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Public Release: 23-May-2013
Scientists announce top 10 new species An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. A global committee of taxonomists -- scientists responsible for species exploration and classification -- announced its list of top 10 species from 2012 today, May 23. Contact: Sandra Leander
Public Release: 22-May-2013
 Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentThinking 'big' may not be best approach to saving large-river fish Large-river specialist fishes -- from giant species like paddlefish and blue catfish, to tiny crystal darters and silver chub -- are in danger, but researchers say there is greater hope to save them if major tributaries identified in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study become a focus of conservation efforts. Contact: Brenda Pracheil
Public Release: 22-May-2013
Frontiers in Neural CircuitsEyes on the prey For most animal species, moving objects play a major role in the processing of sensory impressions in the brain, as they often signal the presence of a welcome prey or an imminent threat. This is also true of the zebrafish larva, which has to react to the movements of its prey. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have investigated how the brain uses the information from the visual system for the execution of quicker movements. Contact: Johann H. Bollmann
Public Release: 21-May-2013
Marine Mammal ScienceStudy reveals how fishing gear can cause slow death of whales Using a "patient monitoring" device attached to a whale entangled in fishing gear, scientists showed for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale's diving and swimming behavior. The monitoring revealed how fishing gear hinders whales' ability to eat and migrate, depletes their energy as they drag gear for months or years, and can result in a slow death. Contact: Media Relations Office
Public Release: 21-May-2013
Environmental Science & TechnologyGoing green: Nation equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs. For the best places to produce algae for fuel, think hot, humid and wet. Especially promising are the Gulf Coast and the Southeastern seaboard. 
US Department of Energy
Contact: Tom Rickey
Public Release: 20-May-2013
Marine Ecology Progress SeriesAbundance and distribution of Hawaiian coral species predicted by model Researchers from the University of Hawaii, Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology developed species distribution models of the six dominant Hawaiian coral species around the main Hawaiian Islands, including two species currently under consideration as threatened or endangered.
National Marine Sanctuary Program, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation
Contact: Marcie Grabowski
Public Release: 20-May-2013
Nature GeoscienceAmazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest A study published this week in Nature Geoscience shows that woody plant matter is almost completely digested by bacteria living in the Amazon River, and that this tough stuff plays a major part in fueling the river's breath.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Science Foundation, Research Council for the State of Sao Paolo
Contact: Hannah Hickey
Public Release: 19-May-2013
Fish and FisheriesWhy we need to put the fish back into fisheries Overfishing has reduced fish populations and biodiversity across much of the world's oceans. In response, fisheries are increasingly reliant on a handful of highly valuable shellfish. However, new research by the University of York shows this approach to be extremely risky. Contact: David Garner
Public Release: 19-May-2013
Shifts in global water systems -- markers of a new geological epoch: The Anthropocene A suite of disquieting global phenomena have given rise to the "Anthropocene," a term coined for a new geologic epoch characterized by humanity's growing dominance of the Earth's environment and a planetary transformation as profound as the last epoch-defining event -- the retreat of the glaciers 11,500 years ago. In Germany May 21-24, experts will focus on how to mitigate key factors contributing to extreme damage to the global water system being caused while adapting to the new reality. Contact: Terry Collins
Public Release: 17-May-2013
WetlandsFront-row seats to climate change Increasingly erratic rainfall patterns can lead to declines in southeastern frog and salamander populations, but protecting ponds can improve their plight.
US Geological Survey
Contact: hannah hamilton
Public Release: 15-May-2013
Nature'Fish thermometer' reveals long-standing, global impact of climate change Climate change has been impacting global fisheries for the past four decades by driving species towards cooler, deeper waters, according to University of British Columbia scientists. Contact: William Cheung
Public Release: 15-May-2013
PLOS ONEH1N1 discovered in marine mammals Scientists at the University of California, Davis, detected the H1N1 (2009) virus in free-ranging northern elephant seals off the central California coast a year after the human pandemic began.
Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, Tagging of Pacific Predators
Contact: Tracey Goldstein
Public Release: 15-May-2013
PLOS ONEFrog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to US, study suggests African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the US, according to findings published in PLOS ONE. African Clawed Frogs have long been suspected of spreading a harmful fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The earliest known case of the fungus was found in these frogs in their native South Africa. Now scientists have found the first evidence of the disease among introduced feral populations in the US.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Elaine Bible
Public Release: 14-May-2013
mBioMicrobes capture, store, and release nitrogen to feed reef-building coral Microscopic algae that live within reef-forming corals scoop up available nitrogen, store the excess in crystal form, and slowly feed it to the coral as needed, according to a study published in mBio.
European Research Council, Swiss National Science Foundation
Contact: Jim Sliwa
Public Release: 14-May-2013
mBioCorals turn to algae for stored food when times get tough Researchers at EPFL present new evidence for the crucial role of algae in the survival of their coral hosts. Ultra-high resolution images reveal that the algae temporarily store nutrients as crystals, building up reserves for when supplies run low. Contact: Anders Meibom
Public Release: 13-May-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesSeabird bones reveal changes in open-ocean food chain Remains of endangered Hawaiian petrels -- both ancient and modern -- show how drastically today's open seas fish menu has changed.
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution
Contact: Layne Cameron
Public Release: 13-May-2013
Journal of the Acoustical Society of AmericaUsing earthquake sensors to track endangered whales Oceanographers analyzed more than 300,000 fin-whale calls recorded by seafloor seismometers and recreated more than 150 fin-whale paths off the Pacific Northwest coast.
Office of Naval Research
Contact: Hannah Hickey
Public Release: 13-May-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesScientists find impact of open-ocean industrial fishing within centuries of bird bones The impact of industrial fishing on coastal ecosystems has been studied for many years. But how it affects food webs in the open ocean has not been very clear. So a team of Smithsonian and Michigan State University scientists and their colleagues looked to the ancient bones of seabirds for answers, revealing some of the dramatic changes that have happened within open-ocean food webs since the onset of industrial fishing. Contact: John Gibbons
Public Release: 9-May-2013
EcologyStudy highlights under-appreciated benefit of oyster restoration A new study shows that healthy oyster reefs would help to buffer the increasing acidity of coastal waters.
National Science Foundation
Contact: David Malmquist
Public Release: 9-May-2013
Current BiologyCoral reefs suffering, but collapse not inevitable, researchers say Coral reefs are in decline, but their collapse can still be avoided with local and global action. That's according to findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 9 based on an analysis that combines the latest science on reef dynamics with the latest climate models. Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
Public Release: 8-May-2013
APS April Meeting 2013First biological evidence of a supernova In fossil remnants of bacteria, researchers of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), found a radioactive iron isotope that they trace back to a supernova in our cosmic neighborhood. This is the first proven biological signature of a starburst. An age determination showed that the supernova must have occurred about 2.2 million years ago, roughly around the time when the modern human developed. Contact: Dr. Andreas Battenberg
Public Release: 7-May-2013
New robotic instruments to provide real-time data on Gulf of Maine red tide A new robotic sensor deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Gulf of Maine coastal waters may transform the way red tides or harmful algal blooms are monitored and managed in New England. The instrument was launched at the end of last month, and a second such system will be deployed later this spring. Contact: Media Relations Office
Public Release: 4-May-2013
Ecology LettersResearchers calculate the global highways of invasive marine species New research, by scientists from the Universities of Bristol, UK, and Oldenburg, Germany, has mapped the most detailed forecast to date for importing potentially harmful invasive species with the ballast water of cargo ships. Contact: Joanne Fryer
Public Release: 1-May-2013
DevelopmentFinding Nematostella: An ancient sea creature A study of tentacle-formation in a sea anemone shows how epithelial cells form elongated structures and puts the spotlight on a new model organism.
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Contact: Gina Kirchweger
Public Release: 1-May-2013
Environmental Science & TechnologyHealth defects found in fish exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil spill Three years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, crude oil toxicity continues to sicken a sentinel Gulf Coast fish species, according to new findings from a research team that includes a University of California, Davis, scientist.
National Science Foundation, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Andrew Whitehead
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