Background Articles

All persons practicing veterinary medicine in North Carolina shall report these listed diseases and conditions to the State Veterinarian's office by telephone within two hours after the disease is reasonably suspected to exist.

Phytoplankton blooms are increasingly conspicuous along the world's coastlines, and the toxic effects of these blooms have become a major concern. Nutrient enrichment often causes phytoplankton blooms, which decrease water transparency, but little is known about the effects of such light regime changes on whole communities of the continental shelf. A series of simulations designed to evaluate the potential effects of shading by phytoplankton blooms on community organization were conducted using a balanced trophic model of the West Florida Shelf ecosystem and the Ecopath with Ecosim modeling approach. Many functional groups in the system were predicted to decline as benthic primary production was inhibited through shading by phytoplankton, especially when associated biogenic habitat was lost. Groups that obtain most of their energy from planktonic pathways increased when shading impact and associated structural habitat degradation were complemented by enhanced phytoplankton production. Groups predicted to decline as the result of shading by plankton blooms include seabirds, manatees, and a variety of demersal and benthic fishes and invertebrates. Some counterintuitive predictions of declines (mackerel, seabirds, and surface pelagics) resulted because these groups are somewhat dependent on benthic primary production. The overall effect of the simulated bloom-associated shading of benthic primary producers resembled a trophic cascade where the number of full cycles of biomass gains and losses was approximately equal to the number of trophic levels in the system (4.7). (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The king crab harvest survey could indicate a second bleak year for crabbers in Washington, Oregon and Alaska as warm water affects the number of adult crabs.

This year, that industry came to a drastic halt. In October, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed both the the Bristol Bay Red King Crab and Bering Sea Snow Crab seasons. Kelty said he is expecting between the lost revenue from the past two years, intertwined with the suspended season, he is expecting both the crabbing industry along with sector businesses to lose close to a billion dollars.

As earthworms silently devour leaf litter across the country, they are changing soils, restructuring ecosystems and depleting our forests' carbon stocks.

Low stocks have prompted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) to cancel the red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Bering Sea.

Experts say a wasting disease epidemic has decimated about 95% of the sunflower sea star population from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Without sea stars to keep them in check, sea urchins are causing a troubling decline in kelp forests that provide food and shelter.

Landmark report says invasive species are major threat to biodiversity and dealing with them requires global cooperation

“This is unprecedented in the United States for a mature, rationalized fishery to suffer a stock collapse, in part due to climate change,” the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said.

After hitching a ride with humans, the species has colonised entire areas – and may be making the soil too fertile

Alaska fishermen face challenges as the Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, with environmental and economic upheaval threatening the future of the industry. Scientists are questioning whether full recovery is possible in a warming world for these ailing crab populations that have supported some of the world’s most lucrative fisheries.

Rising temperatures and dwindling oxygen levels are decimating marine species. But humanity can avert mass die-offs by curbing fossil fuel use and other planet-warming activities.

Most of the 17 species of worms in Alaska seem to be exotic types that have recently settled the last Frontier with the help of humans, who gave them a lift.

Researchers say warmer waters themselves aren’t killing crabs, but they may be allowing predators to move in and disease to spread more easily.

Researchers at Oregon State University are studying the relationship between sunflower sea stars and sea urchins to determine if the reintroduction of the sea stars can help protect declining kelp forests from overgrazing by sea urchins.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it was closing the 2023-24 Bering Sea snow crab season for the second season in a row.

The clam population crashed on the east side of Cook Inlet about a decade ago and has been slow to bounce back.

A Fairbanks high school student has discovered five species of earthworms in Interior Alaska, including one possibly native to North America.

There is danger lurking on the floor of the Bering and Chukchi seas for mussels, snails, clams, worms and other cold-water invertebrates, according to a new study led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists.