ocean habitats
ocean habitats news stories
Effort to chart all undersea life by 2010 finds 5K new species
USA Today Nov 10, 08 10:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
Somewhere under the Antarctic Ocean, brittle starfish completely cover a submerged mountain. In the Pacific, sharks congregate in a region with few food sources but plenty of opportunity for romance. Those facts, along with an accounting of more than 5,000 newly discovered species, are part of the results of the global effort to create a Census of Marine Life, USA Today reports.
More »
Only Dolly kept oxygen-free area from becoming largest ever
Washington Post Jul 31, 08 3:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists are increasingly concerned about the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an oxygen-poor mass of water that cannot sustain most sea life, which now covers 8,000 square miles, nearly the largest ever. Created by fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi, the zone would be even bigger if not for the ocean-stirring power of Hurricane Dolly, reports the Washington Post .
More »
Climate-related trend mirrors causes of past massive extinction
Los Angeles Times May 2, 08 9:28 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The inhospitable oxygen-starved layers of the oceans, once relegated to the deep sea, are now encroaching on coastlines, reports the Los Angeles Times . The dead zones, linked to global warming, have moved up into continental shelves, a study in Science says. They interfere with commercial fishing and entice predators that thrive in such conditions such as the jumbo squid.
More »
'Most destructive' common fishing method destroys underwater ecosystems
LiveScience Feb 20, 08 2:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
Scientists can now see the destruction caused to the ocean floor by bottom trawling in satellite photos, LiveScience reports. The pictures show huge plumes kicked up from the ocean's bottom as fishing nets dragged along the floor wreak havoc on undersea ecosystems. "Bottom trawling is the most destructive of any actions that humans conduct in the ocean," one zoologist says.
More »