As if tensions between regional powers were not hot enough, a new issue of contention has emerged in the South China Sea. Recently, the Japanese government has denied Chinese fishermen shelter from a coming typhoon near the Ogasawara Islands, where Tokyo suspects many...
Seldom does a modern fisherman land a prize catch without capturing the moment forever, digitally, with a quick selfie. But without this key piece of technology---the camera---by what method did mid-19th century Japanese anglers preserve proof of their trophy catch...
To this day, a mere 15% of the ocean bottom has been mapped. Recently, a team of researchers from the United States-supported National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has obtained a wealth of astonishingly clear video footage while mapping the ocean...
Finding the right time, place and circumstances to observe the formation of a new island is pretty difficult. For one, it just doesn’t happen very often. It may occur in an inaccessible area. And, conditions in the water may quite dangerous. We recently reported on...
Late last year, a small dot of fresh land emerged from the sea following a long series of lava flows. Located about 600 miles south of Tokyo, Japan, the new island, part of a larger structure named Nishinoshima, is part of the ecologically rich Ogasawara island chain....
There is a huge number of sponge species in our world's oceans. Some of them are bacterivores, some are carnivorous, some even harbor zooxanthellae. Yet, despite their great diversity of function, sponges are highly conserved in form. Often, differences between even...
It really shouldn't need to be said. But, apparently, even in the aftermath of ecological disasters such as the introduction of nonnative snakeheads into U.S. waterways, people still need to be told that it is a very bad idea to release aquarium pets into the wild....
Some time ago I received a product sample from Vivid Coral Technologies. It appeared to be a 2"x4" section of thin, amber-colored plastic sheet material. It is essentially a blue color filter, removing about 80% of blue light. The purpose of using this product,...
Syngnathid fish fans have a new species to fawn over, according to a recent article in Scientific American Magazine. Until now, only two species of seadragon were known, the leafy and weedy seadragons. No new seadragon species has been discovered in 150 years. This...
What an understatement it is to say that the devastating Japanese tsunami of 2011 constituted a major ecological disturbance. Having lived on the Oregon coast at that time and having seen the massive amounts of debris that littered our shores in its aftermath, I can...