Category: Sea Life

COVID-19 Is Not All Good for Wildlife

By on

May 6, 2020 By Brian Owens Hakai Magazine
Deer in Japanese subways, goats taking over a Welsh village. Since most people started staying at home to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, the internet has been full of stories about how “nature is healing”; how the temporary absence of humans is giving wildlife the time and space to roam. So it’s logical to assume that the closure of many beaches around the world would be a great benefit to nesting sea turtles. But the reality is more complicated.

Shedding New Light on the Nitrogen Cycle in the Dark Ocean

By on

May 6, 2020 By Jon Kelvey Eos
Every year, the Mississippi River dumps around 1.4 million metric tons of nitrogen into the Gulf of Mexico, much of it runoff from agricultural fertilizer. This nitrogen can lead to algal blooms, which in turn deplete oxygen concentrations in the water, creating hypoxic dead zones. The nitrogen cycle is a phenomenon environmental scientists would really like to understand better.

Profile: Derek Burkholder, Sea Turtle & Shark Scientist

By on

In our next Profile we interview Dr. Derek Burkholder. Derek talks to us about his journey from growing up in Michigan to studying sharks and sea turtles in Florida where he teaches at Nova Southeastern University and oversees a sea turtle conservation program and marine environmental education center. We ask him how coronavirus has affected his research and what brings him hope for the future of the ocean.

Opinion: Ocean Wastelands

By on

May 5, 2020 By Jordi Boada oceanographic
Deserts are among the most impressive landscapes on earth. The loneliness and vastness of terrestrial deserts have attracted explorers since ancient times, succumbing to their bleakness. But I never imagined deserts like this could exist underneath the surface of the ocean.

As COVID-19 Batters Fishery, Indonesia’s Sharks Get a Respite

By on

May 4, 2020 By Basten Gokkon Mongabay
Conservationists see an opportunity to strengthen oversight of the shark trade in Indonesia as fishing activity grinds to a halt amid the COVID-19 outbreak. West Nusa Tenggara province, home to one of the world’s biggest shark and ray markets, saw its trade in the species in the first quarter of 2020 drop by 68% from a year earlier, to less than 1,900 kilograms (4,200 pounds). Much of the shark and ray products from the province are exported to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S. and elsewhere.