Microbes dictate regime shifts causing anoxia in lakes and seas – “Hysteresis loops and tipping points are a common feature of oxic-anoxic transitions, causing rapid drops in oxygen levels that are not easily reversed”

6 October 2017 (UvA News) – Gradual environmental changes due to eutrophication and global warming can cause a rapid depletion of oxygen levels in lakes and coastal waters. A new study led by professors Jef Huisman and Gerard Muyzer of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) shows that microorganisms play a key role in these disastrous […]

Lake Erie algal bloom cleanup falling far short of 40 percent phosphorus reduction goal

By James F. McCarty 11 October 2017 (The Plain Dealer) – Approaching the end of another summer marked by a substantial algal bloom in Lake Erie’s western basin, environmental and conservation groups released separate reports Tuesday that came to the same conclusion: Ohio, Michigan and Ontario are falling far short in their efforts to reduce […]

Fish farm has 60 days to fix net pens outside Seattle as 1 million Atlantic salmon move in

By Lynda V. Mapes 9 October 2017 (The Seattle Times) – Just a week after the state Department of Fish and Wildlife approved shipment of 1 million more farmed Atlantic salmon to Cooke Aquaculture’s fish farm near Bainbridge Island, another state agency says it has found a hole in the nets and corrosion in the […]

Empty nets signal trouble for Columbia River salmon – “This is really different than anything we have ever seen”

By Lynda V. Mapes 9 October 2017 (The Seattle Times) – Scientists have been hauling survey nets through the ocean off the coasts of Washington and Oregon for 20 years. But this is the first time some have come up empty.“We were really worrying if there was something wrong with our equipment,” said David Huff, […]

Cod and haddock go north due to warming UK seas, as foreign fish arrive – “In a few decades, the temperature of our seas is likely to be roughly the same as those found in the waters around Portugal at the turn of the last century”

By Robin McKie 2 September 2017 (The Observer) – Britain must prepare itself for invasions of growing numbers of foreign sea creatures attracted by our warming waters, a new report has warned. Some newcomers could have devastating effects, others could be beneficial, say the researchers. Examples provided by the team include slipper limpets that could […]

Trump’s EPA head met with a mining CEO – and then pushed forward a controversial mining project

By Drew Griffin, Scott Bronstein, and John D. Sutter 22 September 2017 (CNN) – Within hours of meeting with a mining company CEO, the new head of the US Environmental Protection Agency directed his staff to withdraw a plan to protect the watershed of Bristol Bay, Alaska, one of the most valuable wild salmon fisheries […]

More losers than winners for marine life in warmer Southern Ocean – “The future for a whole range of invertebrates from starfish to corals is bleak”

4 September 2017 (British Antarctic Survey) – A new study of the marine invertebrates living in the seas around Antarctica reveals there will be more ‘losers’ than ‘winners’ over the next century as the Antarctic seafloor warms.  The results are published today (4 September 2017) in the journal Nature Climate Change.A team at British Antarctic […]

Antarctic marine life may grow faster in a warming world – “We can see the impact of temperature change very clearly and it’s quite dramatic”

31 August 2017 (British Antarctic Survey) – A team of scientists has discovered that a 1°C rise in local sea temperature has massive impacts on an Antarctic marine community. These new results are published this week (31 August) in the journal Current Biology, and enable researchers to better understand the biological implications of the future […]

Historical nautical maps show coral loss more extensive than previously believed – “The magnitude of change is much greater than anyone thought”

By Mike Gaworecki 20 September 2017 (Mongabay) – A team of researchers based in Australia and the United States have used historical nautical maps to determine that coral reef loss in the Florida Keys is much more extensive than previously understood.The British empire began mapping its overseas territories in the 18th century, and coral reefs […]

Justin Hofman’s viral sea horse photo shows the heartbreaking state of our polluted oceans

By Kelly Kasulis 15 September 2017 (Mic) – The world’s oceans are going to have more plastic in them than fish by 2050, according to World Economic Forum projections. But we don’t need to wait for the future to witness grim scenes of polluted waters.Just look at the photo below. Photographer Justin Hofman caught a […]

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