| AUSTRALIA: Ningaloo Reef Grows Up |
| November 30, 2004 |
 | Waves break over the remote and sprawling Ningaloo Reef, which hugs Australia's West Coast.
Photo: AIMS |
Combining the words 'Australia' and 'coral reef' prompts an almost automatic response: Great Barrier Reef.
Thanks to a landmark decision this week by the government of Western Australia, however, this response may soon change to 'Ningaloo.'
|
| PHILIPPINES: Researchers Unearth Marine Treasures |
| November 30, 2004 |
 | The coral reefs of the South Pacific bustle with life, much of which remains undiscovered.
|
During a recent survey of the coral-strewn waters surrounding a small island in the Philippines, an international team of 70 researchers found the scientific equivalent of buried treasure: over 1,200 species of prawns, crabs, and lobsters—several dozen of which may be new to science.
|
| CANADA: Oiled Birds Appear on Newfoundland Beaches |
| November 30, 2004 |
 | It doesn't take much oil to kill a seabird; they often succumb to a combination of hypothermia and poisoning.
Photo: U.S. EPA |
The beaches of Newfoundland are awash this week with oiled seabirds, but the oil in their feathers is not from the recent Terra Nova oil spill.
The evidence points to a more sinister source: one or more ships at sea deliberately dumping their bilge oil near the spill.
|
| ATLANTIC OCEAN: Shark Finning Banned |
| November 29, 2004 |
 | A bounty of shark fins resulting from a single day's fishing.
Photo: AFMA |
Humans are finally getting the message about sharks: they are not mindless predators, they are a vital component to healthy oceans.
That message was driven home last week as representatives from sixty-three countries voted in favour of a ban on shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean.
|
| CANADA: Oil Spill at Sea Off Newfoundland |
| November 29, 2004 |
 | Terra Nova is Canada's second-largest oil drilling platform.
Photo courtesy Petro-Canada |
The largest oil spill in the history of offshore drilling on Canada's East Coast took place last week, 350 kilometres from St. John’s, Newfoundland.
According Petro-Canada, as much as 170,000 litres (about 250 barrels) of oil were spilled from the Terra Nova offshore oil platform.
|
| ZAMBIA: Dam Monitoring Network to Restore Wetlands |
| November 29, 2004 |
 | The Kafue Flats, seen here at sunset, sustain Zambia's human and wild populations.
Photo: Tim Dodman |
Deep in Central Zambia is a life support system called the Kafue Flats, a vast wetland stretching 6,500 square kilometres along the Kafue River and choked by dams, hydro-electric plants and people.
Now, an international effort hopes to revive the Flats using a simple premise: imitate nature.
|
| ALASKA: Marine Mysteries Abound in the Deep Sea |
| November 26, 2004 |
 | On this rock near a methane seep, organisms grow downward - possibly to reach down to the source of the chemicals.
Photo: Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
This past summer, a team of researchers plunged the depths of the Pacific Ocean near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands in an attempt to solve a fifty year-old marine mystery.
They didn’t find what they were looking for, but rather uncovered an entirely new scientific puzzle.
|
| TUNISIA: Key Wetlands to Be Protected |
| November 26, 2004 |
 | This enhanced satellite image of Tunisia shows abundant wetlands along the coast (green) compared to a dry interior.
Photo: NASA |
Tunisia’s position above the Sahara Desert on Africa’s northern tip might conjure up images of scorched earth and endless sands, but the country’s Mediterranean coast is a hot spot for aquatic life.
Its rich wetlands attract up to half a million birds each year, making it a unique and globally important avian gathering place.
|
| U.S.A.: Eelgrass Boosts Survival for Some Fish Species |
| November 26, 2004 |
 | Eelgrass is a slender aquatic plant that grows in underwater meadows, providing shelter for many fish and invertebrates species.
Photo: NOAA |
You’re a tiny fish, and you’re swimming for your life from a big fish intent on turning you into its lunch.
Will you seek shelter in a seagrass meadow or a kelp forest?
The choice you make could save your life.
|
| CARIBBEAN: Sea Turtle Conservation Call |
| November 25, 2004 |
 | This green sea turtle hatchling may enjoy a long life in the Caribbean Sea, or it may end up feeding a local community.
