EurekAlert! Marine Science - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Sep-2025 05:11 ET (18-Sep-2025 09:11 GMT/UTC)

Steve Canty named new Director of the Smithsonian’s Marine Global Earth Observatory Network

Smithsonian
Business Announcement

Steve Canty has been appointed new director of the Smithsonian’s Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) network, effective Sept. 8. A marine biologist, Canty has worked alongside scientists and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to study vital resources like mangroves, seagrasses and small-scale fisheries. As MarineGEO director, Canty will lead a global network with partners on six continents, dedicated to understanding and protecting coastal ecosystems for the billions of people who rely on them.

Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe Prochlorococcus at risk

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.

Journal: Nature Microbiology

Ocean Sciences Meeting will convene in Glasgow Scotland, February 2026

American Geophysical Union
Meeting Announcement

The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union , the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography , and The Oceanography Society , brings together 6,000 scientists, students, policymakers and educators to discuss breaking research across the ocean sciences and critical issues affecting a sustainable future for our oceans.

Meeting: Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026

Reproductive flexibility in sharks and rays complicates conservation predictions

Newcastle University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sharks, skates and rays adapt their growth and reproduction to changing food availability, a new study reveals.

Journal: Ecology Letters

£250 million defence deal enables University of Plymouth to drive innovations in advanced marine technology

University of Plymouth
Business Announcement

As part of a £250million investment in defence and security announced by the UK Government, the University of Plymouth will be creating a new Advanced Marine Technology Hub that will enhance the University’s world-leading expertise in autonomous marine systems, maritime cyber security, offshore renewable energy and environmental intelligence, as well as reaffirming its long-standing partnerships with – and commitment to – the city’s defence and security sectors.

Seaweed snare: Sargassum stops sea turtle hatchlings in their tracks

Florida Atlantic University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While we know obstacles on the beach can slow down hatchlings and put them at risk, little research has focused on the impact of sargassum. A new study of loggerhead, leatherback and green hatchlings finds that all three species took significantly longer to complete their crawl when sargassum was present. The time it took to climb up and over the seaweed piles was the primary reason. Even small piles delayed their crawl, with many flipping over and failing to climb the seaweed in time.

Journal: Journal of Coastal Research

Researchers quantify rate of essential evolutionary process in the ocean

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team, led by researchers at Bigelow Laboratory's Single Cell Genomics Center, have published the first quantitative analysis of lateral gene transfer rates in the ocean, illuminating the adaptability of marine microbes to new environment and the significance of an essential, ongoing evolutionary process to marine life.

Journal: The ISME Journal

What climate change means for the Mediterranean Sea

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Climate change threatens marine and coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean region. Warming, sea level rise, and ocean acidification are occuring there more intensely and rapidly than the global average. A recent study led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel investigated how strongly marine and coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea are already at risk, even under comparatively moderate additional warming. For this purpose, 131 scientific studies were evaluated in a thorough meta-analysis. The results have now been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Plants, islands and climate change: Biologist Julian Schrader receives an ERC Starting Grant

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Grant and Award Announcement

Dr Julian Schrader has been awarded one of the European Research Council’s (ERC) coveted Starting Grants to study island plant life. The biologist will use the 1.5 million euros grant to investigate the interaction between climate change and the spread of plant species. To do this, he will relocate from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, to Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the German Centre for Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv). The ERC Starting Grant is one of Europe’s most prestigious research awards.

Funder: European Research Council

This common fish has an uncommon feature: Forehead teeth, used for mating

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads, lining a cartilaginous appendage called the tenaculum, in addition to those in their jaws. They used their tenaculum teeth to grip females while mating in water.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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