Icy continent holds climate clues
The closest most of us will get to Antarctica is nature documentaries like Frozen Planet - but the white continent's relevance to us and our future is far greater than we think. Many of the clues to climate change lie buried within Antarctica's ice, waiting to be discovered by scientists racing to learn what global warming at the poles might mean for nations at the equator.
'Tailing' spiny lobster larvae to protect them
In a new study of spiny lobsters scientists from the University of Miami and Old Dominion studied the larval dispersal of this species in the Caribbean. The goal of the study was to describe the sources, sinks, and routes connecting the Caribbean spiny lobster metapopulation. The results led the team to propose marine resource management strategies that incorporate larval connectivity and "larval lobster credits" to sustain and rebuild exploited marine populations.
Oysters could rebound more quickly with limited fishing and improved habitat
A new study shows that combining improved oyster restoration methods with limits on fishing in the upper Chesapeake could bring the oyster population back to the Bay in a much shorter period of time. The study led by Michael Wilberg of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory assessed a range of management and restoration options to see which ones would have the most likelihood of success.
How marine mammals store oxygen
Study solves the mystery of one of the most extreme adaptations in the animal kingdom: how marine mammals store enough oxygen to hold their breath for up to an hour.
Fishing ban proposed near Rockall after rare scientific finds
Fishing is expected to be banned near the Atlantic islet of Rockall after a rare methane gas vent in the seabed and two new shellfish species were discovered by British scientists. The methane, which leaks through a so-called "cold seep" vent in the ocean floor, was found last year by scientists working with the government agency Marine Scotland.