Missed out on October 2022’s ocean news? Here’s a glimpse into what went down in Davy Jones’ Locker this month

Sections

Animals and Plants
Climate Crisis
Fisheries and Aquaculture
Marine Technology
People and the Sea
Other

Animals and Plants

• NOAA reports the eastern North Pacific grey whale population is continuing to decline. The population is now down 38 percent from its peak in 2015 and 2016.
  
  

• Catch and release may not be all that great for blue and tiger sharks. Researchers found blue and tiger sharks experience rapid increases in their body temperature, and take an average of 40-minutes to cool back down. The researchers note they are unsure what the longer-term impact on the sharks are.
  
  

• Blue whales track upwelling plumes, which are typically filled with tasty prey with the help of the wind.
  
  

• In Hawai‘i, Montipora capitata (rice coral) are swapping their algal symbionts to increase resilience to thermal stress.
  
  

• Researchers have explored how seven reef-building coral species in the Caribbean respond to white plague disease, providing insight into processes involved in lesion progression and species’ dynamics that lead to differences in disease outcome.
  
  

• More agal-eating fish can help protect coral reefs… right? New research suggests that solely protecting herbivores like parrotfish isn’t going to cut it.
  
  

• The colour patterns of amenonefish influence their aggressive behavior and possibly determine the color patterns of cohabitating fish.
  
  

• Helicopter and drone pilot Christiaan Stopforth captured the first direct evidence of orcas killing white sharks in South Africawith some very impressive video footage.
  
  

• A new analysis of old data suggests that the endangered erect-crested penguin’s bizarre nesting habits – rejecting the first egg they lay– is because they can’t feed two chicks, and the second, larger egg has a better chance of success.
  
  

• Research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa reveals that, under a worst-case scenario, half of coral reef ecosystems worldwide will permanently face unsuitable conditionsin just a dozen years.
  
  

• It’s a tough life for ocean bacteria known to absorb carbon. When they’re simultaneously infected by viruses and face attack from nearby predators, they need to up their carbon absorbtion.
  
  

• Researchers are creating the ” EcoOmics” dataset, which they hope will help with Arctic Ocean conservation, support bioprospecting to tackle the shortage of antibiotics and antiviral medication, as well as reveal evidence of novel biology that might influence our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth.
  
  

• Green donuts in the Great Barrier Reef? Scientists have been busy mapping and sampling these Halimeda bioherms, one of the poorest understood parts of the reef.
  
  

• More cruise ship activity means fewer Hector’s dolphins in Akaroa Harbor.
  
  

Climate Crisis

• Relying on septic systems? New research suggests rising sea levels is bad news for you.
  
  

• Japan is more likely to see extreme ocean warming, thanks to the climate crisis.
  
  

• Researchers have found a correlation between Arctic meltwater and changing ocean chemistry. Think the melting ice may be contributing to ocean acidifcation in the region.
  
  

• The sea is heating up and for many marine species that means shrinking habitat.
  
  

• Thanks to ocean currents the Galápagos Islands are staying cool and getting colder.
  
  

• New research suggests predictions of the impact of melting on Greenland tidewater glacier speeds could be incorrect, with potentially positive news in terms of sea-level-rise implications in the short term.
  
  

• Drs Sonja Klinsky and Terre Satterfield discuss how using the ocean to fight climate change raises serious environmental justice and technical questions.
  
  

Fisheries and Aquaculture

• Word Trade Organisation members have been meeting again to discuss tackling harmful fisheries subsidies in a “second wave” negotiation.
  
  

• NAFO have announced a ban on catching or retaining Greenland sharks in international waters.
  
  

• A new economic report shows how the EU fisheries fleet is being affected by high fuel prices resulting from the war in Ukraine.
  
  

• Good news from the Baltic. Ecosystem-based fisheries management is restoring western Baltic fish stocks.
  
  

• Jacks and barracuda in Heʻeia fishpond were found to feed on Australian mullet, an invasive species introduced to Oahu waters in the 1950s.
  
