Scientists have launched an interactive global map to show the migratory patterns of more than 100 marine species in an effort to protect at-risk wildlife. New models were developed by The University of Queensland and Duke University scientists to be part of the Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean (MiCO) database which aims to bridge…
In what researchers describe as a very rare phenomenon, large numbers of fruits and seeds from Posidonia oceanica, the higher plants that are vital for the health of the seas, have been washing ashore across Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterranean, signaling that this important and endangered seagrass has been in full “bloom.”…
Artisanal fishers can be almost as accurate as satellite data when it comes to their awareness of features that can be found in the marine environment, a new study has shown. Published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, the research set out to establish the value of local ecological knowledge (LEK) and its ability to…
This chapter explores the growing threats faced by top predators in the Mediterranean Sea. Climate change, overfishing, and plastic pollution may affect their migration patterns and lead them to abandon established reproduction areas. For instance, tuna might not find its spawning grounds due to warmer water, sea turtles might fight against plastic debris to lay…
The eastern Mediterranean Sea has suffered severe impacts from climate change, causing the decline of native biodiversity. Based on a global systematic review, we found that climate change has been the main driver of local extinctions globally since the 1990s; the eastern Mediterranean is flagged as an extinction hotspot. This region is also a bioinvasions…
Environmental lawyers say that the new concessions threaten endangered species in the biodiversity-rich Hellenic Trench. Greece is allowing US fossil fuel giant Chevron to drill next to a protected coastal area, sparking a legal complaint from green NGOs. The government announced in January that it would be opening up new areas for offshore oil and…
There is a critical link between reduced river flow into the Mediterranean and the health of the Mediterranean marine ecosystems. New research underscores the urgency of integrating water resource management to properly safeguard the rich biodiversity of seas and ocean and the economies it supports. Climate change impacts such as more frequent and more severe…
While human-made sources of methane are well-studied, natural sources like coastal waters remain less understood. These shallow, dynamic ecosystems are rich in methane, and because the water is not very deep, methane-eating microbes (methanotrophs) have little time to break it down before it escapes into the atmosphere. The study investigated three regions: the Doggerbank seep…
Insights from the First Global Appraisal of Life Below the Earth’s Surface Which microbes thrive below us in darkness – in gold mines, in aquifers, in deep boreholes in the seafloor – and how do they compare to the microbiomes that envelop the Earth’s surfaces, on land and sea? The first global study to embrace…
Photo Credit: iStock Officials say mussel farming in Greece is close to collapsing as record-warm water temperatures take a toll on the industry. Our overheating planet has farmers worried about how they will provide for their families. What’s happening? The latest report by the National Centers for Environmental Information suggests this year is a virtual…