Over 20 million seahorses are taken from the wild each year for medicinal or commercial use, coupled with overfishing and damage to their natural habitat — seahorse populations are in trouble. Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is looking to address these issues…
Giant amoeba discovered in Mariana Trench
The creatures from the deep sounds like a haunting Halloween movie plot but it is the reality scientists discovered. Using custom-built cameras, researchers recently found four-inch-long, gigantic amoebas in the Mariana Trench — the deepest part of the ocean.
Algae linked to chemical warfare vs. coral reefs
The growing list of things damaging coral reefs just got longer as a new study in Fiji has found some seaweeds actually produce chemicals that cause coral bleaching and suppresses photosynthesis. This could lead to more discoveries of similar seaweed…
Researchers ponder making coral reef resilient
Global warming, ships and boats coming aground, careless divers and natural diseases are threatening coral reefs globally at an alarming rate and the fragile reefs off the coast of Florida are no difference. In a recent article in the Miami…
Release the kraken?
For the last week or so, the popular science press has been gushing over the announcement that besides a giant Triassic kraken killing and eating giant ichthyosaurs, it not only arranged their bones after but even arranged their bones in…
Maintaining fish biomass at certain levels can save a reef
Maintaining fish stocking levels and overall biomass around coral reefs can play a vital role in their survival and prevent their eventual collapse. According to a new study overfishing and the loss of the overall reef biomass can generate a…
Friday Smorgasbord: Sharks and Dead Sea
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJjzpMekHU[/youtube] Celebrating the end of the week we have a wonderful Friday variety post for you. First off is an incredible video of a baby great white shark that was rescued by a group of surfers at Venice Beach in…
Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone” bigger than Delaware
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVNuzEUWZg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] The Gulf of Mexico’s growing annual “Dead Zone” has hit over 3,300 square miles, even larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined — and researchers anticipate it could become even more massive. The research team at Texas A&M traveled over 1,400 miles…
Giant squid found off coast of Florida
Fisherman out for an enjoyable time on the water off the coast of Florida hauled in quite a surprise when they found a rare 25-foot-long giant squid floating in the water. According to details listed in a press release from…
Get an underwater view of the ocean floor, even if you don’t live on a yellow submarine
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4NkUpot_s&feature=player_embedded#at=148[/youtube] Ever wanted to go play submariner and get a drive-by view of the ocean floor? Well thanks to the ever-evolving team at Google Earth you can get a new beneath the sea version of Google Earth with an up…
