Spread of algal toxin through marine food web broke records in 2015
While Dungeness crab captured headlines, record levels of the neurotoxin domoic acid were found in a range of species, and the toxin showed up in new places.
Turtles’ age determined by atomic-bomb fallout in their shells
During the years spanning the mid-1950s to 1970, the US government conducted some serious atomic bomb testing above the waters of the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the corals accumulated a lot of nuclear fallout into their structures. But the coral wasn’t the only sea creature to take radioactive material onboard, hawksbill sea turtles incorporated the material into their shells as well.
Human impact has pushed Earth into the Anthropocene, scientists say
There is now compelling evidence to show that humanity’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and wildlife has pushed the world into a new geological epoch, an “Anthropocene” – ending the current Holocene which began around 12,000 years ago.
Dam projects on world’s largest rivers threaten ecosystems, rural livelihoods
Advocates of huge hydroelectric dam projects on the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong river basins often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate far-reaching effects on biodiversity, according to a new article by scientists representing 30 academic, government, and conservation organizations in eight countries.
Endangered Green Sea Turtles Return to Florida in Record Numbers
Green sea turtles nested in record numbers in 2015 at Florida’s Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, the most important green sea turtle nesting habitat in North America. The improvement reflects the joint efforts of conservationists, government, and local residents to reduce light pollution and other human impacts on the refuge’s beaches.
A Marine Ecologist Strives to Protect the Seas
Only 1 percent of the ocean is currently protected, marine scientists say, and the rest is being disrupted by overfishing, pollution, climate change and species extinctions. Dr. Sala said he felt the need to take action.
In Tanzania, a Horrific Fishing Tactic Destroys All Sea Life
Strewn in the shallows of the Indian Ocean off Tanzania lie shards of dead coral reefs. Experts believe that in Tanzania, blast fishing is occurring at unprecedented rates, in part because a boom in mining and construction has made it easier for people to get their hands on dynamite.
Cronulla’s sand dunes survived Mad Max but now face a more insidious threat
The once vast sand dunes in Sydney’s south have been farmed, trimmed down by sandmining, filmed and eroded by wind and rain. Now they face encroaching housing developments
Beijing highway: $600m road just the start of China’s investments in Caribbean
Stretching some 67 km north to south across Jamaica, the $600m four-lane nicknamed the “Beijing highway, is the single biggest investment by the Chinese in the Caribbean. This project is also prelude of the building of a $1.5bn deep water container port on islands off the south coast ,using dredging and land reclamation to accommodate mega ships coming through the expanded Panama Canal.