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Categories: Ecology: Sea Life, Offbeat: Space
Published Due to sea-ice retreat, zooplankton could remain in the deep longer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behavior -- especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers has now shown, in the future this could lead to more frequent food shortages for the zooplankton, and to negative effects for larger species including seals and whales.
Published Wastewater pipe dig reveals 'fossil treasure trove'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article describes the 266 fossil species as one of the richest and most diverse groups of three-million-year-old fauna ever found in New Zealand. At least ten previously unknown species will be described and named in future research. Fossils of the world's oldest known flax snails, an extinct sawshark spine, and great white shark teeth have all been found in a mound of sand excavated from beneath Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2020.
Published Mysterious Neptune dark spot detected from Earth for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed a large dark spot in Neptune's atmosphere, with an unexpected smaller bright spot adjacent to it. This is the first time a dark spot on the planet has ever been observed with a telescope on Earth. These occasional features in the blue background of Neptune's atmosphere are a mystery to astronomers, and the new results provide further clues as to their nature and origin.
Published Loss of Antarctic sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.
Published Scientists solve mystery of why thousands of octopus migrate to deep-sea thermal springs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used advanced technology to study a massive aggregation of deep-sea octopus gathered at thermal springs near an extinct underwater volcano off the coast of Central California. Warm water from hydrothermal springs accelerates development of octopus embryos, giving young octopus a better chance of survival. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus on the planet -- the size of this nursery, and the abundance of other marine life that thrives in this rich community, highlight the need to understand and protect the hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining.
Published How a cup of water can unlock the secrets of our Universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A researcher made a discovery that could change our understanding of the universe. He reveals that there is a range in which fundamental constants can vary, allowing for the viscosity needed for life processes to occur within and between living cells. This is an important piece of the puzzle in determining where these constants come from and how they impact life as we know it.
Published Ice-free preservation method holds promise to protect reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) An interdisciplinary team of researchers demonstrated that coral can be preserved through a new technique called isochoric vitrification. This process takes the selected coral fragments through the stages of cryopreservation and subsequent revival.
Published Researchers unearth a new process by which algae pass on nurtrients to their coral host
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have identified a new pathway by which sugar is released by symbiotic algae. This pathway involves the largely overlooked cell wall, showing that this structure not only protects the cell but plays an important role in symbiosis and carbon circulation in the ocean.
Published Barnacles may help reveal location of lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geoscientists have created a new method that can reconstruct the drift path and origin of debris from flight MH370, an aircraft that went missing over the Indian Ocean in 2014 with 239 passengers and crew.
Published Newly discovered 'primitive cousins of T rex' shed light on the end of the age of dinosaurs in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the fossils of two new abelisaurs in Morocco, showing the diversity of dinosaurs in this region at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Published Vegetarian diet of corals explains age-old mystery dating back to Darwin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has revealed why coral reefs can thrive in seemingly nutrient poor water, a phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since Charles Darwin.
Published This fish doesn't just see with its eyes -- it also sees with its skin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Without a mirror, it can be hard to tell if you're blushing, or have spinach in your teeth. But one color-changing fish has evolved a clever way to keep watch on the parts of itself that lie outside its field of view -- by sensing light with its skin.
Published The modern sea spider had started to diversify by the Jurassic, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind.
Published New type of star gives clues to mysterious origin of magnetars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the Universe. These super-dense dead stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields can be found all over our galaxy but astronomers don't know exactly how they form. Now, using multiple telescopes around the world, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of astronomical object -- massive magnetic helium stars -- and sheds light on the origin of magnetars.
Published World's deepest coral calcification rates measured off Hawaiian Islands
(via sciencedaily.com) In the waters off the Hawaiian Islands, rates of calcification were measured in the deepest coral colonies.
Published Using supernovae to study neutrinos' strange properties
(via sciencedaily.com) In a new study, researchers have taken an important step toward understanding how exploding stars can help reveal how neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles, secretly interact with themselves.
Published Hundred-year storms? That's how long they last on Saturn
(via sciencedaily.com) Megastorms regularly appear on Saturn, marring the relatively bland surface before disappearing. But radio observations show that the storms have long-lasting effects deeper in the atmosphere, in particular in the distribution of ammonia. Using NRAO's Very Large Array, astronomers see such impacts from storms that happened hundreds of years ago. The findings will help explain the differences between storms on the gas giants Saturn and Jupiter.
Published Microplastics found embedded in tissues of whales and dolphins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Microscopic plastic particles have been found in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of the marine mammals in a graduate student's study of ocean microplastics. The presence of polymer particles and fibers in these animals suggests that microplastics can travel out of the digestive tract and lodge in the tissues.
Published Possible seasonal climate patterns on early Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New observations of mud cracks made by the Curiosity Rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the red planet may have once seen seasonal weather patterns or even flash floods.
Published Gray whales feeding along the Pacific Northwest coast are smaller than their counterparts who travel farther to forage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Gray whales that spend their summers feeding off the coast of Oregon are shorter than their counterparts who travel north to the Arctic for food, new research shows.