  

• A new study has found that no-fishing zones can lead to the recovery and spillover of a migratory species like bigeye tuna, creating increased catch rates.
  
  

• At Vonavona Lagoon in the Solomon Islands, shark and turtle fisheries, conducted by outsiders, seems to be on the rise.
  
  

Marine Technology

• If you haven’t already met FathomNet, you might want to take a peak. It’s an open-source image database that uses state-of-the-art data processing algorithms to help process the backlog of visual data.
  
  

• There’s now subsea technologies that can repair damaged pipelines too far down for divers to reach themselves.
  
  

• Congratulations to chemistry undergrad Eleanor Mackintosh (University of Surrey) for their plastic-collecting Robo-fishwhich won the University of Surrey’s Natural Robots Contest.
  
  

• Want to monitor sea turtle nest activity? Say hello to TurtleSense!
  
  

• NASA’s S-MODE field campaign is under way. For 28 days, he team will deploy a new generation of tools to observe whirlpools, currents, and other dynamics at the air-sea boundary new generation of tools to observe whirlpools, currents, and other dynamics at the air-sea boundary. The goal: to understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of nutrients and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth’s climate.
  
  

People and the Sea

• The number of people living in coastal areas by coral reefs has risen by 250 million since 2000, and rates are going up in these areas quicker than global averages.
  
  

• Underwater archaeologists are searching for a series of priceless bronze statues lost thousands of years ago in the Adriatic Sea during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan (98 BC to 117 AD).
  
  

• In an epically long dive, Mohamed Zein spent 24 hour under the sea. What did he spend his time doing? Picking waste up off the sea floor.
  
  

• You really should take a little bit of time to see these images that won the 2022 Ocean Photographer of the Year Awards.
  
  

• Researchers have discovered that an 80 year old historic World War II shipwreck is still influencing the microbiology and geochemistry of the ocean floor where it rests.
  
  

• All that lovely plastic pollution could be contributing to ocean acidification.
  
  

• Drs Lyla Mehta, D Parthasarathy, and Shibaji Bose argue that in order for Mumbai to tackle climate change and human disturbance, they should be listening more to fisheries communities.
  
  

Other

• What triggered whale extinctions seven million years ago? According to one study, a major increase in volcanism in the Andes may have caused an explosion of nutrients in the ocean, creating toxic algal blooms that contributed to the demise of ancient marine mammals.
  
  

• How much oil is too much for seabirds? New research suggests crude oil on the water surface, less than one percent of the thickness of a hair, is sufficient to damage seabird feathers.
  
  

• Subtropical gyre currents may not deliver enough nutrients to support the apparently healthy populations of phytoplankton living inside the gyres. Turns out currents aren’t the only nutrient-delivery system. Eddies swirling at the edge of gyres pull in nutrients from outside the gyre, and push them into the gyre’s centre, where the phytoplankton can feast upon them.
  
  

• Who was a specialist feeder? Early Jurassic ichthyosaur juvenile, that’s who!
  
  

• You may have heard that marine heatwaves are bad news for coral reefs, but new research suggests abnormally cold sea temperatures can be just as damaging.
  
  

• NTU Singapore is set to increase maritime R&D, with a S$12 million funding awardfrom the Singapore Maritime Institute.
  
  

• Mathematicians think the secret to drag reduction could partially lie in fish slime.
  
  

• While heatwaves have been striking across the northern hemisphere this summer, new research shows how marine heatwaves have increased since 1850.
  
  

• Marine Regions has launched a brand new dataset: the Extended Continental Shelves.
  
  

• Canadians can say hello to the Vincent Massey, the newest icebreaker in the Canadian Coast Guard fleet
  
  

• The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition have made an urgent call for governments to adopt Antarctic wildlife protection measures.
  
  

• The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is getting ready for a new research vessel! The Imua will be used for research as well as learning experiences.
  
  

• Should the ocean be considered a living being, worthy of care and healing, as a whole? Three scientist make the case for why we should be doing just that.
  
  

• This month saw the 1st Ocean Partnership Forum between the EU and Canada. Delegates discussed matters such as climate change, marine litter, and underwater noise.