Thorny skates come in two distinct sizes along the Atlantic Coast of North America, but no one could figure out why. Then their numbers began to plummet, and it became imperative for scientists to understand whether their sizes had anything to do with it. Now we have a key part of the answer.

The red coral colonies that were transplanted a decade ago on the seabed of the Medes Islands have survived successfully. They are very similar to the original communities and have contributed to the recovery of the functioning of the coral reef, a habitat where species usually grow very slowly. Thus, these colonies, seized years ago from illegal fishing, have found a second chance to survive, thanks to the restoration actions of the University of Barcelona teams, in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM - CSIC), to transplant seized corals and mitigate the impact of poaching.

New research reveals that heavy precipitation sourced from the Atlantic Ocean, are the primary drivers of present-day lake filling in the northwestern Sahara. The study finds that only the most intense and prolonged precipitation events trigger lake-filling episodes, challenging long-standing assumptions about past climate conditions in the region. These findings suggest that projections of enhanced rainfall intensity and frequency in the Sahara could potentially reshape water availability in the desert.

A recent study unravels why North America, despite its comparable geographical setting to East Asia, lacks a distinct rainy season like that of East Asia. Led by scientists from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the research reveals how shifts in paleogeography and climate change have shaped the spring rainfall pattern we see today.

A team from the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, studied the sediments that Hurricanes Fabian (2003) and Igor (2010) transported from the Bermuda carbonate platform -- a shallow-water reef refuge for marine life – and deposited to the deep ocean. They found significant effects on the deep ocean environment that lasted for weeks. Hurricane Fabian delivered as much sediment to the deep ocean in just two weeks as would normally take a full year to accumulate. These sediments -- carbonate-rich material that forms in the thriving ecosystem on reef platforms -- have major effects on the ocean environment. If they get buried in deep sediments, they can sequester carbon for millennia or more. They can also provide a buffering effect to help offset ocean acidification, a consequence of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The scientists, from the MBL's Oceanic Flux Program, published their data in Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans.

A team of scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Marburg and Stockholm University have elucidated an ancient mechanism of cellular respiration. To that end, they studied bacteria that feed on the gases carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and turn them into acetic acid – a metabolic pathway that emerged very early in evolution. The international team has now been able to resolve the mystery of how the microbes use this process to generate energy. Their findings are also interesting for another reason: Since the microorganisms remove CO₂ from their environment, they are seen as a beacon of hope in the fight against climate change.