Achilles Tang

Researchers at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center are finding trace radiocarbon (C-14) from Cold War nuclear bombs in the ear bones of fish, and turning this artifact of nuclear testing into a timestamp for determining fish ages. View the full article

NOAA Fisheries Service is looking at how marine mammals react to underwater sound. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause certain marine mammals to strand and ultimately die. Some of these strandings are associated with mid-frequency active military sonar, and most have involved beaked whales; the dominant species is Cuvier's beaked whale, but the genus Mesoplodon has also been involved. View the full article

Biologists urge that interactions among species, the effects of climate change, and the effects of human impacts such as harvesting are among the factors that need to be considered in moving toward an ecosystem-based fishery management plan. Conventional fishery management practices concentrate on individual species rather than a holistic approach that looks at the bigger picture. View the full article

A NOAA scientist reported on a previously unrecognized threat to human health from a ubiquitous class of air pollutants. He reported on how one type of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a compound found in oil, damaged the developing hearts of Pacific herring and pink salmon embryos after the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989. View the full article

While most people understand the dangers of flushing toxic chemicals into the ecosystem through municipal sewer systems, one potentially devastating threat to wild fish populations comes from an unlikely source: estrogen. After an exhaustive seven-year research effort, Canadian biologists found that miniscule amounts of estrogen present in municipal wastewater discharges can decimate wild fish populations living downstream. View the full article

Substances that we use everyday are turning up in our lakes, rivers and ocean, where they can impact aquatic life and possibly ourselves. Chemicals are affecting aquatic environments and may be coming back to haunt us in unanticipated ways. Researchers are finding that although the effects of a single chemical may not be deadly, combinations of chemicals in our environment can be more potent. Pesticides are regulated one by one, but in the environment they can mix with other pesticides and such mixtures are not regulated. View the full article

Putting theory into practice to manage complex and closely linked social and ecological systems along our coasts is a challenge, but one NOAA researcher says can be addressed by a new approach to managing the value of our ocean resources. Marine biologists focused on Dungeness crab harvests and the distribution of eelgrass, which sequesters or stores carbon from greenhouse emissions, as models to illustrate how changes in nearshore habitats and various management scenarios can affect these ecosystem services. View the full article

Hunted to near extinction, sea otters are making a steady comeback along the Pacific coast. Their reintroduction, however, is expected to reduce the numbers of several key species of commercially valuable shellfish dramatically, such as sea urchins and geoducks. View the full article

Images of dolphins and turtles ensnared in tuna nets are a heart-wrenching reminder of the impact of fisheries on ocean bio-diversity. Known in fisheries science as 'by-catch,' this killing of non-target species is a complex problem that has resisted easy answers. One possible solution to fisheries bycatch involves digital maps and mathematical analysis to visualize and better understand the location of the most vulnerable marine habitats. View the full article

Bottom trawling, an industrial fishing method that drags large, heavy nets across the seafloor stirs up huge, billowing plumes of sediment on shallow seafloors that can be seen from space. As a result of scientific studies showing that bottom trawling kills vast numbers of corals, sponges, fishes and other animals, bottom trawling has been banned in a growing number of places in recent years. Now satellite images show that spreading clouds of mud remain suspended in the sea long after the trawler has passed. View the full article

The extreme cold and environmental conditions of past Ice Ages have been even more severe than seen today and changed life at the Antarctic, forcing the migration of many animals such as penguins, whales and seals, researchers argue. Understanding the changes of the past may help scientists to determine how the anticipated temperature increases of the future will work to further transform this continent. View the full article

This month, our readers give tips on choosing a reputable local fish store. View the full article

Check to see if an event is happening in your area! View the full article

Hobbyists using a light-measuring device for the first time will probably be surprised at how rapidly the light field can change within an aquarium. View the full article

Jake continues his series on Atlantic stony corals. View the full article

The following article will examine some husbandry techniques for this exotic coral. View the full article

Too often marine macro algae are only considered to be part of an aquarium's filtration system. View the full article

Chemistry Department, The Pennsylvania State University. In Part 2, the authors will discuss the results of their research and make some recommendations to the aquarist on its usage. View the full article

I've often been asked what is a science, or what is the scientific method? View the full article

Always enjoyed your field reports,arg! Keep it up! You are one really lucky dude to be able to travel so much!

The cultivation of shrimp and fish in tropical coastal areas is often described as an environmentally friendly way to alleviate poverty, but in fact this cultivation has negative consequences for both the local population and the environment. Policies for sustainable development can go so wrong. View the full article

A review of all available ocean data records concludes that the low-oxygen events which have plagued the Pacific Northwest coast since 2002 are unprecedented in the five decades prior to that, and may well be linked to the stronger, persistent winds that are expected to occur with global warming. In a new study in Science, researchers outline a "potential for rapid reorganization" in basic marine ecosystems and the climatic forces that drive them, and suggest that these low-oxygen, or "hypoxic" events are now more likely to be the rule rather than the exception. View the full article

The first global map of human influences on marine ecosystems has been constructed by a team of researchers, including a Stanford University scientist among the principal investigators, by gathering and interpreting massive amounts of data from the professional literature and from researchers around the world. This study suggests that about 41 percent of oceans bear a serious human "footprint " and that few blue spots on our planet are likely pristine. View the full article

New research shows that the second most diverse group of hard corals first evolved in the deep sea, and not in shallow waters. This finding contradicts a long-established theory suggesting that corals evolved in shallow water before migrating into deeper habitats. Radiocarbon dating shows that some species have life spans of over 4000 years. View the full article

The small Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has become a global conservation leader by establishing the world's largest marine protected area -- a California-sized ocean wilderness of pristine coral reefs and rich fish populations threatened by over-fishing and climate change. View the full article