Nitrogen fixation is surprisingly high in the ocean's coastal waters and may play a larger role than expected in carbon dioxide uptake, a new study shows. The findings -- based on thousands of samples collected in the western North Atlantic -- upend prevailing theories about where and when nitrogen fixation occurs, and underscore the need for scientists to revisit the global distribution of marine nitrogen fixation and reevaluate its role in the coastal carbon cycle. […]

A new study uses environmental, socioeconomic and management data from 30 Caribbean islands to identify which communities may be most at risk from the social and ecological effects of coral bleaching, which occurs when warm water causes coral polyps to expel algae living in their tissue. The analysis shows that independent island nations, such as Cuba and Jamaica, may be less vulnerable to coral bleaching than island territories like Saint Barthélemy. […]

A new study outlines more than a decade of success in reducing seabird bycatch in Alaska's longline fisheries, and where there's still room for improvement. […]

Researchers have documented a group of tanner crabs vigorously feeding at a methane seep on the seafloor off British Columbia -- one of the first times a commercially harvested species has been seen using this energy source. […]

By studying fish raised in aquaculture, researchers have shed new light on the mechanisms by which antibiotic resistance genes are transferred between bacteria. According to their study, those mechanisms are more varied than previously thought. […]

Excess nutrients from fertilizer application, pollution discharge, and water regulations outflow through rivers from lands to oceans, seriously impacting coastal water quality and ecosystems. Understanding the effects of human activities on riverine nitrogen movement is important for water environmental management and nitrogen cycle research. […]

In the United States, the removal of dams now outpaces the construction of new ones—with more than 1,400 dams decommissioned since the 1970s—and a new study suggests that the ecosystem effects of dam removal can be predicted. […]

Using telemetry units in hospitals to monitor patient health is standard practice. Now, a similar approach is proving to be invaluable for dolphins, too. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and collaborators have conducted the most extensive radio-tracking effort of bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) using radio-telemetry. […]

Climate change and the loss of wetlands may contribute to increased levels of mercury concentrations in coastal fish, according to a Dartmouth College study. […]

A field survey conducted by a team of marine scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has uncovered toxic bacteria living on the surfaces of microplastics, which are pieces of plastic smaller than five millimetres in size, collected from the coastal areas of Singapore. These bacteria are capable of causing coral bleaching, and triggering wound infections in humans. […]