News by Subject Biology

DNA barcoding of more than 1,400 Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) labelled products has shown that less than 1 percent were mislabeled, compared with a reported average global seafood mislabeling rate of 30 percent. These results published in the journal Current Biology suggests that the MSC's ecolabeling and Chain of Custody program is an effective deterrent for systematic and deliberate species substitution and fraud.

A new model has been created that can forecast the location of Eastern Pacific leatherback turtles along the coast of Central and South America in an effort to decrease bycatch mortality of this critically endangered and ecologically important species.

California sheephead and spiny lobsters may be helping control sea urchin populations in Southern California kelp forests, where sea otters -- a top urchin predator -- have long been missing, according to a new San Diego State University (SDSU) study published in the journal Ecology. The research provides new insight into the complex predator-prey relationships in kelp forests that can be seen in the absence of sea otters.

More than a quarter of the species in their dataset showed seasonal interest. For these seasonal species, the researchers found that the timing and amount of internet activity is a highly accurate measure of when and how the species is present. The team thinks it might be possible to measure changes in the presence and abundance of species simply by measuring internet activity.

The respiratory systems of Atlantic salmon function normally even when carrying large loads of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), new University of British Columbia research has found. The results are a positive step in reducing the uncertainty about the potential of infected farmed Atlantic salmon in marine pens to negatively impact migrating wild Pacific salmon.