Missed out on August 2023’s ocean news? Here’s a glimpse into what went down in Davy Jones’ Locker this month.
Sections
Animals and Plants
Climate
Crisis
Fisheries and
Aquaculture
Marine
Technology
Oceanography
People and the Sea
Animals and Plants
Underwater reefs teeming with marine life have been found in the waters off Wellington’s south coast and the Kāpiti Coast. Researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington made the discovery while exploring the region’s deepwater reefs and the animals that live in them. Read more.
In the Baltic Sea, citizen divers restore seagrass to fight climate change Read more.
New findings from Florida International University show how South Florida’s bottlenose dolphins are adapting to a world without seagrass — a habitat they depend on for much of their food. Read more.
A subpolar species associated with Atlantic water expanded far into the Arctic Ocean during the Last Interglacial, analysis of microfossil content of sediment cores reveals. This implies that summers in the Arctic were ice free during this period. Read more.
Scientists have worked out how one unusual species of trilobite – an ancient, sea-dwelling relative of spiders and lobsters – was able to defend itself against predators and survive a bumpy ride as Earth’s oxygen levels fluctuated. Read more.
A remarkable new fossil from China reveals for the first time that a group of reptiles were already using whale-like filter feeding 250 million years ago. Read more.
Groupers produce distinct sounds associated with courtship, territoriality or reproduction. An autonomous mobile wave glider and passive acoustics were deployed to survey two marine protected areas on the western shelf of Puerto Rico to locate spawning aggregations of two commercially important species – the Nassau and red hind groupers. Findings show these sites are critical habitat for both species and multiple previously unknown grouper species, which highlight the importance of expanding existing seasonal regulations. Read more.
Gray whales that spend their summers feeding off the coast of Oregon are shorter than their counterparts who travel north to the Arctic for food, new research shows. Read more.
Microscopic plastic particles have been found in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of the marine mammals in a graduate student’s study of ocean microplastics. The presence of polymer particles and fibers in these animals suggests that microplastics can travel out of the digestive tract and lodge in the tissues. Read more.
An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind. Read more.
In the waters off the Hawaiian Islands, rates of calcification were measured in the deepest coral colonies. Read more.
In-water monitoring shows hard coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef remains at similar levels to that recorded in 2022, with small decreases in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. AIMS’ Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2022/23 found that while some reefs continued to recover, their increased hard coral cover was offset by coral loss on other reefs. Most reefs underwent little change in coral cover. Read more.
Researchers used advanced technology to study a massive aggregation of deep-sea octopus gathered at thermal springs near an extinct underwater volcano off the coast of Central California. Warm water from hydrothermal springs accelerates development of octopus embryos, giving young octopus a better chance of survival. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus on the planet – the size of this nursery, and the abundance of other marine life that thrives in this rich community, highlight the need to understand and protect the hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining. Read more.
A research breakthrough at UNCW and the Center for Marine Science suggests that some color-changing fish species may be able to “see” with their skin. Read more.
Researchers have isolated a new strain of marine bacteria with unique characteristics from the ocean seabed. Read more.
Researchers have identified a new pathway by which sugar is released by symbiotic algae. This pathway involves the largely overlooked cell wall, showing that this structure not only protects the cell but plays an important role in symbiosis and carbon circulation in the ocean. Read more.
A new study has revealed why coral reefs can thrive in seemingly nutrient poor water, a phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since Charles Darwin. Read more.
Climate Crisis
Climate change threatens Arctic polar cod stocks. Researchers fear significant consequences of rising temperatures and sea ice retreat for the most important fish in the Arctic Ocean Read more.
A heroic effort to save Florida’s coral reef from extreme ocean heat is underway as corals bleach across the Caribbean Read more.
Extreme events in Antarctica such as ocean heatwaves and ice loss will almost certainly become more common and more severe, researchers say. Read more.
A study of 12 species of highly migratory fish predators – including sharks, tuna, and billfish such as marlin and swordfish – finds that most of them will encounter widespread losses of suitable habitat and redistribution from current habitats in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA) and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by 2100. These areas are among the fastest warming ocean regions and are projected to increase between 1-6°C (+1-10°F) by the end of the century, a sign of climate-driven changes in marine ecosystems. Read more.
Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behavior – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers has now shown, in the future this could lead to more frequent food shortages for the zooplankton, and to negative effects for larger species including seals and whales. Read more.
Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends. Read more.
Remote Pacific coral reef shows at least some ability to cope with ocean warming Read more.
Fisheries and Aquaculture
The EU-UK Specialised Committee on Fisheries (SCF) reached three agreements for better fisheries management between the EU and UK. Read more.
In a new study, scientists Stewart Edie of the Smithsonian, Shan Huang of the University of Birmingham and colleagues drastically expanded the list of bivalve species, such as clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and their relatives, that humans are known to harvest and identified the traits that make these species prime targets for harvesting. They also discovered that some of these same traits have also made this group of shellfish less prone to extinction in the past and may protect these shellfish in the future. The authors flagged certain ocean regions, such as the east Atlantic and northeast and southeast Pacific, as areas of special concern for management and conservation. Read more.
Government of Canada launching new commercial whelk fishery in Eastern Nova Scotia Read more.
Lobstermen Face Hypoxia in Outer Cape Waters. Low oxygen levels linked to warmer water spell trouble for local lobsters Read more.
Italians are fighting an invasion of predatory blue crabs with an attitude borne of centuries of culinary making do: If you can’t beat them, eat them. Read more.
Is it only farmed fish that are responsible for spreading salmon lice larvae? Or is it also possible that wild salmon can infect farmed fish? This is what researchers will be trying to find out. Read more.
Marine Technology
Australia’s fledgling autonomous marine technology industry put its newest products to the test at ReefWorks, AIMS’ tropical marine technology test range, during an Open Range event. North Queensland company EdgeROV tested its tethered autonomous aerial drone, Raptor sUAV, to search for a ‘missing person’. Tethering a drone overcomes the 30 to 60-minute running time limitation of an untethered drone, making it ideal for search and rescue operations. Read more.
New Technique Could Facilitate Rapid Cryopreservation of All Coral Species. Successfully Cooling and Thawing Coral Fragments Key to Global Conservation Milestone for Vanishing Coral Reefs Read more.
Scientific exploration of the deep ocean has largely remained inaccessible to most people because of barriers to access due to infrastructure, training, and physical ability requirements for at-sea oceanographic research. Read more.
The ocean will play a key role in efforts to tackle the climate crisis, according to scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The use of so-called “negative emissions technologies” to enhance carbon sequestration and storage in the ocean is increasingly being discussed. In a study published in the scientific journal “Frontiers”, RIFS researchers Lina Röschel and Barbara Neumann describe the challenges that these technologies present for both the marine environment and society, and identify cornerstones for their responsible use. The existing regulatory and institutional frameworks for international ocean governance do not provide a comprehensive framework for the governance of these emerging technologies, the authors conclude. Instead, an approach is needed that integrates foresight mechanisms, considers the potential unintended impacts of these technologies on the ocean, and engages with diverse stakeholders. Read more.
Oceanography
New publication describes a novel approach to observe nutrient limitations in the ocean using satellite remote sensing technologies Read more.
A new study examined nitrogen fixation among diazotrophs–microorganisms that can convert nitrogen into usable form for other plants and animals – living among sargassum. Sargassum, a brown macroalgae in the seaweed family, floats on the surface of the open ocean and provides habitat for a colorful array of marine life such as small fish, brine shrimp and other microorganisms. Previous studies have overlooked diazotrophs associated with sargassum, which could mean a historical underestimation of nitrogen fixation in the Atlantic nitrogen budget. The study found that nitrogen fixation in sargassum communities was significant. Read more.
Scientists warn about decoupling warming trend when detecting marine heat waves Read more.
A telecommunications fiber optic cable deployed offshore of Oliktok Point, Alaska recorded ambient seismic noise that can be used to finely track the formation and retreat of sea ice in the area, researchers report. Read more.
New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes. Read more.
Tiny plastic particles can be found in the air over the oceans even far away from the coast. According to a new study, microplastics are not only carried by the wind, but also escape into the atmosphere from seawater. Researchers present data on the composition and sources of different types of plastic in the air over the North Atlantic and the origin of the particles. Read more.
A new in-depth analysis of sea ice motion in the fastest-warming part of the globe shows how Arctic Ocean sea ice responds to different ocean currents and reveals that the seafloor plays a crucial role. Read more.
A new study shows that water underneath glaciers may surge due to thinning ice sheets – a dangerous feedback cycle that could increase glacial melt, sea level rise, and biological disturbances. Read more.
A major red tide event occurred in waters off Southern California in the spring of 2020, resulting in dazzling displays of bioluminescence along the coast. Now, for the first time, a study has pinpointed how the plankton species Lingulodinium polyedra – a dinoflagellate – was able to create such an exceptionally dense bloom. The answer lies in dinoflagellates’ remarkable ability to swim, which lends them a competitive advantage over other species of phytoplankton. Read more.
People and the Sea
New research indicates that mitigating both local land and sea-based human impacts, especially in terms of pollutants and over-fishing, provides coral reef ecosystems with the best opportunity to persist under climate change. Along some highly populated areas on the shorelines of Hawai’i, wastewater pollution and urban runoff combine with fishing pressures to put immense stress on coral reefs. Read more.
The Group of 20 (G20) environment and climate ministers “resolve[d] to pursue environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development” in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the objective of achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030, and commitments to address pollution. They also adopted a set of voluntary principles on sustainable and resilient ocean-based economy. Read more.
Bank of America announces the completion of the first ‘Debt-for-Nature’ transaction in Continental Africa and Africa’s first ever involving private creditors to refinance \$500 million of Gabon’s sovereign debt. The new funding will enable Gabon to contribute \$125 million to support ocean conservation. The transaction is Africa’s largest debt refinancing for ocean conservation to date and represents the highest amount of new debt raised for a project supported by The Nature Conservancy (“TNC”) Read more.
The Investing in Women in the Blue Economy in Kenya (IIW-BEK) programme was officially launched this week in Nairobi. The initiative is a five-year programme funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented by the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF). It aims to address the pressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, especially those running micro-businesses who have been hampered by limited funding opportunities, with a substantial 74% of women owning micro-businesses in the blue economy facing financial constraints. Read more.
Microscopic analysis has revealed that trends in body ornamentation were shared across Indonesian islands. Read more.
Scientific findings don’t always translate neatly into actions, especially in conservation and resource management. The disconnect can leave academics and practitioners disheartened and a bit frustrated. Read more.
The European Union and Canada signed an ocean partnership agreement on 18 July. The partnerships confirms the two sides’ belief that ocean governance is a shared challenge and responsibility. Only international cooperation can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, their resources and ecosystems. Read more.
Major players in the oil and gas industry are suing the US government for protecting 6 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico from an upcoming auction of drilling rights on federally owned land. Read more.
The EU-UK Specialised Committee on Fisheries (SCF) reached three agreements for better fisheries management between the EU and UK. Read more.