Lancashire MCS Blog

Big Beach Clean up

Ron — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:18:02 +0000

On the morning of Friday 11th. May about thirty people came along to Sandylands at Morecambe to help clear and record items of litter from a long stretch of the beach. The event was organised by the Marine Conservation Society and sponsored by Marks and Spencer as part of the Big Beach Watch weekend with similar events taking place all around the UK. After collecting the obvious items, bottles, drinks cans and all manner of items made from plastic attention turned to the large sea defence boulders at the top of the beach. It was from here that the bulk of the litter came, mostly in the form of rope, fishing net and plastic strapping band which filled a large number of plastic sacks. Marine litter is a massive problem, not only around the UK, but world wide. It is estimated that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile in the world’s oceans. Marine litter is an eyesore, it costs everyone money to remove it and also the cost to the local economy, its a health hazard to both wildlife and human beings alike. Discarded plastic can be regarded as the major pollution problem of the 21st century both at sea and on the land. After a snack lunch provided by M&S a small group enjoyed a walk along the shore at Half Moon Bay, Heysham organised by Lancs. Local MCS Group where we spent an hour or so looking at the many different plants and animals to be found there. The next beach clean/litter survey will take place at Half Moon Bay, Heysham on Saturday 16th. June at 12.00hrs. If possible please come along and help to combat this massive marine litter problem, it will be an hour well spent.

Visit to Loch Creran

Ron — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:44:15 +0000

Seven members of the group were joined by four members of Preston SAC on a long weekend trip based at Tralee bay about ten miles north of Oban. Weather and conditions were good giving us the opportunity to explore the surrounding coast and hills and enabling us to dive a number of sites in Loch Creran including Creagan Inn Bay, the narrows between the inner and outer basins, a rocky reef on the south side of the inner basin and the serpulid worm reefs. A long drift dive on the flood tide through the narrows was described as at the very least exhilarating. Lewis spotted a cling fish on one dive but was unable to stop in the current to photograph it and Ron found a flame shell in the narrows just after using the last frame on the film. The final dive of the weekend was from the old railway pier at Kentallon on Loch Linnhe. A swim of about 200 metres from the pier out into the loch brings you to a quite spectacular vertical wall with an abundance of marine life, a great dive to end a well organised weekend, thanks to Gordon.

Windmills in the Irish Sea

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:06:59 +0000

Burrbo Bank & Walney offshore wind farms on Wednesday 9th May was an excellent talk to the group by Peter Sills of DONG Energy. His account of the engineering and political challenges to building offshore wind-farms was fascinating, and resulted in a friendly debate that engaged everyone in the audience.

Wind energy is likely to become a vital part of the energy mix in the UK over the next 20 years, and offshore exploitation does generate less public opposition than land based turbines. For marine life, the hard substrates used to protect cables and turbines from scour provides additional habitat, and the ban on trawling within the farm may be a valuable protection for life that makes use of the softer sea bottom common in the area.

The development of this new mixed ecosystem is likely to be quite interesting…

Thanks again to Peter for his long journey up to visit us!

Chagos MPA Second Anniversary Progress Report

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:39:38 +0000

The Chagos Conservation Trust reports that in the year to April 2012 “…there was significant progress in developing and prioritising the necessary scientific research to support the conservation and long-term management of the world’s largest no-take marine reserve. Crucially, too, there has been a dramatic increase in the interest and involvement of the international scientific community in research relating to the Chagos archipelago.”

The full report is available from their website through the link below:

Chagos Anniversary Progress Report (PDF 172kB)

Lochaline, Easter 2012

Ron — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:36:08 +0000

Lochaline has become firm favourite and a regular Easter venue for members of the group over the last few years. This year six members and a friend spent four very pleasant days in this wonderful location. Beautiful coastal scenery, excellent walking, places to visit, and the diving is also very good as well. A walk along the Western shore of the loch passes a large silica sand mine, the white sand spilling out onto the shore creating what could easily be mistaken for tropical coral sand beaches. Sand from the mine was used to produce high quality optical lenses for gun sights etc. during WW2. Continuing along the loch there are a number of quite interesting geological features and on the loch itself many different species of water bird can be seen, Grey herons around every corner. One member of our party out kayaking on the loch was fortunate enough to have a very close encounter with otters, the rest of us were green with envy. Follow the track around the head of the loch and along the eastern shore to where a small stream tumbles down a small steep valley. Search amongst the boulders and stones in the stream bed and you will be sure to find fossil oysters called Gryphaea that lived on the muddy shoreline of a tropical sea 200 million years ago. Most of the diving was from the easy access Hotel beach which leads gently down over the white sand with lots of tube anemones, Cerianthus lloydii to the top of the Lochaline wall, an almost vertical rock face plunging down to great depths, well beyond the reach of most sport divers. Spectacular diving with a tremendous diversity of life, we have recorded more than 120 different species on the wall to date with a new sighting this visit of a cuttle fish, Sepia officinalis to be added. There is still much more to be be recorded on future visits. There was also a dive on the shallow sea grass beds at Rubha-nan-Sornagon, Loch Linnhe, plenty of interesting marine life, notably lots of sea potatoes, Echinocardium pennatifidum. Overall an excellent few days, with thanks to organisers, Barry & Jo, and the good weather was an added bonus.

