Off the coast of southeastern China, one particular fish species is booming: the oddly named Bombay duck, a long, slim fish with a distinctive, gaping jaw and a texture like jelly. When research ships trawl the seafloor off that coast, they now catch upwards of 440 pounds of the gelatinous fish per hour — a […]
Tag: ocean acidification
Emperor penguins listed as endangered by US because of climate crisis
The emperor penguin, the tallest and bulkiest of all the world’s penguins, has been officially declared a threatened species by the US government due to the existential risk posed to the birds by the climate crisis. The penguins, which are endemic to Antarctica, face almost complete annihilation from the loss of sea ice over the […]
How Fishing May Contribute to Climate Change
From coral bleaching to ocean acidification, there is lots of discussion about how the climate crisis harms marine life. But is it possible that the loss of undersea animals could actually worsen the impacts of climate change? A study published in Science Advances last year found that the amount of carbon sequestered as fish dung […]
California Pioneers a New Way to Manage Fish for Birds
This month marks the beginning of a sea change for California’s fisheries and the birds that rely on them. On March 1, the state of California finalized a new set of regulations protecting Pacific herring, a critical forage fish for waterbirds on the Pacific Flyway. Forage fish are tiny, numerous fish that serve as food […]
King Tides Are a Sign of the Future for Oregon’s Coast
With the king tides in Oregon this month, we are getting a preview of the rising sea levels that climate change will bring to the Oregon Coast. These extremely high tides – which are 2 to 4 feet higher than normal – currently only occur a couple times a year when the moon is closest […]
In 45 years, we have killed 60% of Earth’s wildlife
Humans have been around for more than 2 million years. But in the last 44 years, we have achieved what we haven’t in all this while: a mass annihilation of our fellow earthlings. Between 1970 and 2014, Earth lost nearly 60% decline of its mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, almost all of it due […]
Rare Footage Captures a Baby Humpback Whale Moments After Birth
A researcher studying humpback whales off the coast of Maui was treated to a rare surprise after spotting a newborn humpback whale who was barely moments old. It’s the closest Lars Bejder has been to a live birth of a humpback whale in 25 years, and lucky for us he captured it on footage. Bejder, […]
Could we set aside half the Earth for nature?
As of today, the only place in the universe where we are certain life exists is on our little home, the third planet from the sun. But also as of today, species on Earth are winking out at rates likely not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs. If we don’t change our ways, we […]