shaped the European Alps' landscape through glacier movements and valley formation.
USC Dornsife researchers studying a common Caribbean coral’s ability to adapt to rising temperatures turn up an unexpected result
By: Trisha Radulovich | Published: October 16, 2023 | 12:07 pm | SHARE: A new project led by Nasrin Alamdari, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, will help communities throughout Florida fight the harmful blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) that plague freshwater lakes across the state.
Ocean tides may be rising, but a new tide forecast model created by a team of University of Miami scientists holds the promise of helping coastal communities to prepare.
The houting, a fish species that lived in North Sea estuaries and is officially extinct, turns out to be alive and well.
Phytoplankton in the ocean are central to the global carbon cycle as they perform photosynthesis, capturing and transporting carbon (C) to the deep ocean.
The strength of the wind has an important influence on ocean circulation. This is particularly true for extreme events such as storm fronts, tropical storms and cyclones.
About 30 miles off the coast of eastern North Carolina stands Frying Pan Tower, a local maritime relic that looms over a frying pan-shaped, sandy ridge known as Frying Pan Shoals. Treacherous for boaters yet a saltwater angler’s dream, the shoals are known for strong currents and shallow waters that have caused hundreds of shipwrecks through the years, but also harbor a thriving, high-producing ecosystem that includes an elaborate web of marine life from microscopic phytoplankton to shrimp, crab, and baitfish, to sea birds, loggerheads and porpoise, to grouper, billfish and sharks.
Dynamic and changing Arctic Ocean conditions likely caused three major mortality events in the eastern North Pacific gray whale population since the 1980s, a new study has found.
By: Patty Cox | Published: October 12, 2023 | 11:02 am | Florida State University scientists have uncovered answers to a conundrum in Earth’s history: Why did marine life experience an extraordinary boom millions of years ago?Scientists have long been puzzled about what triggered this explosion of life and a remarkable increase in the diversity of marine species during the Ordovician Period roughly 487 to 443 million years ago.
Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of New South Wales.
Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays are caught by small-scale fisheries off the Republic of the Congo each year, new research shows.
Under normal conditions, the floating macroalgae Sargassum spp. provide habitat for hundreds of types of organisms. However, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB) that emerged in 2011 has since then caused unprecedented inundations of this brown seaweed on Caribbean coastlines, with harmful effects on ecosystems while posing challenges to regional economies and tourism, and concerns for respiratory and other human health issues.
Killer whales are some of the oceans’ top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. In the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology report the levels of pollutants in 162 individuals’ blubber.