Photo: Tomas Diagne |
Researchers completing a three-year study in the British overseas territories found that the nesting numbers of endangered sea turtle species have declined to critically low levels and may have become extinct in parts of the Caribbean.
|
| U.S.A.: Live Bait Promotes Spread of Amphibian Disease |
| November 25, 2004 |
 | Wild populations of tiger salamanders in remote parts of southern Arizona were afflicted by a human-spread virus.
Photo Courtesy Arizona State University |
The multi-billion dollar bait industry is being fingered as the likely source of a virus that is mysteriously spreading through amphibian populations in the western United States.
Scientists at Arizona State University were baffled when a lethal ‘iridovirus,’ an insect virus commonly found in aquatic environments, began to kill off populations of tiger salamanders in southern Arizona’s isolated stock ponds.
With miles of desert range separating the ponds, nobody could explain how the disease was spreading.
|
| JAPAN: Researchers Develop Eco-Safe Anti-Fouling Paint |
| November 25, 2004 |
 | Around the world, vessels like this container ship use anti-fouling paint to protect their hulls from aquatic hitchikers like barnacles.
©2001 Wolcott Henry |
Researchers at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology have developed a ship paint that does not leach chemical compounds into the surrounding seawater.
|
| WORLD: Coral Reef Report Optimistic Despite Grim Statistics |
| November 24, 2004 |
 | This photo of a coral shows colourful healthy segments and white 'bleached' segments. Bleaching is often a response to environmental stresses.
Photo: ©2001 Wolcott Henry |
Despite warning that that 58 percent of the world’s coral reefs are now endangered, a new report avoids a ‘doom and gloom’ approach and instead points to much progress and recovery.
Experts presented the 2004 edition of the Status of Coral Reefs of the World at the 3rd World Conservation Congress in Bangkok.
|
| BRITISH COLUMBIA: Are Hybrid Porpoises Becoming More Common? |
| November 24, 2004 |
 | This illustration shows the subtle differences between two porpoise species that are producing hybrid offspring on the BC coast.
Photo: ©DFO By A. Denbeigh |
Two species of porpoise, Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) and harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), are commonly seen along the B.C. coast.
Although their ranges overlap, the two species rarely interact and do not form mixed groups, making the discovery off hybrid offspring even more surprising.
|
| PACIFIC NORTHWEST: Smog on the Coastal Horizon from Seattle to Vancouver |
| November 24, 2004 |
 | As Vancouver's population expands, smog events have become more frequent in the summer.
Photo: Environment Canada |
According to a new joint study released by Environment Canada and the US Environmental Protection Agency, marine vessels are becoming a leading source of environmental stress in the rapidly growing urban areas of the Pacific Northwest.
|
| THAILAND: World Conservation Congress To Address High Seas ‘Plunder’ |
| November 23, 2004 |
 | Hard evidence: A devastated field of coldwater corals, reduced to rubble, lies in the wake of a bottom trawler off the coast of Canada.
Photo: Fisheries and Oceans Canada |
BANGKOK – Delegates at an international conservation forum this week have an important opportunity to protect international waters known as the ‘high seas.’
Unchecked human activity threatens these vast areas of the world's oceans, which do not fall under national jurisdiction.
|
| SOUTHERN OCEAN: Illegal Toothfish Harvests Decline, War Against Piracy Continues |
| November 23, 2004 |
 | While the United States focuses on regulating illegal toothfish imports, Australia is tackling the problem on the water.
Photo: Australian Customs |
A report released last week at an international fisheries conference shows a dramatic decrease in illegal fishing for Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters.
The optimistic numbers suggest that the officials attending the conference are more determined than ever to stamp out toothfish piracy.
|
| CANADA: Atocas Bay Gets New Lease on Life |
| November 23, 2004 |
 | Located only 75 kilometres from Ottawa, Atocas Bay is an important area for breeding waterfowl.
Photo: Environment Canada |
In 1999, a biologist with Ducks Unlimited Canada looked out over Atocas Bay and imagined the air above those silent hills filled with the clamour of birds.
It took five years and more than $1 million in collective resources – but his vision was fulfilled.
|
| ISRAEL: Scientists Solve A Spiny Mystery |
| November 22, 2004 |
 | Seen through an electron microscope, the broken tip of a sea urchin spine shows new growth. From base to tip, it is made up of a single crystal.
