Background Articles

Thriving communities of red algae are doing something nefarious to the world's ice sheets: melting them more quickly.

Thriving communities of red algae are doing something nefarious to the world's ice sheets: melting them more quickly.

Scientists say the threat from sargassum is as serious as rising sea levels and hurricanes.

Leptospirosis infections, caused by Leptospira bacteria, occur in people and animals around the world, but different strains of the bacteria may vary in their ability to cause disease and to jump between species. Now, researchers have for the first time described the characteristics of the Leptospira variants that infect cattle in Uruguay.

Zarantonelli et al. 2018. Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 12 (9): e0006694 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006694

Algae isn't just causing swimmers' itch anymore; it's threatening water supplies. State regulations are starting to address it.

Scientist warns of "seagrass crisis" in Caribbeans MEXICO CITY (Rahnuma): Massive quantities of Sargassum seaweed are invading Caribbean beaches mostly thanks to global warming and countries should work closely with scientists for a sustainable solution, said a researcher at a leading Mexican university on

Sixteen water bodies were added to this week's list.

EUMETSAT satellite shows blue-green algae bloom covering Lake Okeechobee.

A persistent algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico has become a huge threat to sea turtles, a species which is already endangered.

Harmful algae blooms are something Montana has to worry about every summer, and now there have been a couple places in central and western Montana confirmed to have the harmful blue green algae. T...

Scientists aren't sure what is causing this whirlpool of algae but believe it's likely to cause a marine dead zone.

Blue-green algae has bloomed again in Lake Okeechobee, filling waterways with putrid sludge that can contaminate local water and marine animals.

An increase in carbon emissions are showing up not only in the air, but also in water. Now researchers and shellfish farmers are teaming up to see how marine plants can help stave off the effects of ocean acidification. Special correspondent Jes Burns of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

A new report breaks down climate impacts on health by US region

FioRito, Rebecca, Celeste Leander, and Brian Leander. "Characterization of three novel species of Labyrinthulomycota isolated from ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus." Marine Biology 163.8 (2016): 1-10.

The "unprecedented" warm water in the Pacific caused a massive toxic algae bloom from California to Alaska.

When wild birds are a big part of your diet, opening a freshly shot bird to find worms squirming around under the skin is a disconcerting sight. That was exactly what Victoria Kotongan saw in October, 2012, when she set to cleaning two of four spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) she had taken near her home in Unalakleet, on the northwest coast of Alaska.

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.

Lake Fortune which has unusual under-ice cyanobacterial growth and Lake Beauchamp which is supposed to be low in nutrients as it is mainly fed by groundwater. Cyanobacterial toxicity level is increasing in these two lakes threatening life and livelihood of the local community.

As the climate warms and Arctic sea ice retreats and gets thinner, more light is getting through. “Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behaviour – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column,” the AWI said in a news release on their website.