marine life

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Jellyfish-Like Creatures Shut Down Nuclear Plant

Sea salp invade Diablo Canyon

(Newser) - A horde of jellyfish-like animals has forced the shutdown of a nuclear power plant in California. The gelatinous creatures, 2 to 3 inches long, are called sea salp. The crisis began Tuesday, when workers at the Diablo Canyon plant discovered that screens which take in cooling water were clogged by...

Gender-Bending Fish Swap Sexes in Harems

Wild hawkfish change gender to suit the moment

(Newser) - Talk about a dynamic dating scene. The richly colored hawkfish of southern Japan can transform into a female or male depending on circumstances to improve their reproductive chances, New Scientist reports. Many marine animals change gender during a lifetime, but in the hawkfish, scientists have for the first time discovered...

Coral Reefs Gone By Century&#39;s End


 Coral Reefs Gone 
 by Century's End 
NEW BOOK
Sep 11, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

Coral Reefs Gone by Century's End

Not just pretty: end of reefs often signals mass extinction events

(Newser) - Climate change and the acidification of the oceans—along with overfishing, coastal development, and pollution—will destroy the Earth's coral reefs in as little as 30 years, reports the Independent . The mass-bleaching in the Indian Ocean in 1998 alone destroyed 16% of the world's reefs in just a...

Chesapeake 'Dead Zone' Could Be Largest Ever

Marine life threatened in oxygen-starved portion of bay

(Newser) - High nutrient pollution levels have caused the Chesapeake Bay's underwater "dead zone" to expand unusually quickly this year: It covers a third of the bay and will likely become the bay's largest-ever area of oxygen-starved water. The dead zone, which sucks oxygen from deep waters and kills...

We're Headed for Vast Ocean Extinction: Panel

Human activity is rapidly wiping out marine life, panel warns

(Newser) - Human activity has degraded the world's oceans with dizzying speed and a mass extinction of marine life only seen five times before in the planet's history is likely if urgent action is not taken, a panel of marine experts warns. The International Program on the State of the...

In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill'
 In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill' 
Sep 15, 2010 10:35 AM CDT

In Louisiana, a Huge 'Fish Kill'

Residents fear it's related to oil spill, experts not sure

(Newser) - Near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, there lies what looks like a gravel road. It's not: It's a waterway clogged with hundreds of thousands of dead fish, crabs, stingrays, and eel—so many that it appears solid. A dead whale was also found in the area, WWL-TV reports. "Fish kills" are...

Sea Census Logs 185K Species ... and Counting

Project leaders say they've only recorded a fraction of marine life

(Newser) - Scientists working on the Census of Marine Life have logged more than 185,000 species since the massive project began a decade ago, and say that's just a fraction of the total. The project—which has been trying to log all sea life from whales to single-celled creatures—plans to...

Oil Dispersant Enters Gulf Food Chain

Corexit 'acting as delivery system for oil'

(Newser) - A chemical dispersant used in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be making its way into the food chain along with droplets of oil it has broken down, scientists say. Marine biologists have found signs of an oil-dispersant mix under the shells of blue crab larvae, which are food for...

Algae Devouring Baltic
 Algae Devouring Baltic 
Jul 23, 2010 4:15 AM CDT

Algae Devouring Baltic

Country-sized growth threatens marine life

(Newser) - Record-breaking temperatures combined with farm run-off have caused an evil-smelling algae bloom the size of Germany to sprout in the Baltic Sea. The World Wildlife Fund warns that the algae explosion—the biggest in the region since 2005—endangers human as well as marine life, the Independent reports. The group...

Why the Oil in This Crab Could Be Very Bad News

Effects in small sea creatures could ripple upwards

(Newser) - Scientists are reporting early signs that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is altering the marine food web by killing or tainting some creatures while spurring the growth of others more suited to a polluted environment. Near the spill site scientists have found a massive die-off of pyrosomes, which endangered...

Methane 'Dead Zones' Spotted in Gulf Spill

Methane release threatening Gulf food chain

(Newser) - There's a lot more than just oil spewing out of BP's busted well and that spells still more trouble for marine life, experts warn. The well is leaking vast amounts of methane and other gases, triggering the growth of microbes and creating oxygen-starved "dead zones," where fish and...

New, Giant Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists believe cleanup chemicals to blame

(Newser) - Just when the Gulf of Mexico thought the hurting had stopped, marine scientists have discovered a huge new undersea oil cloud drifting toward Alabama. Hydrocarbon readings confirm that the plume, which starts near the blown-out well and is 6 miles wide and 22 miles long, is not naturally occurring. It's...

Dead Turtles Washing Up Near Gulf Spill

Experts suspect slick is to blame

(Newser) - Dozens of dead sea turtles have washed up along the Mississippi coast over the last couple of days and wildlife officials fear the endangered creatures are among the oil spill's first victims. Necropsies on 5 of the turtles have so far turned up no evidence of oil contamination, although experts,...

Asian Nations Torpedo Shark Protection

Endangered species conference labeled 'a disaster for conservation'

(Newser) - Conservationists were left fuming yesterday after a UN conference on endangered species failed to win protection for a single marine species. Asian nations, led by Japan, defeated efforts to restrict trade in coral, sharks, and bluefin tuna. The one species to be given protected status, the porbeagle shark, had its...

Japanese Fear Oarfish Sightings Are Quake Omen

Superstitious worry as deep-sea dweller begins surfacing

(Newser) - Dozens of sightings of a very rarely seen fish have raised Japanese fears that their country may be the next one rocked by a major quake. The appearance of oarfish—which can grow to up to 16 feet long and frequent depths of up to 3,300 feet—is considered...

'Plastic Sea' Found North of Caribbean

Atlantic plastic patch threatening food chain

(Newser) - Researchers trying to determine just how much plastic trash is building up in the world's oceans have found a large concentration just north of the Caribbean. The study—based on more than 22,000 plastic fragments collected over the years—found that a huge area between 22 and 38 degrees...

Great Whites Now Rarer Than Tigers

New study finds sharks much closer to extinction

(Newser) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...it probably is. Great White sharks are now even more endangered than tigers, according to a new study. Researchers who tagged and tracked the sharks determined that their numbers have fallen below those of the 3,500...

Coconut-Carrying Octopus Stuns Scientists

Homebuilding is first time tool use has been seen among octopi

(Newser) - Australian scientists observing octopi on the sea floor near Indonesia were amazed to discover that the creatures scoop up coconut halves, empty them out, and carry them around to assemble into shelters. The behavior shows a surprising level of intelligence, the researchers say, and is the first recorded instance of...

Team Discovers Mini-Monsters of the Deep

Thousands of bizarre creatures discovered in blackest black

(Newser) - A team of scientists have discovered thousands of incredibly bizarre new creatures living in the blackness of the deep Atlantic ocean. They range from "Jumbo Dumbo," an octopod that swims by flapping a pair of ear-like fins, to shining golden crustaceans. Most of the animals found are only...

Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler
 Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler 
Nov 3, 2009 4:22 AM CST

Giant Jellyfish Sink Trawler

Net filled with 400-pound creatures capsizes boat

(Newser) - A 10-ton fishing trawler sank off the coast of Japan after its crew tried to haul in a net filled with gigantic jellyfish. The three crew members were pitched into the water as the ship capsized and were rescued by another boat, the Telegraph reports. Nomura's jellyfish can weigh up...

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