Photo: Yael Politi |
Scientists have long marveled at the tough, brittle spines of the sea urchin.
An engineering wonder, these porcupine-like ‘quills’ can replace themselves only days after being broken off.
Now, for the first time, a team of scientists has shown how they do it...
|
| ALASKA: High-Tech Solutions Help Solve Dietary Puzzle |
| November 22, 2004 |
 | The lunch rush: a group of Steller sea lions take to the water in search of food near Kyuquot, BC.
Photo: Margaret Butschler |
For many marine mammals, a simple change in ocean conditions — such as those accompanying a change in season — can affect the amount or type of prey available.
But exactly how animals such as Steller sea lions respond to these changes is still very much a mystery, and is currently the subject of extensive research.
|
| U.S.A.: Invasive 'Sea Squirt' Thrives on Key Fishing Grounds |
| November 22, 2004 |
 | A tunicate colony encrusts and cements a pebble gravel seabed. Note the grey background behind the relatively few holes in the mat.
Photo: Dann Blackwood,
U.S. Geological Survey. |
An invasive species of sea squirt discovered in U.S. waters a year ago is flourishing near the U.S.-Canada border.
The find has raised concerns that their rapidly growing colonies could affect an important commercial fishing area.
|
| WORLD: Satellite Data to Aid Global Conservation |
| November 19, 2004 |
 | Ever-vigilant eyes from space, satellites can gather valuable 'remote sensing' data about the world's ecosystems.
Photo: NASA |
A landmark agreement signed yesterday will soon see global conservation efforts receive some much-needed assistance—from outer space.
The World Conservation Union has signed a joint declaration to use satellite data from NASA to help in worldwide conservation projects.
|
| WORLD: Plankton Cool the Southern Hemisphere |
| November 19, 2004 |
 | The red areas on this satellite image indicate a higher distribution of phytoplankton in the oceans of the northern hemisphere.
Photo: Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research |
Despite evidence that the majority of the world’s plankton are found in the northern hemisphere, new research has shown that their effect on climate is more keenly felt in the southern hemisphere.
|
| U.S.A.: Draft Recovery Plan for Tidewater Goby Now Available |
| November 19, 2004 |
 | Tidewater gobies are under threat of extinction as a result of significant habitat loss.
Photo: National Parks Service |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on a draft recovery plan for the tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), an endangered fish that lives in estuaries and lagoons along the California coast from Del Norte to northern San Diego counties.
|
| USA: Lone Beluga Whale Died of Natural Causes, Experts Say |
| November 18, 2004 |
 | Poco was a solitary beluga whale who regularly approached boats and swimmers on the East Coast.
|
The journey of a solitary, curious beluga whale came to an abrupt end off the coast of Maine this past weekend.
Experts suspect that ‘Poco’ – a young whale known for rubbing against boast, divers and swimmers – succumbed to an infection.
|
| NEW ZEALAND: Dolphin Species Recorded For First Time |
| November 18, 2004 |
 | Fraser's dolphins are a little-known species of tropical dolphin. They have never been recorded in New Zealand waters.
|
Experts have confirmed the first-ever recorded sighting of Fraser’s dolphins in New Zealand waters.
Fraser’s dolphins are known to herd in numbers of up to 500 and grow up to 2.4 metres long.
|
| EUROPE: Conservationists Welcome Deep-Sea Protection |
| November 18, 2004 |
 | The deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa is under threat from destructive bottom trawling techniques.
Photo: NOAA |
Following a week long meeting in London, European fisheries officials have announced a temporary ban on destructive fishing techniques over five sites in the international waters of the North-East Atlantic.
Norway proposed the protection of seamounts and cold water corals, and it is the first time that one of the regional fisheries management organisations has adopted such protection measures in waters beyond national jurisdiction.
|
| SOUTHEAST ASIA: Tracking the Disappearing Giants of the Mekong |
| November 17, 2004 |
 | Mekong giant catfish are an important source of protein for the 73 million people living along the banks of the Mekong River.
Photo: Zeb Hogan |
One scientist’s fascination with giant freshwater fishes has sent him on a groundbreaking scientific adventure that began today on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Zeb Hogan is in pursuit of a veritable aquatic Goliath. His project, which aims to find and study giant fishes such as the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), will see him scouring rivers and lakes around the world.
|
| THAILAND: In Praise of the Dugong |
| November 17, 2004 |
 | Dugong (up to 3.5m long and 400 kg) is used as an icon animal for protecting the coastal environment.
