|
Jun 7 2010 - 12:24pm
Major oil spills like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill are devestating, but aren’t the only way oil gets into the ocean. Nearly 85 percent of oil in U.S. coastal waters comes from runoff (roads, parking lots, etc.), polluted rivers, airplanes, and small boats and jet skis. These sources...
|
Oct 28 2010 - 7:01pm
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, maintains the Red List of Threatened Species, an inventory of the global conservation status of plants and animals. In a 2010 study, researchers concluded that one-fifth of the world's vertebrates (animals with backbones) are...
|
|
Jun 4 2010 - 10:39am
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impacts the coast at Pass a Loutre, La. Photo was taken on June 2, 2010. More about the Gulf oil spill can be found in our Gulf oil spill featured story.
|
Feb 19 2013 - 10:24am
The majestic and highly predatory red lionfish (Pterois volitans), native to the Indo-Pacific, is invading Atlantic waters. The lionfish is a popular home aquarium species, and some were most likely dumped off the Florida coast when no longer wanted. The result is a lionfish population explosion...
|
|
Jul 24 2012 - 2:26pm
As a consumer, you can choose what kinds of seafood to buy. Some species are in good supply and make excellent choices. Others have declined dramatically due to overfishing or environmental factors. Choosing those can add to the problem.
So choose wisely. Buy sustainable seafood—seafood...
|
Jan 4 2010 - 5:20pm
Tom Peschak, a photojournalist with the Save Our Seas Foundation, describes the devastating effects shark nets have on ocean life along the South African coastline. The nets were installed to protect swimmers, but the video reveals the shark nets’ damage to fish, whales, turtles and dolphins as...
|
|
Jul 29 2010 - 10:58pm
Using a deep-diving ROV, the crew aboard Oceana’s research vessel Ranger were surprised to discover large colonies of deep-sea white coral in the Western Mediterranean Sea in July 2010. Most of the Mediterranean’s deep-sea coral reefs are already gone as a result of destructive fishing techniques...
|
Jul 5 2011 - 5:24pm
When people sail the sea, marine organisms tag along. If carried long distances, these hitchhikers can invade and disrupt ecosystems far from their natural homes, pushing out the local species. Some invaders catch a ride by attaching themselves to the sides or bottoms of boats. But many more stow...
|
|
Feb 2 2010 - 11:10am
This photo of a freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), was taken in 2006 on a long-lined fishing boat in Cocos Island, 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Cocos was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the home to one of the world's richest...
|
Oct 13 2010 - 10:51am
For those of you who have had the opportunity to visit a coral reef, you know that it’s an experience you are unlikely to forget.
Coral reefs are among the world’s most magnificent ecosystems. Their beauty alone makes them incalculably valuable, but beyond aesthetics, their importance to both...
|
|
Jul 5 2011 - 6:20pm
Algae, like all organisms, normally grow in balance with their ecosystems, limited by the amount of nutrients in the water. But sometimes, certain species of algae reproduce so rapidly that they cause damage. In the ocean, microscopic forms of algae can "bloom" into dense patches near the surface,...
|
Jul 9 2010 - 3:22pm
Fossil fuels that power our cars, homes, and businesses add carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs large portions of this CO2 and acts as a buffer against climate change. But, Dr. Francisco Chavez of Monterey Bay Research Institute points out that as the ocean absorbs more CO2,...
|
|
Jun 16 2010 - 11:36am
Carl Pellegrin (left) of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Tim Kimmel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepare to net an oiled pelican in Barataria Bay, La., Saturday, June 5, 2010. The pelican was netted and transported to a facility on Grand Isle, La., for stabilization...
|
Apr 11 2013 - 9:32am
Large waves are a draw for surfers, scientists and spectators alike to locations around the world. Changes to the coast and ocean floor as well as sediment flow can change the nature of a wave as it reaches shore. So when three condos were going to be built on the shore of his favorite surfing spot...
|
|
Jun 4 2010 - 6:34pm
The National Museum of Natural History's Department of Invertebrate Zoology has developed an online map that provides information about invertebrates in the National Collection from areas impacted by the oil spill. In the Gulf of Mexico, over 57,000 invertebrates (points on the map) from 5,789...
|
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This map is based on electronic tagging of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) from 1996 to 2007. A team of international researchers officially classified the Atlantic bluefin as endangered in 2011. In addition to overfishing, the bluefin's defined spawning grounds can impact recovery efforts.
|
|
Sep 20 2011 - 11:52am
In the Pacific Ocean, four ocean currents merge to form the North Pacific gyre, also known as the North Pacific Subtropical High, which spans the western US to Japan, and Hawaii to California.
|
Sep 16 2011 - 7:34pm
More than ever, the fate of the ocean is in our hands. To be good stewards and leave a thriving ocean for future generations, we need to make changes big and small wherever we are. To make a positive difference, here are five simple things you can do in 10 minutes or less to help protect the ocean—...
|
|
Dec 27 2010 - 1:45pm
Home is where the hull is: Since the dawn of seafaring, humankind has had to deal with pesky creatures, such as barnacles, that “foul” ship hulls and boat propellers like this one. Find out more in "No Fouling Around" from the Citizens of the Sea blog series.
|
Sep 15 2011 - 11:14am
Have you ever gone to your favorite coastal or lakeside beach and instead of having a fun day in the sun you were faced with a trove of trash? How heartbreaking it is to see waters and shorelines littered with items that you have at home, that maybe you’ve even recently thrown away.
|
|
Jul 11 2011 - 2:17pm
Can painted wooden fish on a schoolyard fence change human behavior and help clean up the ocean for the real salmon? Stream of Dreams in British Columbia thinks so, and a lot of wooden fish and some 100,000 school kids later, they have some intriguing results to show for their effort.
|
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This coral reef in the Western Pacific Ocean was killed by human input of silt and sand from nearby islands reaching the coral reef habitat. More about coral reef ecosystems can be found in our Coral Reefs featured story.
|
|
Jul 27 2011 - 9:54am
Imagine you’re an alien seeing Planet Earth for the first time. What do you see from your spacecraft? A blue planet with over 70% of its surface covered by ocean. From space it’s obvious how important the ocean is to our planet. But we actually know very little about what lives at the bottom of the...
|
Jun 4 2010 - 10:56am
A young Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) recovers at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Turtles were cleaned and nursed back to health with the help of New England Aquarium staff.
|
