News and Features by Research Area or Topic
Posted on February 14th, 2013 in Coastal Pollution, Invasive Species, News Clips
Invasive species are nothing new. Neither is eating them, as anyone who’s eaten Cambodian water spinach — much of it grown here in Houston — will tell you. But bringing in water spinach from Cambodia and growing it for profit (despite its status over here as a noxious weed) is entirely different from eating species [...]
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Posted on February 4th, 2013 in Ecosystem Management, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning, News Clips, Outreach
A new NOAA research report finds that both fish populations and commercial and recreational anglers have benefited from “no-take” protections in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The report, “An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-take Reserves,” is the first to [...]
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Posted on January 14th, 2013 in Coastal Pollution, Human Health, News Clips, Pathogens & Microbes
A recent study demonstrates a new approach that may allow scientists to better approximate the risks for bacteria to develop resistance to different families of antibiotics. In the study, conducted by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, resistance genes from E. [...]
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Posted on January 13th, 2013 in Coastal Pollution, Invasive Species, News Clips
While fishing in about 10 feet of water on the hard-bottom reef patches just 200 yards from shore near the Ritz Carlton, Mike Damanski confirmed the inevitable when something unexpected showed up on the end of his line. Damanski, who was out fishing with his mom and some friends for his birthday last week, landed [...]
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Posted on December 20th, 2012 in Chemical Contaminants, Coastal Pollution, Forecasting, Harmful Algal Blooms, News Clips
Back in July, scientists from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) issued the first-ever seasonal harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecast for western Lake Erie at a press event at Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory. Now, with the 2012 HABs season over, Dr. Jeff Reutter reflects on the successful prediction and looks ahead [...]
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Posted on December 2nd, 2012 in Coastal Pollution, Ecological Forecasts & Tools, Hypoxia & Eutrophication, News Clips
As a student in Port Aransas, Nancy Rabalais never had money, but she always had the sea. “Fish and oysters, crabs — whatever we needed we could always get something to eat somehow,” she said. “Plus it was fun to get them.” Her lifelong affinity and stewardship for the marine environment was recognized this fall [...]
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Posted on November 29th, 2012 in Chemical Contaminants, Coastal Pollution, Human Health, News Clips
Some homes in the United States still teem with potentially dangerous chemicals that were banned years ago, researchers have found. And they’re coming from the most comfortable seat in the house. For example, the flame retardant PentaBDE, which belongs to a group of compounds called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and was used to make sofas [...]
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Posted on November 28th, 2012 in Chemical Contaminants, Climate Impacts, Coastal Pollution, Hypoxia & Eutrophication, News Clips, Ocean Acidification, Pathogens & Microbes, Sponsored Research
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s DOOM lab (Dissolved Oxygen and Oyster Mortality) is examining how oysters respond to sudden drops in oxygen levels in shallow parts of the Chesapeake Bay at night. These fluctuations are partially natural, but appear to be made worse by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Oxygen depletion may make oysters more susceptible [...]
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