Photo: © Pete Atkinson/SUTTER |
For the past 10 years, Thai biologist Pisit Charnsnoh has campaigned to save the dugong from extinction in Thai coastal waters.
For him, the dugong’s decline and the hardships of life in the small fishing villages along the Thai peninsula are symptoms of the same problem: the destruction of coastal ecosystems.
|
| BRITISH COLUMBIA: Bottom-dwellers Highlight Extinction Patterns |
| November 17, 2004 |
 | Here's mud in your eye: this dungeness crab's sediment-stirring antics fulfil an important ecological role.
Photo: Margaret Butschler |
A new study of marine invertebrates has suggested that the order in which species go extinct can have a greater long-term impact on an ecosystem than the sheer number of extinctions.
The extinction of these species is expected to reduce sediment mixing and diminish life-sustaining oxygen concentrations in seawater.
|
| BRITISH COLUMBIA: Canadian Scientists to Tag and Track ‘Fossil’ Fish |
| November 16, 2004 |
 | Dr. Sylvia Earle pilots ‘Deepworker’ in the Vancouver Aquarium’s Wild Coast exhibit, demonstrating the sub’s maneuverability while visitors and media watched.
Photo: Andy Torr |
VANCOUVER - Dr. Tony Ribbink has traveled halfway around the world in his search for experts to help him study one of the ocean’s most enigmatic fish: the coelacanth.
Dr. Ribbink, the Programme Manager for the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP), visited the Vancouver Aquarium yesterday to discuss his plans to track the so-called ‘fossil fish’ off the coast of South Africa using special radio tags.
|
| WEST AFRICA: Reduced Fish Stocks Linked to Bushmeat Trade |
| November 16, 2004 |
 | A Ghanaian wildlife ranger holds a waterbuck antelope (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) killed weeks earlier by bushmeat hunters.
Photo by Justin Brashares/UC Berkeley
|
New research by an international team of scientists has raised concerns that declining fish stocks in West Africa are forcing many local residents to look elsewhere for dietary protein, fueling a multi-billion dollar trade in ‘bushmeat’—wild animals taken from public land and sold for consumption.
Using 30 years worth of census data collected by rangers in six nature reserves in Ghana, the researchers found a direct link between dwindling fish supply and increased demand for bushmeat in local villages.
|
| WORLD: Surviving Murky Waters |
| November 16, 2004 |
 | Irrawaddy dolphins are named for the Ayeyarwaddy River (formerly Irrawaddy) in Myanmar.
|
Despite the new level of protection recently assigned to endangered Irrawaddy dolphins by international wildlife officials, the decision still has to trickle down to the national and regional level.
More importantly, a grassroots effort is urgently needed to educate local communities about the importance of protecting these unique river-dwellers.
|
| U.S.: Scientists Advocate Study of Coelacanth Genes |
| November 15, 2004 |
 | Coelacanth were thought extinct until their rediscovery in 1938.
|
A team of Stanford University researchers is arguing in favour of deciphering the genetic code of an unlikely subject: a ‘living fossil’ fish called the coelacanth.
The scientists say the unique genetic map of this critically endangered fish could hold valuable clues for biologists studying the evolution of vertebrates.
|
| WORLD: Illegal Tuna Fishing and Farming Leads to Demise of Species, Says WWF |
| November 15, 2004 |
 | Photo: Antonio Pais/NOAA |
As a critical meeting of government and industry leaders on the fate of vulnerable Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks begins this week, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called on participants to make urgent, far-reaching moves to end mismanagement and stop illegal fishing and farming methods used to produce tuna to meet growing consumer demands from the United States, China, Japan and Korea.
|
| CANADA: New Biosphere Reserve Announced |
| November 15, 2004 |
 | Georgian Bay's rocky shoreline and littoral (near-shore) zone have received new recognition as a World Network Biosphere Reserve.
Photo: Parks Canada |
International officials have designated the littoral (near-shore) region of Georgian Bay as Canada’s thirteenth UNESCO World Network Biosphere Reserve.
The announcement came earlier this month as 19 new sites in 13 countries were added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
|
| U.S.: Field Guide to Alaskan Corals Released |
| November 12, 2004 |
 | Coldwater corals, like this Anthothelia specimen, typically grow in deep water and are not well documented.
