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Categories: Ecology: Sea Life, Space: Cosmology
Published Diving deeper into our oceans: Underwater drones open new doors for global coral reef research
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists take innovation in coral e-DNA monitoring to the next level.
Published The role of jellies as a food source in the Arctic winter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Arctic is changing rapidly due to climate change. It is not only affected by increasing surface temperatures, but also by warm water from the Atlantic, which is flowing in more and more -- changing the structures and functions of the ecosystem as it also leads to species from warmer regions, such as sea jellies (also known as jellyfish) arriving in the Arctic. Using DNA metabarcoding, researchers have now been able to demonstrate that these jellyfish serve as food for amphipods on Svalbard during the polar night and thus play a greater role in Arctic food webs than previously assumed.
Published Cold-water coral traps itself on mountains in the deep sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Corals searching for food in the cold and dark waters of the deep sea are building higher and higher mountains to get closer to the source of their food. But in doing so, they may find themselves trapped when the climate changes.
Published If we can't untangle this mess, Norway's blue industry will never be green
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, researchers have investigated how ropes and fishing lines are handled by the Norwegian commercial fishing industry. The fishing fleet loses almost 400 tons of rope in Norwegian waters every year.
Published Polar bears unlikely to adapt to longer summers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates. During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average around 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, per day. Some have speculated that polar bears might adapt to the longer ice-free seasons due to climate warming by acting like their grizzly bear relatives and either rest or eat terrestrial food. The polar bears in this study tried versions of both strategies -- with little success.
Published Satellites unveil the size and nature of the world's coral reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ecosystems.
Published Compounds released by bleaching reefs promote bacteria, potentially stressing coral further
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research revealed that when coral bleaching occurs, corals release unique organic compounds into the surrounding water that not only promote bacterial growth overall, but select for opportunistic bacteria that may further stress reefs.
Published How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossils of a marine animal that lived 500 million years ago, combined with computer simulations, informed the design of a new soft robot.
Published Surprising behavior in one of the least studied mammals in the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Beaked whales are among the least studied mammals in the world. Now, a new study reveals surprising information about the Baird's beaked whale species.
Published How kelp forests persisted through the large 2014-2016 Pacific marine heatwave
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures.
Published A long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Employing massive data sets collected through NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are unearthing clues to conditions existing in the early universe. The team has catalogued the ages of stars in the Wolf--Lundmark--Melotte (WLM) galaxy, constructing the most detailed picture of it yet, according to the researchers. WLM, a neighbor of the Milky Way, is an active center of star formation that includes ancient stars formed 13 billion years ago.
Published Remarkable cellular architecture and phylogenetic position of the mysterious arm-swinging protist meteora sporadica
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers studied in detail the strange protist Meteora sporadica, which swings its two lateral arms back and forth. The results of the study indicated that M. sporadica has a complex cytoskeleton that is closely related to Hemimastigophora, a group of organisms considered to be one of the deepest branches of eukaryotes.
Published Which came first: Black holes or galaxies?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Black holes not only existed at the dawn of time, they birthed new stars and supercharged galaxy formation, a new analysis of James Webb Space Telescope data suggests.
Published Number of shark bites consistent with recent trends, with small spike in fatalities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There was an increase in the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide and an uptick in fatalities in 2023 compared to the previous year. A scientific database of global shark attacks, confirmed 69 unprovoked bites in 2023. Although this is higher than the most recent five-year average of 63 attacks, the data remain consistent with long-term trends.
Published Small but mighty -- study highlights the abundance and importance of the ocean's tiniest inhabitants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research sheds light on tiny plankton, which measure less than 0.02mm in diameter but can make up more than 70% of the plankton biomass found in the ocean.
Published Vitamin B12 adaptability in Antarctic algae has implications for climate change, life in the Southern Ocean
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The algae P. antarctica has two forms of the enzyme that makes the amino acid methionine, one needing B12, and one that is slower, but doesn't need it. This means it has the ability to adapt and survive with low B12 availability. The presence of the MetE gene in P. antarctica gives the algae the ability to adapt to lower vitamin B12 availability, giving it a potential advantage to bloom in the early austral spring when bacterial production is low. P. antarctica takes in the CO2 and releases oxygen through photosynthesis. Understanding its ability to grow in environments with low vitamin B12 availability can help climate modelers make more accurate predictions.
Published Clown anemonefish seem to be counting bars and laying down the law
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source We often think of fish as carefree swimmers in the ocean, reacting to the world around them without much forethought. However, new research suggests that our marine cousins may be more cognizant than we credit them for. Fish may be counting vertical bars on intruders to determine their threat level, and to inform the social hierarchy governing their sea anemone colonies.
Published Tidal landscapes a greater carbon sink than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mangroves and saltmarshes sequester large amounts of carbon, mitigating the greenhouse effect. New research shows that these environments are perhaps twice as effective as previously thought.
Published Gas on the run -- ALMA spots the shadow of a molecular outflow from a quasar when the Universe was less than one billion years old
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Theoretical predictions have been confirmed with the discovery of an outflow of molecular gas from a quasar when the Universe was less than a billion years old.
Published Bright galaxies put dark matter to the test
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The earliest galaxies are thought to have formed as the gravitational pull of dark matter, which has been impossible to study directly, slowly drew in enough hydrogen and helium to ignite stars. But astrophysicists now show that after the Big Bang, hydrogen and helium gas bounced at supersonic speeds off dense, slowly moving clumps of cold dark matter. When the gas fell back in millennia later, stars formed all at once, creating small, exceptionally bright galaxies. If models of cold dark matter are correct, the James Webb Space Telescope should be able to find patches of bright galaxies in the early universe, potentially offering the first effective test for theories about dark matter. If it doesn't, scientists have to go back to the drawing board with dark matter.