Marine Science

While the identities of species in local assemblages are undergoing significant changes, their average number is relatively constant. Thus, changes in local assemblages do not always reflect species losses at the global scale. Scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the University of St Andrews found greater changes in species composition in marine systems than on land, with most extreme changes in tropical marine biomes.

Offshore mussel farm sites need to have the right temperature, food availability, and the right currents. According to a study by researchers at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, several suitable locations can be found off the Northeastern US.

Researchers have discovered a new geophysical phenomenon where a hurricane or other strong storm can produce vibrations in the nearby ocean floor as strong as a magnitude 3.5 earthquake.

Human medicines that act on important signal systems in the brain make fish bolder, shows a new study on three-spined sticklebacks by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden. The results reinforce that the signal substances serotonin and dopamine play important roles in behavioral differences between individuals. Further, it shows that drugs that end up in the natural environment may have consequences for animal life. The study has been published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Study of wave turbulence suggests that highly mobile species and more diverse ecological communities may be more resilient to the effects of changing environmental conditions.