Researchers at Sultan Qaboos University identified the best water conditions for improving the survival of scalloped spiny lobster (Panulirus homarus) larvae, a major challenge in lobster aquaculture. The study found that larvae survived longest — up to 15 days — in cooler water (24°C) with moderate salinity (33 ppt), while warmer and saltier conditions caused rapid mortality. The findings provide practical guidance for hatcheries and could help support sustainable lobster farming while reducing pressure on wild stocks.

New research shows terrain complexity is an important factor when brush-tailed rock-wallabies choose habitat, providing critical insight to help bring the critically endangered species back from the brink.

Dr Ainara Ballesteros is a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environment and Marine Science Research at the Catholic University of Valencia, where she leads a research group focused on jellyfish biology, aquaculture, and the sustainable use of marine resources. Her work is centered on developing innovative solutions based on marine science, particularly through the study of underused organisms as sources of high-value compounds within circular bioeconomy and zero-waste strategies.

She is joined in this work by Raquel Torres, a PhD student at the same institute, who is carrying out her doctoral thesis within this line of research, focused on jellyfish valorization, collaboration with the fishing sector, and the sustainable management of marine resources.

They are co-authors on a new Frontiers in Marine Science article which investigated whether jellyfish accidentally caught by small-scale fishers in Spain could be transformed into a valuable resource instead of being treated as waste. The team worked side by side with fishers to better understand their perceptions of jellyfish bycatch, identify which species are most frequently caught, and evaluate whether one of them, Rhizostoma pulmo, could serve as a sustainable source of high-quality collagen.

Gentoo penguins, scattered throughout the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic, have long puzzled biologists, with six subspecies having been described. A consensus paper by experts concludes, based on whole-genome sequencing, that there are four distinct species, one of them cryptic and not previously recognized. The researchers identified adaptations that accompanied these speciation events and estimated how populations will be impacted by global warming. Three of the four will see their preferred habitats shrink.

Summertime hikes and afternoons in the backyard can be ruined by mosquito bites. So, many people apply topical synthetic repellents like DEET before heading outside, but there is a growing market for natural repellants that could be less irritating to the skin and more environmentally friendly. In ACS Omega, researchers describe their new plant-based formulation, a patchouli oil-infused lotion that protected against mosquitoes as effectively as a commercially available DEET formulation. 

A new study reveals that reptile species richness peaks at mid-elevations and that woodland cover creates divergent habitat preferences across lizards, snakes, and chelonians.