(Natural News) Some of the largest living animals in the world dwell exclusively in the polar seas and the deepest parts of the oceans. Blue whales, colossal squid, lion’s mane jellyfish, and other leviathans may have attained and maintained their massive sizes thanks to a combination of extremely slow metabolic processes and oxygen availability in polar […]

(Natural News) Vertebrates are not the only marine organisms that accidentally gulp down mouthfuls of the growing number of microplastics in the ocean. Invertebrates like corals and sea anemones also ingest tiny pieces of plastic that they have mistaken for their prey. In a study supported by the Carnegie Institution for Science (Carnegie), researchers learned that […]

(Natural News) Given its gelatinous body, a primitive skeleton, and a mouth ringed by 18 tentacles, the fossil of Daihua sanqiong might be mistaken for a sea monster – were it not for its small size. Its discoverers believe the extinct animal to be an ancestor of comb jellies. D. sanqiong lived 518 million years ago […]

(Natural News) Scientists discovered a mysterious disease that has been killing the already dwindling coral reefs in the Lower Florida Keys. The scientists tried to prevent the outbreak from spreading for four years by removing the sick corals and setting underwater “fire breaks.” Researchers from Florida Keys Community College, working with state and federal investigators, […]

(Natural News) Have you seen the viral video of a sea turtle that had a plastic straw stuck in its nostril? The heartbreaking video sparked a global movement of banning plastic straws and replacing them with eco-friendly, reusable versions such as bamboo or stainless steel drink straws. It may be a step toward the right […]

(Natural News) Seagrasses are marine plants that make up huge meadows in shallow seas on all continents, except Antarctica. These aquatic plants may help boost the productivity of the world’s fisheries, suggests new research published in Conservation Letters. The study, “Seagrass meadows support global fisheries production,” was a collaboration between Dr. Leanne Cullen-Unsworth of Cardiff University and Dr. Lina Mtwana Nordlund of Stockholm […]

(Natural News) Aside from boats, do other human activities bother marine life? According to a study, the answer is a resounding yes. Christine Erbe, director of the Centre for Marine Science & Technology at Curtin University, talked about her work, which studied the influence of human-generated underwater noise on aquatic life. Erbe, who studies the major contributors of […]

(Natural News) Eight years have passed since the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010. But oil continues to persist in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A study warned that this water pollution is caused by chemical reactions in the oil due to exposure to sunlight, an article on Science News reported. The disaster was the biggest marine […]

(Natural News) The inhabitants of the ocean can be just as mysterious and fascinating as their home. Invertebrates called pyrosomes, for example, secrete sheets of mucus that they use as a net to catch their food. Pyrosomes belong to a group of marine organisms that Kelly Sutherland, assistant professor of biology at the University of […]

(Natural News) It is well-known that plastic contributes a great deal to worldwide pollution problems, not just on land but also in the world’s seas and oceans. Now a team of researchers has revealed that the problem of plastic pollution in Earth’s bodies of water may be much worse than previously thought. To be more […]