Photo: JAGO Team, Seewiesen |
Following five years of research, photography and writing, two marine scientists this week released a photographic field guide to deep-sea Alaskan corals.
The field guide is a basic tool that aims to help increase scientific understanding of corals and may help to better manage fisheries that incidentally catch deep sea Alaskan corals.
|
| EUROPE: Protecting Marine Life From the Harmful Effects of Man-made Ocean Noise |
| November 12, 2004 |
 | Like all cetaceans, these killer whales rely on sound to communicate and navigate.
Photo: Greg Schorr |
Delegates from 16 countries meeting in Majorca, Spain this week adopted a resolution recognizing man-made ocean noise as a dangerous pollutant which can disturb, injure and even kill whales and other marine species.
|
| WORLD: Divers Feeding Fishes – A Continuing Issue in Marine Protected Areas |
| November 12, 2004 |
 | Scuba divers, like the one seen swimming close to this whale shark, are often encouraged to 'take only pictures and leave only bubbles.'
|
The feeding of fishes and other marine wildlife by recreational divers and snorkelers remains a problematic issue for Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, particularly where recreational diving and snorkeling are popular visitor activities.
|
| U.S.: Fish Sang All Through Hurricane Charley, Oceanographers Say |
| November 10, 2004 |
 | Hurricane Charley is photographed here on August 13, 2004, just 30 minutes before making landfall in Florida.
Photo: NOAA |
While legend records that Nero fiddled as Rome burned, oceanographers have documented that during Hurricane Charley, fish in Charlotte Harbor that normally sing "love songs" while spawning sang their hearts out louder than ever.
|
| U.S.: Skeletons of Ancient Corals Different Than Today, Study Finds |
| November 10, 2004 |
 | Coral reefs are slowly built over time by millions of tiny coral polyps that secrete hard calcium carbonate shells around their soft bodies.
|
Scientists have been puzzling for years over the mysterious disappearance of coral reefs from the fossil record 120 million years ago, at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, only to reappear after its end 35 million years ago.
Now, a Johns Hopkins University graduate student may have come up with a possible cause.
|
| CANADA: Ontario Government Protects Toronto Water Quality |
| November 10, 2004 |
 | A group of Toronto schoolchildren spell out "Clean Up Canada" during this year's Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Photo: Vancouver Aquarium |
The provincial government under Premier Dalton McGuinty is supporting a number of initiatives to help clean up the water quality and natural habitat of Toronto-area watersheds, according to Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky.
|
| Antarctic: Climate Change Affects Key Marine Life, Study Finds |
| November 9, 2004 |
 | Scientists are blaming large-scale melting ice for a significant decline in Antarctic krill, which forms the base of the Southern Ocean's food web.
Photo: NOAA |
The decline of a tiny Antarctic crustacean has researchers worried about its effects on larger wildlife such as whales, seals and penguins.
Antarctic krill are one of the most important animals in the Southern Ocean, but new research shows that krill numbers have dropped by about 80 percent since the 1970s.
|
| U.S.: Underwater Robot Makes Historic Crossing of Gulf Stream |
| November 9, 2004 |
 | The successful crossing of the Gulf Stream by this autonomous submsersible, dubbed 'Spray,' has set an exciting new precedent for remote exploration of the world's oceans.
Photo courtesy University of California San Diego |
A small ocean glider is the first autonomous underwater vehicle to successfully cross the Gulf Stream, the powerful North Atlantic current that sets northeast off the East Coast of the United States.
The expedition has proven the viability of using self-propelled gliders for long-distance scientific missions and ocean exploration.
|
| Australia: Government to Assess Dugong Stocks |
| November 9, 2004 |
 | | Closely related to manatees, dugongs are marine mammals that are found in shallow, coastal waters. |
Australian officials have announced that the traditional harvest of turtles and dugongs in the Torres Strait will be assessed under the 1999 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
|
| World: International Marine Survey Targets Ocean Diseases, Coral Death |
| November 8, 2004 |
 | A brain coral, with clear evidence of disease, is photographed on a barren reef that once teemed with marine life.
Photo: © Wolcott Henry 2001 |
With the understanding that disease epidemics can spread far more quickly in oceans than on land or air, scientists are now proposing to study disease in key organisms that can't move: the world's dying corals.
