Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex, paralysing their larger mates to avoid being eaten, new research has found. The blue-lined octopus is a tiny, highly dangerous cephalopod found commonly in shallow reefs and tide pools. One of the four species of blue-ringed octopus, it uses an extremely potent neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin – […]
Tag: sea turtles
Juvenile sea turtles don’t just drift—they swim
Scientists don’t have much insight into what sea turtles do in their early lives once they’ve hatched on land and ventured out into the ocean. But researchers looking at dispersal movements of the young turtles found evidence of them being active swimmers rather than passive drifters. In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal […]
Thousands Of Turtles Washed Up Dead On Indian Coastline
Over a thousand olive ridley sea turtles have mysteriously washed up along the shores of Tamil Nadu, India, sending shockwaves through conservation communities. This once-endangered species, known for gathering in large numbers during breeding season, has long been considered a symbol of successful wildlife protection efforts. But this grim discovery suggests something has gone terribly […]
Atlantic puffins are perilously attracted to artificial light, new study shows
As the long summer days of August turn into nights, a few dozen volunteers gather in the small community of Witless Bay, a tiny town on the Atlantic coast about a half-hour’s drive south of St. John’s, capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. After a briefing by a coordinator from conservation NGO […]
‘They’re stuck’: Cape Cod seeing more whale, turtle and dolphin strandings
While Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is known as a popular vacation destination in the north-east US, it has built a reputation for an entirely different reason this year: animal strandings. Dolphins, whales, seals and turtles are turning up in large numbers on the beaches of the famous peninsula in a phenomenon that has experts scrambling to […]
Endangered Sea Turtle Completes Incredible 5,000-Mile Journey Back to Gulf of Mexico
A rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, one of the smallest and most endangered sea turtles, recently completed a remarkable return to the Gulf of Mexico after being found thousands of miles away in Europe. This resilient turtle, affectionately named Boeier after the boat that rescued her, had an unexpected adventure that spanned over 5,000 miles […]
Local groups drive creation of new Puerto Rico marine protected area
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico recently gained a new marine protected area off the island’s central north coast. The MPA, named Jardines Submarinos de Vega Baja y Manatí or the Vega Baja and Manatí Underwater Gardens, spans 202 square kilometers (77 square miles) and is the culmination of a 16-year effort by a coalition […]
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
Sea turtles were already navigating the oceans when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. But these ancient creatures face an uncertain future. All seven sea turtle species are currently endangered or threatened, notes Christine Figgener, a German-born conservation biologist who has been working in Costa Rica for the past 16 years. The number of nesting females on […]