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This month, the Shark Alliance is welcoming a suite of opportunities to secure a brighter future for beleaguered shark species, particularly those within Europe. Through deliberation of EU proposals and overlapping international discussion of global action, these exceptionally vulnerable animals are at last getting some long overdue attention
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Over $80,000 in prizes up for grabs as Wetpixel & DivePhotoGuide host the annual international competitions at Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia
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The 16 big flasks of bubbling bright green liquids in Roger Ruan's laboratory at the University of Minnesota are part of a new boom in renewable energy research. Driven by renewed investment as oil prices push $100 a barrel, Dr. Ruan and scores of scientists around the world are racing to turn algae into a commercially viable energy source
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A female beluga whale that had fallen ill at an Atlanta aquarium, died early Saturday morning, aquarium officials said. The female whale, Marina, died about 2 a.m. Saturday, said Jeff Swanagan, the president and executive director of the Georgia Aquarium, touted as the world's largest. "She was showing increased disorientation in her swimming behavior. Then she stopped swimming and stopped breathing," he said. Officials do not know why the whale died. Swanagan said the aquarium would conduct a necropsy on Saturday to determine the cause of the whale's death, focusing on the whale's central nervous system. The whale had stopped eating on Nov. 22 and had become disoriented, injuring her chin. She had been kept under 24-hour watch by aquarium staff and veternarians. About 16 staff members and volunteers were in her pool when she died, he said
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The results of the 45th Annual Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society were posted online last week. Congratulations to Mirko Zanni for snagging Best of Show
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About 2,500 penguins en route to their Antarctic mating grounds could be sickened by a diesel fuel spill from a Canadian cruise ship that struck an iceberg and sank last week. A marine biologist says areas surrounding the almost two kilometre-long spill site include breeding grounds for Antarctic and Adelia penguins, and the largest mating colony for Papua penguins. Maria Jose Rosello, a Chilean marine biologist, says: "The danger is that this fuel spill will impede the journey that species like Papua penguins make at this time of year. Rosello says the area is also home to seals, petrels and other sea birds
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US lawmakers urged Japan to limit its whale hunt and use other, non-lethal means to conduct scientific research on whales. Democratic and Republican senators sent a letter Thursday to Japan's ambassador in Washington asking the country to "reconsider its impending hunt of approximately 1 000 whales, including fin and protected humpback whales
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The United Nations watchdog on endangered species said Friday it is launching a database to track the international trade in caviar and tackle its illegal trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species said the database will record details of all permits and certificates that authorize trade in caviar, and will help detect and deter fraudulent applications
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Finally, some good news about the prospects of coral reefs in the age of climate change. According to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, corals may actually survive rising ocean temperatures in 'tough love' seas with wide-ranging temperatures. Researchers discovered that coral reefs in sites with varying seasonal temperatures are more likely to survive the 'hot pulses' of Climate Change. Conversely, reefs living in environments with stable but higher temperatures are more susceptible to "bleaching," a global phenomenon where beneficial algae are "evicted" by corals, ultimately leading to the reef's demise
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A fossilized shark that swallowed a crocodile-like amphibian that, in turn, had gobbled up a fish has now been unearthed. This exceptional find marks the first time scientists have found direct evidence of such a complex, extinct food chain. In the past, researchers had uncovered evidence of what past species ate based on the fossilized contents of their guts or droppings. For instance, fossilized dung, or "coprolites," have revealed some dinosaurs ate grass
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