The ambitious project is the largest-ever international assessment of ocean disease.
|
| Brazil: Scientist ‘Homes In’ On Dolphin Home Ranges |
| November 8, 2004 |
 | Despite their range, abundance and ability to live in various habitats, tuxuci dolphins are showing signs that they, too are susceptible to human-induced changes in the marine environment.
Photo: LAPA |
A recent study of tucuxi dolphins, a species of South American dolphin resembling a small bottlenose dolphin, has provided a model for the conservation and future research on the species.
Scientists in Baía Norte, southern Brazil, were surprised to find that tucuxi home ranges were extremely small, averaging from only 13 to 15 square kilometers.
|
| Mexico: Award Recognizes Efforts to Save Marine Turtles in Pacific Ocean |
| November 8, 2004 |
 | Local community members stand watch over a gigantic leatheback turtle as she lays her eggs on a beach under cover of night.
Photo: PRETOMA |
A Mexican scientist has been recognized by an international conservation group for twenty years of devotion to leatherback turtle conservation.
At a recent conference on North American marine species, Laura Sarti received an award from WWF for helping to establish four protected sea turtle nesting sites along the Pacific coast in Mexico.
|
| British Columbia: International Accolades for Open Ocean Research Project |
| November 5, 2004 |
 | Vance Mercer conducts a training exercise with Sitka, a female Steller sea lion, from a boat known as the 'Steller Shuttle.' The pair are involved in the world's first open-water study of declining Steller sea lions.
Photo: Gordon Hastie |
It’s safe to say the work of the Steller Sea Lion Open Ocean Research Project is making waves.
Recently, a poster on the project’s work received top prize at the International Marine Animal Training Association (IMATA) conference in Sweden, underscoring the unique and important nature of the study.
|
| Caribbean: 'Cleaner Gobies' Scratch An Itch for Coral Reef Fish |
| November 5, 2004 |
 | Longfin damselfish (Stegastes diencaeus) can often be seen receiving a free 'cleaning service' from tiny gobies that remove parasites from their skin.
|
A recent field study has shown evidence of a direct link between cleaning behavior and the level of external parasites observed on Caribbean coral reef fish.
The study’s authors found that parasite loads of longfin damselfish (Stegastes diencaeus) peaked in the morning, correlating with the time of day that these fish were 'cleaned' the most by cleaner gobies (Elacatinus spp.)
|
| U.S.: Discovery Yields Possible New Species of Sea Squirt |
| November 5, 2004 |
 | A colony of orange tunicates, or sea squirts. Believe it or not, this curious-looking group of invertebrates is closely related to humans.
Photo: NOAA |
Scientists surveying marine invertebrate species living at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary have found three previously unknown sea creatures.
The creatures are types of sea squirts, or tunicates: bottom-dwelling invertebrate animals that are part of the rich diversity of species found at the sanctuary.
|
| Alaska: Change in Fish Diet Considered Leading Factor in Harbor Seal Decline |
| November 4, 2004 |
 | While harbour seals look awkward on land, they are sleek swimmers and efficient hunters in the water.
Photo: Lance Barrett-Lennard |
Since the mid-1970’s, harbour seal abundance has declined by nearly 85 percent in some areas of Alaska.
Other areas are mysteriously showing recent signs of recovery.
The reasons for declines and increases are unknown, but scientists are working hard to find out.
|
| World: Far-Away Forces Shape Local Ocean Life, Study Shows |
| November 4, 2004 |
 | A photographic sample taken from a ledge off Cape Town, South Africa, is packed with sponges, anemones, soft corals, sea fans and bryzoans.
Photo courtesy Brown University |
In a groundbreaking, globetrotting study of sea life in shallow waters, a research team has found that the richness of species diversity in a small patch of ocean is powerfully shaped by far-away forces.
|
| Arctic: Ice Melts While Industrialized Countries Fail to Cut Emissions |
| November 4, 2004 |
 | A new report warns that polar bears could become extinct before the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions are not substantially decreased.
Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service |
A new comprehensive report on the devastating impact of climate change urges Arctic governments to immediately cut their emissions of carbon dioxide.
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) provides evidence that climate change is happening in the Arctic and that it will get worse unless emissions of carbon dioxide are cut.
|
| Canada: Seismic Surveys a Danger to Marine Life, Report Warns |
| November 3, 2004 |
 | The Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a resident population of beluga whales, who rely on sound for navigation and communication.
