Orcas Hunt the World’s Biggest Fish. What’s Next?
From wearing salmon as hats to massaging on rocks, orcas display some playful and interesting behaviours. Recently, in the Gulf of California, a pod of orcas has been seen doing something very interesting: hunting the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark.
The Future of the Great Barrier Reef
Climate change is loading up for its next shots on the Great Barrier Reef. But while so many reefs are suffering from mass bleaching events, the Ribbon Reefs, the Swains, and Pompey Reefs are curiously evading severe bleaching. As for how these reefs manage to consistently evade climate change’s shots, the CSIRO’s new research shows these reefs curiously evade bleaching because of cold water from the deep.
“Chicken Nuggets of the Forest” Discover Scuba Tech
Water Anoles – a type of semi-aquatic lizard that lives in the forests of Costa Rica – have found a way to escape predators by jumping into the water and producing a special bubble around their nostrils. Lindsey Swierk, a professor at Binghamton University, New York, first saw these lizards when she was walking near streams in the mountains of Costa Rica.
Grumpy Gophers, Happy Soil, Happy Plants: the Official Formula
In 1980, Mount St. Helen, in southwest Washington State, erupted, killing 57 people. Three years later, scientists brought two pocket gophers into an enclosed space on the northern side of the mountain. These two pocket gophers were not happy being moved from their home of Butte Camp to the northern side of the mountain. After their helicopter trip, the two grumpy gophers were released to do what they wanted to do, which, for gophers, is digging. After one day of the grumpy gophers’ digging, the places where the gophers had dug exploded with new life.
Dengue Cases on the Rise
In 2023, there were 6.5 million Dengue Fever cases. Now the number of cases has almost doubled. There are two culprits. Firstly, mosquitoes. Dengue Fever is a disease spread by two types of mosquitoes: the yellow fever mosquito and the tiger mosquito. These mosquitoes bite humans and transmit the disease to them. But these mosquitoes have always been buzzing around, biting people, so what’s caused the number of dengue cases to double to 12.7 million?
Impacts of Forever Chemicals
In recent years there has been increasing concern about the impact of PFAS on humans and our environment. Now, scientists have found high levels inside turtle populations. Could this be a threat to future populations of these iconic animals?
Waste Clothes and Carpet Making Concrete Safer
Every year, 92 million tons of clothes are disposed of into landfill; currently, very few are recycled. One method of destroying this waste is by burning it. However, this releases “various toxic gases, creating [serious] environmental concerns,” according to a team of researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, led by Dr. Chamila Gunaserkara.
We Cannot Continue to Rely on Nature to Mop Up After Us
Earth’s systems keep the levels of carbon in the atmosphere balanced. As carbon is released from biological processes, it is stored back up by others, such as the ocean, plants and soil. These are Carbon Sinks, areas with the ability to drawdown and store greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Climate Change Driving a Rise in Dengue Cases
14 million cases of Dengue fever were reported in 2024, more than double that recorded in 2023. This builds on a trend of increase which has been seen since the 1950s.
Cooler Sections Provide Hope for the Great Barrier Reef’s Future
Off the coast of Cairns, a once-colourful array of vibrant corals has been bleached into a bare, white graveyard, representing just one symptom of climate change. However, hope for the future of this UNESCO World Heritage treasure lies in pockets of untouched coral, protected by cool deep ocean upwelling.