From the moment they are born, sea turtles fight to survive. Buried alive, they dig themselves out and evade hungry crabs and birds as they crawl to the ocean, where they begin a long and treacherous migration. One out of 1,000 will survive into adulthood. And those that do will bear a toxic burden. Scientists [...]
The mysterious red tide toxin that has killed a record number of manatees and brought countless dead fish to Southwest Florida beaches over the past few months could finally have an explanation: The algae that produce the toxin are hungry. A significant new study of the algae, Karenia Brevis (sic), suggests that the organisms release [...]
For those who live and play on the shores of Lake Erie, the spring rains that will begin falling here soon are less a blessing than a portent. They could threaten the very future of the lake itself. Lake Erie is sick. A thick and growing coat of toxic algae appears each summer, so vast [...]
Scientists are developing proposals for dealing with the worsening problem of harmful algae in Lake Erie. Experts from the U.S. and Canada met Monday and Tuesday in Windsor, Ontario, to discuss findings from research into blue-green algae blooms on the lake. They are toxic and have caused animal deaths. The scientists are examining sources of [...]
As part of a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science quantified pollutants that could contaminate the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The agencies’ researchers analyzed water samples from test wells around a nearby farm and sites inside the reserve to look for the [...]
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 [...]
A recently published paper in the journal Tropical Conservation Science presents an environmental baseline of surface water nutrient conditions for lagoons and nearshore waters of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Researchers for the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science found that the lagoons on the island had higher levels of nutrients than water offshore. Somewhat unexpectedly, however, [...]
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 [...]