The leading world venue for showcasing the latest research on oceans, coasts and lakes is the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Aquatic Sciences Meeting. The research programs sponsored by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) lead management solutions for harmful algae, hypoxia and regional ecosystem-scale research. At the [...]
The U.S. benefits from a wealth of resources and activities that depend on healthy coastal habitats. However, these habitats are being degraded by extensive hardening of shorelines due to climate-driven sea level rise, increasing shoreline development, land use changes in coastal watersheds, pollution, and invasions of non-native species. In the Mid-Atlantic region alone, coastal development [...]
A recently published research paper describes the minimum requirements for an effective harmful algal bloom (HAB) observing system for the U.S. west coast to mitigate HAB impacts. HAB observing systems provide early warning and forecasting of HAB events to guide decisions to close shellfish harvesting to protect human health, avoid mortality of protected species, and encourage aquaculture [...]
The threat of sea level rise and storminess poses many management challenges in North Carolina due to low elevation, extensive barrier islands and vulnerability to coastal storms. The long-term North Carolina Sea Level Rise Project, part of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise (EESLR) program, has developed modeling and [...]
NOAA Fisheries now allows clam harvests in an area of Georges Bank off limits for the last 22 years to protect people from getting ill from algae toxins. Their decision centers on a two-part testing protocol that commercial fishermen and labs will use before bringing a catch to market. Once the haul arrives at the dock, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Teaching college undergraduates introductory biology includes helping students understand the relationships between genes, mutations, and the environment interacting together as biological evolution. A complete understanding of evolution requires knowledge that spans many biological sub-disciplines including genetics, cell biology and ecology. A group of professors at Michigan State University developed case studies for teaching evolution. These cases, [...]