News by Subject Biology

Harvests from freshwater fisheries such as the Great Lakes could total more than 12 million tons a year globally and contribute more to global food supplies and economies than previous estimates indicate, according to a study published today by Michigan State University and the US Geological Survey.

Researchers from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) have analyzed drinking water and detected oocysts of Cryptosporidium and cysts of Giardia, two protozoa that cause outbreaks of diarrhea in humans. The levels detected are very low and do not represent a health risk; however, according to the study, the ubiquity of these parasites and the inefficiency of conventional water treatment in reducing them may present a public health issue.

Industrial fishing fleets dump nearly 10 million tons of good fish back into the ocean every year, according to Sea Around Us research.

Biodiversity losses from deep-sea mining are unavoidable and possibly irrevocable, an international team of scientists, economists and lawyers argue. They say the International Seabed Authority, which is responsible for regulating undersea mining in areas outside national jurisdictions, must recognize the risk and communicate it clearly to member states and the public to spur discussions as to whether deep-seabed mining should proceed, and if so, what safeguards are needed to minimize biodiversity loss.

Marine seismic surveys used in petroleum exploration could cause a two to three-fold increase in mortality of adult and larval zooplankton, new research published in leading science journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has found. Scientists from IMAS and the Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST) at Curtin University studied the impact of commercial seismic surveys on zooplankton populations by carrying out tests using seismic air guns in the ocean off Southern Tasmania.

The anchors that hold Venus' flower basket sea sponges to the ocean floor have an internal architecture that increases their ability to bend, according to a new study. Understanding that natural architecture could inform future human-made materials.