Using state-of-the-art robotics, a research team from the University of Konstanz, Science of Intelligence, and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) shows that animals’ speed is fundamental for collective behavioral patterns, and that ultimately it is the faster individuals that have the strongest influence on group-level […]
ANIMATION Sharks’ non-bony skeletons were thought to be the template before bony internal skeletons evolved, but a new fossil discovery suggests otherwise. The discovery of a 410-million-year-old fish fossil with a bony skull suggests the lighter skeletons of sharks may have evolved from bony ancestors, rather than the other way […]
One additional year in the ocean makes a big difference in the size of salmon, as seen in these two female sockeye salmon from Pick Creek, Alaska. The top salmon spent three years at sea, the other two years. Credit: Andrew Hendry A comprehensive study of four salmon species across […]
Researchers “counted” Japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) in Maizuru Bay, Japan, through quantitative measurements of environmental DNA concentration. Credit: Reiji Masuda, Kyoto University River water, lake water, and seawater contain DNA belonging to organisms such as animals and plants. Ecologists have begun to actively analyze such DNA molecules, called environmental DNA, to […]
The 75-station pattern is typical for summer and fall cruises by CalCOFI, which has collected data on marine life and ocean conditions off the California coast. The original 1950s sampling plan was similar but covered a larger area, from the northern tip of California to the southern tip of the […]
Caption: Global map of low oxygen or hypoxic zone which have become more prevalent and dangerous to marine life. Credit: Figure courtesy of Breitburg, D., Levin, L.A., Oschlies, A., Grégoire, M., Chavez, F.P., Conley, D.J., Garçon, V., Gilbert, D., Gutiérrez, D., Isensee, K. and Jacinto, G.S., 2018. Declining oxygen in […]
A boxfish swimming above dense mats of diatoms in the high CO2 site along the Shikine volcanic gradient. Credit: Nicolas Floc’h Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the consequent changes created through ocean acidification will cause severe ecosystem effects, impacting reef-forming habitats and the associated fish, according to new […]
This film derived from fish scales could someday be used in flexible electronic devices. Credit: Adapted from ACS Nano 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b09880 Flexible temporary electronic displays may one day make it possible to sport a glowing tattoo or check a reading, like that of a stopwatch, directly on the skin. […]
Not even the ocean’s deepest dwellers are immune to climate change. NOAA The fish that live at the bottom of the sea are a hardy bunch. They’re adapted to handle crushing pressure, little to no sunlight, and a meager supply of food. But these otherwise gritty fish are also very […]
The male bluehead wrasse defends his group of yellow females, one of whom has to step-up and take charge if he leaves. Kevin Bryant, Author provided The bluehead wrasse is a fish that lives in small social groups in coral reefs in the Caribbean. Only the male has a blue head […]