Briefly
SPOTLIGHT ON MARINE ENVIRONMENTS
Scientists freeze coral to restore Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Coral reefs are among the most productive ecosystems and provide essential services. They cover only 0.2% of the seafloor, but support at least 25% of marine species and underpin the well-being of 450 million peo- ple in over 100 countries. However, coral reefs are vulnerable to pollution and changes in temperature. In the last 7 years, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events, and.200 coral spe- cies are at risk of extinction. In 2022, for the first time, Australian researchers have been able to freeze and store coral with a new, lightweight so-called cryomesh, which is cheaper and more efficient than previous methods. In a trial, scientists used the cryo- mesh to freeze coral that had been collected from the reef during the brief annual spawning window. The technology will allow conservationists to store coral larvae
at−196 °C, at a scale that can support aqua- culture and restoration interventions aim- ing to save the Great Barrier Reef. Source: E&T Magazine (2022)
eandt.theiet. org/content/articles/2022/12/scientists- freeze-coral-to-restore-australias-great- barrier-reef
Wandering walrus visits the UK A restless walrus who delighted northern England in December 2022 returned to the water in January 2023, hopefully to head north to his natural habitat in the Arctic. The animal, nicknamed Thor, was seen around the coasts of Hampshire and Northumberland, and rested in Scarborough harbour on 30 December 2022, prompting officials in the seaside resort to cancel its New Year’s Eve fireworks display to avoid agitating or harming the walrus. Up to 500 people were watching the animal at any one time, with thousands visiting the scene. The walrus did not appear to be sick or injured. Walruses are protected under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act, so disturbing the animal may have con- stituted an offence. Walruses have previ- ously been known to explore UK waters, but this is quite rare. Source: The Huffington Post (2023)
huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/thor-walrus- spotted-scarborough-blyth_uk_ 63b45785e4b0cbfd55e43b90
Whales ingest millions of plastic particles per day A new study has found that filter-feeding whales ingest millions of plastic particles per day, highlighting the need for strategies to manage microplastic pollution. A single whale could consume up to 4 t of plastic over one feeding season in particularly pol- luted waters, which is up to 150 million pieces of plastic daily. The study, under- taken in the coastal waters off California, is the first to estimate microplastic con- sumption for baleen whales such as hump- back, fin and blue whales. The microplastic particles ingested were primarily inside the fish and krill that the whales consumed, and the study predicts that fish-feeding whales are less exposed to microplastic ingestion than krill-feeding whales. The research team noted that areas such as the North Sea or waters around South Asia have been subject to more plastic pollution than the study site, and whales in these re- gions could ingest even more plastic parti- cles than recorded in the study. Source: Oceanographic Magazine (2022)
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/blue- whales-off-california-ingest-microplastic- particles
Wild octopuses throw debris Researchers have recorded gloomy octo- puses Octopus tetricus deliberately throwing debris. The behaviour, recorded in Jervis Bay, Australia, was observed using under- water video cameras. The researchers iden- tified over 100 instances of debris throwing in a group of c. 10 octopuses. The octopuses gathered material such as silt or shells and released it while using a jet of water from their siphon to propel it through the water, often throwing material several body lengths away. To perform the throws, octopuses had to move their siphon into an unusual position, suggesting the behaviour was deliberate. Both sexes were observed throwing and around half of the throws oc- curred around the time of interactions with other octopuses, with c. 17% of throws hit- ting another octopus. Octopuses can change their skin colouration, with dark colours generally associated with aggression, and the researchers found that dark-coloured in- dividuals tended to throw more forcefully and weremore likely to hit another octopus. This is the first timethat throwing behaviour has been reported in octopuses. Source: Eurek Alert (2022)
eurekalert.org/ news-releases/970113
Shark conservation: electric pulses reduce bycatch.. . A new technology called SharkGuard could enable fishers to harvest target species such as tuna while limiting unintentional by- catch of sharks. The small, battery-powered device attaches to fishing hooks and emits a pulsing electric charge that creates an elec- tromagnetic field. The electrosensory or- gans in the skin of sharks and rays detect subtle changes in electric fields, and the pulsing device aims to overstimulate these senses. The technology was tested on two fishing vessels off the coastline of southern France during the summer of 2021.Each vessel was equipped with 22 longlines with . 9,000 hooks, half of which were secured with a SharkGuard device. Shark- Guard was found to reduce the bycatch of blue sharks Prionace glauca by 91% and of pelagic stingrays Pteroplatytrygon violacea by 71%. Bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus, which lack electrosensory organs, appeared unaffected. However, the device may vary in effectiveness between different shark or ray species, as each has a unique configuration of electrosensory organs. Further research will aim to establish the thresholds required to deter different species. Source: New Scientist (2022) newscientist. com/article/2347826-electric-pulses- drastically-cut-number-of-sharks-caught- by-accident
.. . and CITES CoP19 achieved protection for sharks The 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) of CITES has achieved progress for the conservation of 54 shark species. At the conference in Panama City in November 2022, governments voted in favour of list- ing all species belonging to the requiem shark (Carcharhinidae) and hammerhead shark (Sphyrnidae) families on CITES Appendix II. This means that shipment of shark products of these species will require a special permit that shows legal and sustainability requirements are being met. Requiem sharks include migratory, live-bearing sharks such as the blue shark, tiger shark and bull shark, all of which are targeted for their fins. Requiem sharks account for . 50% of the shark fin trade, and c. 70% are threatened with extinction. Source: Oceanographic Magazine (2022)
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/cop19- protection-for-sharks-achieved
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2023, 57(2), 139–144 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605323000121
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
