Articles for tag: Climate Change, coral bleaching, Environmental Science, Marine Ecosystems, ocean conservation

How Coral "Bleaching" Is Changing Ocean Ecosystems

How Coral “Bleaching” Is Changing Ocean Ecosystems

Andrew Alpin

Picture yourself peering into the clearest turquoise waters imaginable, only to find ghostly white skeletal remains where vibrant underwater cities once thrived. You’re witnessing firsthand what scientists now call the most catastrophic transformation our oceans have ever experienced. Coral bleaching isn’t just making headlines because it’s visually dramatic – it’s literally reshaping the very fabric ...

an underwater view of a colorful coral reef

Florida’s Coral Reefs Illuminate at Night

Suhail Ahmed

By day, the Florida Keys shimmer in postcard blues; by , the water seems to exhale light. Divers who cut their lamps often find the dark alive with quicksilver sparks, as if the sea were a shaken snow globe. Those flashes are more than spectacle: they’re signals, warnings, courtship displays, and sometimes decoys in a ...

Why Whales Are Singing Louder Than Ever Before

Why Whales Are Singing Louder Than Ever Before

Andrew Alpin

Picture this: a massive humpback whale, roughly the size of a city bus, floating in the darkness of the deep ocean. It opens its mouth, but instead of feeding, it produces a hauntingly beautiful song that can travel hundreds of miles through the water. Now imagine that same whale having to compete with the thunderous ...

group of sharks under body of water

The Shark Nursery Hidden off California

Suhail Ahmed

Night falls on the Southern Bight and the water turns to polished slate, quiet enough to hear a gull’s wingbeat. Somewhere beyond the surf line, small great white sharks cruise a warm, sandy corridor that scientists long suspected existed but couldn’t delineate. The mystery has never been the sharks themselves – people see them – ...

a humpback whale swims under the surface of the water

Georgia’s Right Whales Hit Record Births

Suhail Ahmed

The winter sun over Georgia’s coast has a way of turning the sea into hammered silver, and this past year those waters carried a rare glimmer of good news. After years of grim headlines, scientists tallied a decade-high pulse of North Atlantic right whale calves in the 2023–2024 season, many first seen in the Southeast ...

two black and white orca swimming in a body of water

Washington Orcas Shift Routes

Suhail Ahmed

For decades, the iconic southern resident killer whales of Washington’s Puget Sound have followed familiar coastal paths, echoing their haunting calls through the Salish Sea. But marine biologists and Indigenous observers are reporting a subtle yet striking shift—these orcas are changing their routes. The reason? A blend of hunger and noise. As their main prey, ...

Humpback whale jump and splash

The Hidden Role of Whale Urine in Marine Ecosystems

April Joy Jovita

Recent research has uncovered an overlooked but vital contributor to ocean health—whale urine. While whale feces have long been recognized for their role in nutrient cycles, new findings reveal that urine plays an equally significant part in sustaining marine ecosystems. By transporting essential nutrients across vast regions, whales act as ecosystem engineers, influencing biodiversity and ...