Background Articles

Scientists first caught on to the strange event when they found thousands of purple sea urchins and other organisms dead in their laboratory tanks. Their theory: The mass deaths were caused by a huge bloom of algae.

If you're wondering why British Columbia experienced such a mild winter and early spring, you could maybe blame it on a mysterious "blob" of warm water in the Pacific Ocean.

For decades, the crab piled up in fishing boats like gold coins hauled from a rich and fertile sea. But the very ocean that nursed these creatures may prove to be this industry’s undoing.Scientists fear ocean acidification will drive the collapse of Alaska's iconic crab fishery.

Management of the fishery for California sea cucumbers Parastichopus californicus in the Pacific Northwest is limited by a lack of natural growth rate estimates.These findings are an important addition to the knowledge of California sea cucumber biology and are valuable for the stock assessment, fisheries management, and aquaculture of this species.

Our results showed that local fisheries have negatively impacted the marine biodiversity of the ecosystem causing sharp declines of common dolphins and major fish stocks and weakening the robustness of the marine food web.

July 23, 2007 – Over the last five years, large, predatory Humboldt squid have moved north from equatorial waters and invaded the sea off Central California, where they may be decimating populations of Pacific hake, an important commercial fish.

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.

“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.

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

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

There were no bugs buzzing around the lights in the parking lot.

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.