Researchers led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Jennifer Raynor showed that artificial intelligence methods applied to satellite data provide a powerful new way to assess industrial fishing activity in MPAs, bridging blind spots in current monitoring methods. The first-of-its-kind study, published in the journal Science, found that the world’s most strongly protected MPAs had little-to-no industrial fishing activity.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has prototyped a Hydrogen Small Unit Power (H-SUP) system to reduce detectability and improve readiness of Marine Corps in expeditionary warfare operations.

Researchers from Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have discovered a deep-sea limpet species 6 km beneath the northwestern Pacific Ocean, the deepest known habitat for any true limpet, naming it after the character “Large Monk” Wadatsumi, from the manga series ONE PIECE.

A first-of-its-kind experiment tracing evolution across 25 generations shows that tiny crustaceans at the heart of the ocean food web rely on a largely unknown biological toolkit to survive the stresses of climate change. The study reveals that it’s not only genetic changes that help these animals adapt to warming and acidifying ocean conditions. In addition, little-known epigenetic changes play a crucial role too. Remarkably, the researchers led by Melissa Pespeni at the University of Vermont discovered that the two mechanisms operate independently offering a two-pronged strategy for resilience. Until now, few studies have tracked genetic and epigenetic changes in tandem over many generations. This experiment is one of the first to do so in a long-term, replicated evolution study—offering some of the strongest evidence yet that epigenetic change can help populations survive and perhaps allow future genetic adaptation. Which means that copepods may be tougher under the stresses of a warming ocean than scientists previously would have predicted. And that could be good news for the fish species who eat copepods as primary prey—and many other creatures.

A study led by Associate Professor Kelton McMahon at University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has found that food webs on tropical reefs are more fragile than we once thought. Instead of being part of a highly connected system where species can easily switch food sources, many reef creatures in these incredibly biodiverse ecosystems rely on surprisingly narrow, specialized energy pathways that link specific species to distinct sources of primary production.

Ben Kirtman, a renowned atmospheric scientist who raised the bar in the study of climate predictability, has been named the new dean of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.

A world-first study led by Museums Victoria Research Institute has revealed that beneath the cold, dark, pressurised world of the deep sea, marine life is far more globally connected than previously imagined. 

Inspired by a hitchhiking fish that uses a specialized suction organ to latch onto other marine animals, MIT engineers designed a mechanical adhesive device that attaches to soft, slippery surfaces and remains there for days or weeks. The device could be used to deliver drugs in the GI tract or monitor aquatic environments.

Biologging is transforming wildlife research, yet stingrays have been overlooked due to their unusual body shapes. For the first time, researchers successfully developed and field-tested a biologging tag for the whitespotted eagle ray. The multi-sensor device stayed attached for up to a record 60 hours, revealing how they feed, move and interact with other species. Virtually impossible to capture before, these insights now shed light into this threatened, understudied species that plays a vital role in marine ecosystems.

Researchers at Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, have taken a great stride in supporting earthquake prevention research by developing a system for seafloor position measurements with centimeter-level precision. Combining the Global Navigation Satellite System–Acoustic and an unmanned aerial vehicle, the proposed system eliminates the need for manned surface vessels.