A study investigated how ingesting expanded polystyrene (EPS) affects wharf roaches, a common shoreline scavenger. EPS-fed animals showed no significant reduction in lifespan, but their guts displayed altered expression of genes involved in chemical defense, DNA repair, and digestion. Gut microbial communities were largely unchanged, although several rare taxa were detected only in EPS-fed specimens. The findings highlight the need for a more comprehensive understanding of how microplastic pollution affects marine ecosystems.

Climate change continues to threaten the world’s coral reefs, which support at least a quarter of all marine life. Though probiotics have been shown to rehabilitate corals in aquarium experiments, demonstrating the efficacy of such microbial therapy in the ocean is difficult. In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports on September 3, researchers establish that both live probiotic and inactivated postbiotic treatments improve coral health—while the animals are under thermal stress during a natural marine heatwave.

Global study of more than 23,000 marine mollusk species projects major shifts in body size by 2100 — including surprising growth in some animals and ocean regions

The new method, as well as allowing study of individuals, also reduces the potential for louse faecal contamination. It allows collection of high-quality samples from a single louse per test, with substantial yields of secretory proteins per louse.

Melinda Webster, a research scientist at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, is the lead author on a new study that catalogs changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the past 50-plus years. She spoke with UW News about the story behind the numbers.

Australian engineers have created a strong and lightweight titanium material that floats in water, even after severe damage, revealing a promising new material for marine infrastructure. 

Ying Zhang in URI's College of the Environment and Life Sciences is leading a collaboration funded by the National Science Foundation that will leverage existing collaborations and coastal research networks in Rhode Island and Louisiana. With nearly 40% of Americans living in coastal counties, this research is highly relevant to building community resilience and economic sustainability in both states.

Coastal residents may be worried about exposure to forever chemicals from sea spray during hot summer months, but York University researchers found there was little evidence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination from marine aerosols, a finding that surprised them. The study looked specifically at areas impacted by sea spray from the Atlantic Ocean generated by waves breaking on the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, however, despite its windy, marine location they found it was not an issue as previously thought.