Mother Sea Turtles Might Be Sneakier Than They Look

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May 19, 2020 By David Waldstein The New York Times
They found that the turtles are actually creating decoy nests designed to fool predators like mongooses, dogs and wild pigs, and prevent them from sniffing out the real nests and devouring their eggs. Their findings challenge earlier theories that the turtles were disguising their nests and, in some cases, easing hatchlings’ trips to the water.

Economists Put a Price Tag on Living Whales in Brazil: $82 Billion

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May 18, 2020 By Elizabeth Claire Alberts Mongabay
Each winter, southern right whales and humpback whales migrate to the waters off Brazil to feed on krill and phytoplankton, and to give birth to their young among the country’s rich coral reefs. These whales attract thousands of tourists, and their money, to Brazil. A whale’s capacity to bring tourist dollars into Brazil, in addition to its ability to regulate the environment and enhance fisheries, is worth a lot, according to a group of economists. Now, they’ve put a figure on it: $82 billion.

Looking More Deeply Into the Past to Gauge the Planet’s Future

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May 18, 2020 By James Dinneen Undark
In 1995, biologist Daniel Pauly made a shrewd observation: Scientists in his field had forgotten about the past. Pauly, who studied commercial fishing at the University of British Columbia, observed that fisheries scientists tended to measure change in the abundance and species composition of the fish stocks they studied relative to what they were like at the beginning of their careers. As fish stocks declined, each new generation of scientists generally accepted the new normal as the natural state of things.