Breeding Tropical Fish

The ornamental fish trade takes millions of fish from the sea every year. Only one in five survives long enough to make it to home aquariums. One solution would be to raise fish in captivity for this market. A piece from 2012 I was reminded of by a recent article in The Revelator (https://therevelator.org/ornamental-fish-trade/). 

Protecting whales from underwater noise

 Underwater noise generated by human activity wreaks havoc with marine animals that rely on sound, including whales. Technology could help make things quieter in the sea. Read more here. 

Kelp Loss on the West Coast

Divers and scientists watched a disaster play out along the U.S. West Coast: an almost overnight disappearance of sea stars, especially sunflower sea stars, followed by a population explosion of the purple urchins that sea stars eat, and then loss of entire forests of bull kelp. Read what is behind the disaster and what scientists are doing in response here. 

Protecting ocean sediments from trawling

 Marine sediments represent a large and globally important carbon sink, but stored carbon can be released into the water by trawling. Research outlines the problem and offers solutions. Read more here. 

Fascinating Jellyfish

 From their multiple-stage life cycles to their long history across the breadth and depth of the world’s seas, jellyfish may have something to tell us about the changing health of the oceans. Read more in this piece from the Spring 2018 issue of Alert Diver. 

Mangroves in Peril

 Earth has lost as much as 35 percent of its mangrove forests in the past few decades, and scientists predict that these vital ecosystems could all but disappear in the next 100 years. Read more about the problem here. 

The Gulf of Mexico

11 things you might not know about this body of water, also known as The American Sea. Some cool facts and some alarming ones. Read it here. 

Saving Endangered Marine Species

Iconic ocean animals are disappearing as Earth faces a sixth major extinction event. Read about how people are working to protect them, and ways you can help in this piece from Scuba Diving. 

More on Sargassum

Spring and summer 2018 saw yet another Sargassum bloom to the Caribbean, with piles of the stuff floating nearshore and ­covering beaches in Little Cayman, ­Barbados, ­Antigua, and other destinations. Read about why that happened and how divers can work around it.

Coral reef ecosystems in trouble

Coral reefs cover less than 1 percent of the Earth’s surface yet feed and shelter a significant amount of marine life and provide food, coastal protection, and livelihoods for millions of people. Read about the state of the world's coral reefs in this PBS Nature Blog post. Spoiler alert: it isn't pretty. 

When Light Becomes Pollution

Artificial light at night affects wildlife in many ways, including, according to some recent studies, by increasing predation on insects, decreasing amphibian reproduction, and interfering with nocturnal pollinators. Read more about the problem and easy solutions in this PBS Nature Blog post.

Image: NASA Earth Observatory

Coral's big summer

On coral reefs around the world, certain species practice impressive mass spawning. Read about the spawning event at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in this post for the PBS Nature Blog.

Too much of a good thing

Another post for the PBS Nature Blog's summer of love, this one about recent Sargassum blooms. While the floating algae provide habitat and food for a wide variety of marine life in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean, blooms are taking it a bit too far.

Coral bleaching is bad. Really bad.

The longest global coral bleaching event has already affected some 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef and shows no signs of slowing down. Read the alarming facts in my piece for Mental Floss.
Photo credit: XL Catlin Seaview Survey.

Cre

World's best places to shore dive

Ten destinations where great diving is just a walk off the shore, making it easy to pack in lots of diving along with taking it easy on the beach and other fun. Read about them in my piece for Men's Journal.

Diving at Storms River mouth, South Africa.

Marine Protected Areas that Work

Not all marine protected areas work. Those that do have five characteristics. Read more in my article for Sport Diver.

Oceans of plastic

According to a study by a group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, more than 10 billion pounds of plastic enter our oceans every year. We can do something about it. Read more in my story for the summer issue of Alert Diver.