For more than five years, divers and scientists along the U.S. West Coast have watched a disaster play out before their eyes. Sunflower sea stars fell victim to a wasting disease, which wiped out roughly 90 percent of the global population in 2013. Seven years later, scientists see no signs of recovery. Without the sea stars, the population of purple urchins that sea stars eat has exploded and mowed down entire forests of bull kelp. The West Coast experienced intense ocean warming from 2014 to 2017, and by 2015 divers began seeing urchin barrens — vast swaths covered in piles of spiny creatures and little else.
Coral reefs are facing many environmental challenges, and cruise ships are a major contributor. One of these ships’ greatest impacts is starting to muddy the water.
A little dot in the Pacific, Clipperton is surrounded by coral reefs and encloses a stagnant lagoon. Despite looking like paradise, Clipperton is being invaded by plastic.
Predatory fish in natural environments are a rarity, because of physical traits and population exploitation. Read more about about predatory fish populations that are on the brink.
The benefits of protecting seagrass cannot be overstated. Seagrass purifies the water, helps protect against coastal erosion, helps sustain small-scale fisheries that support communities, and increases fish populations and biodiversity. It sequesters much more carbon per area than terrestrial forests and reduces ocean acidification. Healthy seagrass means a healthier ocean.
Our oceans are under siege. Destructive industrial-scale fishing is causing widespread species decline. Ocean warming due to human-induced climate change is triggering episodes of mass coral bleaching with increased vigor and frequency.
Mangroves live along subtropical and tropical coastlines. Their upper trunk, branches and leaves grow above the waterline, but an extensive network of roots remain mostly underwater. Dense patches or forests of mangroves are habitats for terrestrial, estuarine and marine species that include invertebrates, fish and many types of seabirds and waterfowl, and they provide shelter as well as feeding and breeding space for 174 marine megafauna species. Mangrove forests provide also protect coastlines against erosion and flooding and help mitigate climate change.
Cuba is a hard-to-get-to dive destination from the United States. However, other divers from across the globe have been able to explore Cuba. Read more about diving in Cuba.
How many times have you noticed the line of weeds out of the corner of your eye and driven past, around, or through it without a second glance on your […]
The eight species highlighted here are recognized as at risk by the IUCN, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates trade.
