As scientists continue to research ways in which the oceans are changing – and what these changes mean for fish populations, three new research projects will receive funding to examine the effects of ocean acidification on fisheries, and the coastal economies that depend upon them. Ocean acidification occurs when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from [...]
To anyone who has spent a languid summer afternoon tumbling in the waves on South Beach or watched the earth’s closest star dip into the horizon at Menemsha, the ocean can seem eternal and unchanging. But scientists are increasingly discovering that human activity is transforming what was once thought to be an invulnerable resource. The [...]
Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) prefer to deposit their eggs on native salt marsh habitat but not invasive salt marsh species, beaches, or shorelines hardened by bulkheads or rip-rap, according to a recent paper by a researcher funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. NCCOS-supported research found approximately 94% of M. menidia eggs collected [...]
Skin lesions on coastal dolphins are associated with water that’s colder and has lower salinity, say researchers at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. They analyzed photographs collected during routine monitoring studies of dolphins in estuaries and coastal waters of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida and found that in all three sites, the prevalence of skin lesions [...]
The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s (NCCOS) Kasitsna Bay Laboratory helped organize and participated in the 2012 Kachemak Bay Marine Science Conference, held on March 8-10, 2012 in Homer, Alaska. The multidisciplinary conference focused on how the health and diversity of coastal resources in Kachemak Bay are critical for resilience in both natural and [...]
While climate change is often associated with global warming and rising seawater temperatures, there are other climate-related anomalies that can adversely affect marine life. From February 27 to May 26, 2011, 37 bottlenose dolphins were found dead on South Carolina beaches primarily in the central and southern sections of the state. This level of mortality [...]
NCCOS-funded research into the ecosystem effects of climate change may improve management of the commercially important shellfish populations in a warming climate. Stone crabs (Menippe mercenaria), normally found only in South Atlantic estuaries, are moving northward into the mid-Atlantic due to warming temperatures. This pole-ward range shift is predicted to increase interactions between stone crabs [...]