The closer the dolphins lived to downtown Miami, the more of the chemical was concentrated in them. The flame retardant can cause sterility in dolphins. Brominated flame retardants are applied to furniture, clothes and electronics to prevent them from burning. They also help slow the ignition of items that are in a burning room.
A sea otter sighting has been confirmed in Oregon near Depoe Bay. There have been no confirmed sightings of the creature in Oregon waters since 1906. Morris Grover spotted the animal but did not want to tell anyone until he sent photos of it to biologists and they told him what he photographed. They identified it as a sea otter. (Many river otters there have been mistaken for sea otters).
The census showed 7,500 species in the Antarctic and 5,500 in the Arctic. The total number includes several hundred thought to be newly discovered species. In addition it was discovered, astonishingly, that 200 or more of species are common to both oceans - though they live 11,000 kilometers from one another.
The action of mussels on water quality is profound – blue mussel reefs, for example, are able to filter an amount of water sufficient to fill the Albert Dock in just two days
The beluga whales of Alaska’s Cook Inlet have been listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Government. The ruling contradicts Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s administration who has questioned the science showing a decline in the distinctive white species.
The harvest of soft shell and peeler blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay has been declared a commercial fishery failure by U.S. Government. The federal declaration is an important step in providing economic assistance to the communities reliant upon crab production.
According to a report in today’s Globe and Mail, a sewage pipeline installed by Epcor (www.epcor.ca) - a Canadian utility company – has created an artificial reef system that supports marine life in a previously desolate region.
Most people don’t associate outfalls with increased life, but this pipeline structure is adding complexity to what was a flat, sandy habitat,” said Jason Clarke, an engineer and marine biologist with consulting firm WorleyParsons. “It’s been a rapid diversification that I haven’t seen to quite this degree.
Plastic bags apparently do not kill hundreds of thousands of seabirds and other animals, according to the Times in the U.K. The paper traces the bag’s deadly reputation to a misquoted study that blamed discarded fishing nets for killing numerous animals.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Most of Earth might be covered with water, but the large population of bipedal animals that crowd the planet’s land masses is doing its best to leave its imprint on the oceans as well.
A new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finds that humans have had a heavy impact on more than 40 percent of the world’s oceans. That’s an [...]
It’s the time of year when harbor seals in California start giving birth to pups. Don’t assume, however, any young, lone pup on the beach has been abandoned. Harbor seal mothers normally leave their newborns alone for short times while feeding in the [...]
Subscribe to our RSS feed or newsletter
Some Rights Reserved • Green Options Media • San Francisco, California • Legal
