May 31, 2020 By Lynda Mapes Seattle Times
The coronavirus pandemic has upended and refocused orca field research in Northwest waters this season. Some scientists are beached. Others are investigating the effect on endangered southern resident orcas of suddenly much quieter home waters in the Salish Sea, the transboundary waters between the United States and Canada including Puget Sound.
May 28, 2020 Mongabay In a new study, biologists used photographic identification and satellite telemetry techniques, combined with citizen science, to record the first inter-country movement of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Southeast Asia.
May 27, 2020 By Australian Institute of Marine Science SciTechDaily
Big and strong cyclones can harm coral reefs as far as 1000 kilometers away from their paths, new research shows. A study led by Dr. Marji Puotinen from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) sounds a warning about the way strong cyclone winds build extreme seas that affect coral reefs in Australia and around the world.
May 27, 2020 By Liz Kimbrough Mongabay
European spiny lobsters create quite the rumble. By rubbing an antenna across its face, a spiny lobster can create a sound that might, under the right underwater conditions, be detectable up to 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) away. The sound, known as an antennal rasp, occurs when an extension of a lobster’s antennae moves across a rough patch under its eye. Lobsters likely make this sound for communication or to scare away predators. In a recently published study in Scientific Reports, researchers asked, how far does the sound of a rasp travel? And can these sounds be used in a non-invasive way to monitor lobster populations?
May 27, 2020 By Nina Siegal New York Times
What impact does human behavior have on the Earth’s waters? Two London-based architects, working with scientists and environmentalists, attempted to create a visual answer to that question for an art exhibition in Italy. Before the coronavirus, the 30-screen multichannel media installation was scheduled to open in March at the Ocean Space art center in the Church of San Lorenzo in Venice.