Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Diets rich in food from the ocean and freshwater sources can help address nutritional and environmental challenges      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Blue foods -- those that come from the ocean or freshwater environments -- have tremendous potential to help address several global challenges. With careful implementation of policies that leverage these foods, nations could get a boost on efforts to reduce nutritional deficits, lower disease risk, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and ensure resilience in the face of climate change.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
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New research reveals 12 ways aquaculture can benefit the environment      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic plants and animals, contributes to biodiversity and habitat loss in freshwater and marine ecosystems globally, but when used wisely, it can also be part of the solution, new research shows.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Oceanography
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Food quality matters for southern resident killer whales      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Not all Chinook salmon are created equal, and this has a major impact on the energetics for southern resident killer whales. A recent study quantified the lipid content in Fraser River Chinook salmon -- the southern resident's preferred meal -- and found that spring-run Chinook salmon, the earliest to arrive to the Salish Sea are lipid-rich and energy dense; a critical factor for the killer whales who prey on them. Fraser River Chinook salmon that come later in the season have lower energy density.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life
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Feathered 'fingerprints' reveal potential motivation for migratory patterns of endangered seabirds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research shows that the feathers of seabirds such as the Wandering Albatross can provide clues about their long-distance foraging, which could help protect these species from further decline.

Ecology: Sea Life
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Whales give up singing to fight for love      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Male whales along Australia's eastern seaboard are giving up singing to attract a mate, switching instead to fighting their male competition.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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How the fastest fish hunts its prey      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have designed a novel electronic tag package incorporating high-tech sensors and a video camera in order to document a detailed view of exactly how sailfish behave and hunt once they are on their own and out of view of the surface.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
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Whale warning as clock ticks towards deep-sea mining      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seabed mining could soon begin in the deep ocean -- but the potential impact on animals including whales is unknown, researchers have warned.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Coral reefs in the Eastern Pacific could survive into the 2060s      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists found that some reefs in the tropical Pacific Ocean could maintain high coral cover into the second half of this century by shuffling the symbiotic algae they host. The findings offer a ray of hope in an often-dire picture of the future of coral reefs worldwide.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity
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Biodiversity engine for fishes: Shifting water depth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fish, the most biodiverse vertebrates in the animal kingdom, present evolutionary biologists a conundrum: The greatest species richness is found in the world's tropical waters, yet the fish groups that generate new species most rapidly inhabit colder climates at higher latitudes. A new study helps to explain this paradox. The researchers discovered that the ability of fish in temperate and polar ecosystems to transition back and forth from shallow to deep water triggers species diversification. Their findings suggest that as climate change warms the oceans at higher latitudes, it will impede the evolution of fish species.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
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Due to their feed, chicken and farmed salmon have remarkably similar environmental footprints      (via sciencedaily.com) 

We love our chicken. We love our salmon. Thanks to how we farm these two popular proteins, their environmental footprints are surprisingly similar.

Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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'It's me!' Fish recognizes itself in photographs, say scientists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have demonstrated that fish think 'it's me' when they see themselves in a picture. The researchers found that the determining factor was not the fish seeing their own body but seeing their face.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Fossil discovery reveals complex ecosystems existed on Earth much earlier than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 250 million years ago, the Permian-Triassic mass extinction killed over 80 per cent of the planet's species. In the aftermath, scientists believe that life on earth was dominated by simple species for up to 10 million years before more complex ecosystems could evolve. Now this longstanding theory is being challenged by a team of international researchers.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
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The cod population off the coast of Sweden is not extinct      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Through DNA analyses, researchers have identified that there are still juvenile coastal cod off the west coast of Sweden. However, it is still difficult to find any mature adult cod in the area.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Scientists develop new index based on functional morphology to understand how ancestors of modern birds used their wings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have compared the relationship among the strength of flight bones, body mass, and the way modern birds fly to better understand the evolution of flight in birds and extinct animals, such as the Pteranodon.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Oceanography
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Marine reserves unlikely to restore marine ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Protected marine areas are one of the essential tools for the conservation of natural resources affected by human impact -- mainly fishing --, but, are they enough to recover the functioning of these systems? A study now highlights the limitations of marine reserves in restoring food webs to their pristine state prior to the impact of intensive fishing.

Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Surprises in sea turtle genes could help them adapt to a rapidly changing world      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Around 100 million years ago, a group of land-dwelling turtles took to the oceans, eventually evolving into the sea turtles that we know today. However, the genetic foundations that have enabled them to thrive in oceans throughout the world have remained largely unknown.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
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Here today, gone tomorrow: How humans lost their body hair      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Orangutans, mice, and horses are covered with it, but humans aren't. Why we have significantly less body hair than most other mammals has long remained a mystery. But a first-of-its-kind comparison of genetic codes from 62 animals is beginning to tell the story of how people -- and other mammals -- lost their locks.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

The other paleo diet: Rare discovery of dinosaur remains preserved with its last meal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Microraptor was an opportunistic predator, feeding on fish, birds, lizards -- and now small mammals. The discovery of a rare fossil reveals the creature was a generalist carnivore in the ancient ecosystem of dinosaurs.