Weird teeth and other things
Samantha Andrews
Ocean-focused communications. Freelance marine science writer. Research consultant.
In this month’s Ocean Brief, we look at a new partnership between Australia and Singapore, faecal (aka poop) bacteria in coastal flood waters, and an usually toothy salmon.
?? A reason for hope
Australia and Singapore have partnered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most important things we need to do to address the climate crisis. The new joint initiative, called the “Australia-Singapore Initiative on Low Emissions Technologies (ASLET) for maritime and port operations, will address two key elements.
The first is alternative fuels that are cleaner than conventional fuels, like diesel, and don’t come from fossil fuels. Those alternatives could include ammonia. Recent research from Norway’s NTNU and SINTEF Ocean suggests ammonia could be particularly useful for “Supramax” ships (big cargo ships).
The second is the technology and infrastructure needed to support the next generation of shipping. The details aren’t out yet, but likely that will involve looking at what existing technology and infrastructure we can convert and what needs to be developed from scratch.
?? Something to work on
Rain washes a lot of “faecal bacteria” into the coastal waters of North Carolina, USA. That’s the findings of a new study from North Carolina State University.
The good news for the ocean is that the bacteria don’t stay at high levels for very long after the rain washes it into the sea.
The bad news… well, it has to do with coastal flooding…
When the tide is exceptionally high, water can be pushed up through storm drains. Since stormwater networks tend to be home to a lot of this bacteria, the water that is pushed up onto the street is filled with this poopy bacteria. The researchers say this type of flooding isn’t huge, but kids do like to play in the water, putting them at risk. The researchers note that with sea level rise, we can expect to see water being pushed up through the storm drains more often.
?? Something we’ve learned
Millions of years ago, at least one species of salmon had teeth that stuck out the side of its mouth, like tusks.
Our salmon in question is the now-extinct Oncorhynchus rastrosus, which also happens to be the biggest salmon that we know of (2.7 metres!).
We aren’t sure what these teeth were used for. The researchers who made this discovery say it was probably either for fighting or for digging out nests. Why not for catching prey, you ask?
Well, scientists think this huge salmon dined on plankton!
?? What else caught my eye
?? Statistically sea-nificant
? 4.4 million
The number of hours of bottom trawling, a form of fishing that drags a net on or near the seabed, that was allowed in the EU marine protected areas since 2015. The estimate comes from a report from the Marine Conservation Society, in conjunction with Seas at Risk and Oceana. 90% of the marine protected areas were subject to bottom trawling.
领英推荐
??? 11,000 kilometres
The distance a microscopic pathogen that infects long-spined sea urchin has spread. The parasite was responsible for a huge amount of urchin death in the Caribbean and Florida, USA in he 1980s and in 2022. Then in 2023, long-spined sea urchins along the Oman cast in the Sea of Oman
?? 50%
The amount summer storms can slow down the loss of oxygen in deep waters. The waters in the deep sea typically have less oxygen than at the sea surface. Oxygen gets particularly low during the summer, when waters get warmer. Thankfully, summer storms mix the surface water around, pushing it - and its precious oxygen - down.
??♀? Terrible joke of the month
What is the worst thing about seasickness?
It comes in waves!
?? Days to celebrate this month
?? Don’t forget these free resources
?? Ocean Connections
Want to know who is doing what and where? Foster connections with ocean/coastal-related NGOs and CBOs with this crowd-sourced map and database.
?? Science for all
Want to support marine science? Check out this list of community/citizen science projects.
?? Ocean podcasts
Whether you're looking to learn something new, simply be entertained, or both, there’s a marine-themed podcast out there for you.
?? Professional Societies and Associations
Are you working or studying in a marine STEM* field? Looking for a professional society or association? Here’s a list from around the world.
*Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
?? Tiny Ocean Opportunities
A free, short version of Ocean Opportunities. Opportunities from each section are randomly chosen from each Ocean Opportunities update.
Wildlife Scientist | TV Host & Science Communicator | Speaker | Author
10 个月Great read, thanks for writing this up!
Fisheries Biologist | Science Communicator | Marine Biotechnology Enthusiast
10 个月Very admirable work