Located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea is an endorheic lake that was once the fourth largest lake in the world covering an area of over 68,000 square kilometres and containing 10 grams of salt per liter.
The third largest river in the world and the most sacred river in Hinduism has now become one of the filthiest. After all, this is where 400 million people living near it dump their waste.
The marine ecosystem of the world is comprised of animals that are interdependent. If one species begins to lower in numbers, others are affected. From plastics to environmental toxins, many marine species are endangered or at risk. We must take…
None of us were prepared for what climate change would bring to the world. More than 7,000 years ago, the last ice age ended abruptly signaling the beginning of the modern climate era.
The last 30 years has seen the death of 50% of the world’s coral reefs and up to 90% may die in the next century including 29 reefs with World Heritage sites.
The problem with plastic waste has long been a cause of debate for many countries around the world. But while several efforts have been made to help lessen the world’s waste, hundreds of sharks and rays are still dying.
The world has changed so much over the last few years. Unfortunately, these changes also caused the demise of some of the world’s most important animals.
In 2018, no whale calves were spotted in their breeding ground off the Florida and Georgia coasts. It wasn’t until the end of December when the first calf was spotted and a total of 7 more were seen afterward.
Comments Off on Recent Calf Sightings Could Mean Improved Recovery of Whale Population / 4th August 2019
This effort is in line with the country’s goal to reduce litter, which can be dangerous to marine life since garbage and other plastic materials may be mistaken for food.
Currently, 316 million plastic drink stirrers, 4.7 billion plastic straws and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used in England each year. But starting April 2020, the government plans to eradicate the usage of these plastic products by restricting their availability.
Comments Off on Will England Finally be Plastic-Free in 2020? / 8th July 2019
Climate change has had a startling effect on the rising temperatures of the oceans. Scientists predict that water temperatures will hit 1.4 – 5.8◦c by the end of the century. This change in the weather and ocean temperature is having a fundamental effect on the marine life that depends on it.
For years people have looked up at the sky and wondered what it would be like to travel into space. The possibility of colonising another planet is exciting and fills us with a sense of immeasurable awe. But what if we turned our eyes a little closer to home?
Good news for the bats and some marine species because the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has recently granted them protected status. During the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP 12) that was held in Manila, protections for migratory bats, angelsharks, blue sharks, dusky sharks, guitarfish, white spotted wedgefish and whale sharks, among others were awarded migratory species protection.
Over the past 40 years, the Earth has already lost half of its wildlife, according to WWF. The planet is in the midst of a 6th mass extinction. But what makes this one worse than the previous 5 mass extinction is that the rate is becoming comparable if not rapid. The growing human population and their increasing demand for resources has cost the lives of tens of thousands of species. 865 species have already gone extinct, including 13% of birds and 25% of all mammals.
A recent study has highlighted a link between plankton and the staggering impact plastic pollution can have on the sea. A specific type of plankton, called zooplankton have been found to readily ingest microplastics. Rather than being digested, it is excreted in the plankton’s faecal pellets. As a consequence, the plastic waste produced by us, may end up in some of the deepest parts of the ocean, which has so far remained untouched by humans. This is bad news for marine wildlife.
Although it is a naturally occurring event, you’d be hard pressed not to be somewhat perplexed at the amount of reported whale strandings that have transpired since the beginning of 2016 in the United Kingdom and European shores. While an event of this nature is indeed mournful, it does leave us questioning how and why there seems to be a sudden surge of whales becoming marooned on our coasts.