Photo: Finn Larsen |
According to the results of a provincial inquiry, seismic survey techniques associated with oil and gas drilling or scientific exploration can kill, injure or cause behavioural changes in a number of aquatic species in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
|
| World: Dolphin, Killer Whale Schooling Related to Ocean Climate, Study Finds |
| November 3, 2004 |
 | Pods of northern resident killer whales, which frequent British Columbia's Johnstone Strait, were observed for nearly a decade as part of the study.
Photo: Doug Sandilands |
A team of scientists has found that changes in the schooling patterns of bottlenose dolphins and killer whales are related to changes in oceanic climate that may in turn influence their social behaviours.
The scientists say this is the first time that a clear link has been established between climate and the behaviour of marine predators.
|
| Greece: Campaign for Turtle Protection Prompts 'Final Warning' |
| November 3, 2004 |
 | Lack of funding for sea turtle protection has jeopardized their populations on key Greek beaches, where the loggerhead nesting season coincides with peak tourist season.
|
The European Commission has announced that Greece will be charged for failing to protect the world's largest nesting population of Mediterranean loggerhead turtles.
This follows a WWF e-mail campaign and months of lobbying by conservationists in response to reports of uncontrolled tourism and devastation of the nesting beaches.
|
| Indonesia: Togean Islands Obtain National Park Status |
| November 2, 2004 |
 | A vivid blue sea star contrasts sharply against this dead coral reef, likely a victim of destructive fishing practices using dynamite or cyanide.
© Wolcott Henry 2001 |
The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry has signed a bill declaring a new national park that will encompass 362,000 hectares of the Togean Islands, located in the Central Sulawesi Province.
This environmental victory is due in large part to an educational ‘Pride campaign’ launched by two international conservation organizations, Rare and Conservation International (CI)-Indonesia.
|
| U.S.: New Device Generates Power While Treating Sewage |
| November 2, 2004 |
 | Watts from waste water: Although they generate a relatively small amount of power, the researchers have used these types of devices to run a small fan.
Photo: Pennsylvania State University
|
A new technology is being developed that can turn raw sewage into raw power.
The device, called a microbial fuel cell, not only treats waste water, but also provides a clean energy source with the potential for enormous financial savings, according to scientists at Pennsylvania State University.
|
| U.S.: Los Angeles Votes on Clean Water Proposition |
| November 2, 2004 |
 | The 'first flush' refers to LA's first rainstorm after many months of dry weather, which 'flushes out' tons of accumulated debris from inside the city's extensive storm drain system.
Photo: City of Los Angeles |
To address the growing problem of storm drain pollution in Los Angeles, a new proposition on the city's crowded election ballot will provide $500 million to reduce the polluted stormwater runoff that contaminates local rivers, lakes and beaches.
|
| Europe: European Parliament Passes Whale-Saving Resolution |
| November 1, 2004 |
 | In 2003, whalewatchers observed the USS Shoup (horizon) emit loud sounds that caused erratic behaviour in nearby killer whales (foreground).
Photo: ©2003 Centre for Whale Research/
Ken Balcomb |
The European Parliament late last week adopted a resolution calling on member countries to halt their use of high-powered naval sonar until its effects on marine life can be determined.
The decision to directly address the environmental effects of ‘high-intensity active radar’ has met with resounding approval from conservation groups worldwide.
|
| U.S.: Common Household Fragrances May Harm Aquatic Wildlife, Study Finds |
| November 1, 2004 |
 | Scientists are discovering a growing host of chemicals in wastewater that are not removed by conventional methods.
Photo: NOAA |
Those fragrant soaps and shampoos we casually rinse down the drain may be causing long-term damage to aquatic wildlife downstream by interfering with the animals' natural ability to eliminate toxins from their system, according to a new Stanford University study.
|
| World: 30 Things You Can Do for the Marine Environment |
| November 1, 2004 |
 | Wondering what you can do to help aquatic environments near you? Here are over two dozen ways - and reasons - to get involved.
Photo: NOAA |
Scuba Diving magazine and the Coral Reef Alliance have collaborated to present a list of 30 'action items' that can help both scuba divers and non-divers to protect and improve their local aquatic environments.
|
|
