ocean health

The ocean’s surface harbors an ecosystem of colorful, understudied life, ranging from protists and cnidarians to insects.

The sea surface is home to a diverse group of animals adapted to life in the open ocean, but increasingly, they’re sharing that space with plastic debris.

A survey showed that 91 percent of the reef experienced bleaching despite this year’s cooler, wetter conditions associated with the La Niña weather pattern.

Laboratory experiments find that Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia can congregate on microplastic beads and fibers, suggesting they might make their way into and around the world’s oceans by hitching rides on tiny bits of trash.

Runoff and waste may be more harmful to the animals than climate change.

Researchers collected trash that washed up at Gulf Coast shoreline sites over two years. Most of it was plastic.

An analysis of 15 types of stressors finds humans are heavily affecting most sea areas.

Researchers devise more-realistic means of forecasting the effects of climate change on complex marine ecosystems.

How one research team studies the effects of ocean conditions on marine life

The UC Davis researcher was an advocate of ocean conservation and science communication.

Not only did many corals die in recent years, but some were actually killed by the hotter temperatures themselves, rather than bleaching.

New research suggests that plastic might just “taste good” to hard corals.

Former NOAA administrator and environmental scientist Jane Lunchenco discusses the importance of science in the face of climate change.

Once again, climate change is killing off masses of coral in Australia’s expansive reef system.

An international research team triples the number of known virus types found in marine environments. 

In the planet’s warming and acidifying oceans, species from corals to lobsters and fish are succumbing to pathogenic infection.

Researchers identify areas where marine ecosystems are faring better or worse than predicted in hopes of saving the world’s corals.

Researchers are struggling to understand shifts in the migratory patterns of penguins in the Southwest Atlantic.

A new study surveys the extent of the plastic problem in the world’s oceans, estimating more than 5 trillion pieces weighing nearly 250,000 tons.