Piel Channel dive

Ron — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:52:59 +0000

Weather conditions for the site had been perfect for more than a week, so we travelled to Roa Island on Sunday 1st. April with high expectations of having a good interesting dive. Looking down on the water from the lifeboat gantry the conditions looked OK, so we kitted up and took the plunge. Much to our surprise after we had covered only a few metres from the shore the underwater visibility was no more than half a metre. It was quite light but there was very fine silt suspended in the water. As we progressed deeper it became more and more gloomy. At the deepest point (10.7m) in the middle of the channel it was completely dark and impossible to see anything. We swam slowly back up the slope to into shallower water, about (5m deep). here the bright sun penetrated the silty water a little more and the diverse marine life that we are used to seeing in the channel came into view. In the very small field of vision there were numerous species of crab, tiny anemones, sponges, common whelks, mussels and a small number of the beautiful hydroid, Tubularia indivisa with tentacles extended. On returning to shore we discovered that dredging operations were being carried out in the Channel and had been for a number of days. This was the reason for the poor visibility and our far less than perfect dive. It was though the first of April !

The Piel Channel Recording & Survey Project

Barry — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:52:19 +0000

Work by the Lancashire MCS group recording the Piel Channel is now available online. The work dates from the late 1980′s to the present day.

Thanks to Ron for bringing the data together for this; the full report is available through the link below:

Piel Channel survey

Marine science update 12th September 2011

Barry — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:50:35 +0000

A couple of articles over the last few weeks do make interesting and/or disturbing reading: I think it is pretty much a given that for wild fisheries to have much chance of survival they must be managed. In this light recent gene marker studies on fish sales raise both hopes that we can now clearly identify the provenance of a fish on the fishmonger’s counter, and a warning that some existing certification schemes are not working as well as they need to. Farmed fish may be managed, but that also makes them subject to pretty unpleasant management practices, such as the practice of eye-stalk ablation, which apparently speeds maturity of black tiger shrimp…

We start, however, with one of the big stories in the popular press over the last few weeks, the latest estimate of the total number of species on the planet. To be pedantic we should perhaps say eukaryotic species, though the term ‘species’ is not very easy to apply to prokaryotes…

Marine science

Let me count the ways: 8.7 million (±1.3 million) eukaryotic species globally, of which approx. 2.2 million (±0.18 million) are marine – 91% of species in the ocean still await description…
Mora C, Tittensor DP, Adl S, Simpson AGB, Worm B (2011) How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? PLoS Biol 9(8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127

Photos reveal benthic habitat dynamics: A unique series of underwater photographs taken over a period to 25 years has allowed scientists to look at how communities of sponges and anthozoans change over time. These species are surprisingly long-lived with just over 3% of the combined population dying each year, a rate approximately balanced by influx of new individuals. The low turn-over suggests that these communities are very susceptible to human disturbance.
Teixidó N, Garrabou J, Harmelin J-G (2011) Low Dynamics, High Longevity and Persistence of Sessile Structural Species Dwelling on Mediterranean Coralligenous Outcrops. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23744. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023744

As wide as it is tall? Vertical variations in communities on rocky shores are well known, and are driven by stresses due to predator access and exposure. Longitudinal differences in community structure along a rocky shore are also common, but less well understood. Possibilities include propagule retention on the shoreline, foundation species effects, and physical influences.
Valdivia N, Scrosati RA, Molis M, Knox AS (2011) Variation in Community Structure across Vertical Intertidal Stress Gradients: How Does It Compare with Horizontal Variation at Different Scales? PLoS ONE 6(8): e24062. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024062

Fish mussel in: The presence of sub-tidal reefs greatly increases predation on mussels. The reefs act as a low-water refuge for predatory fish, which forage over the mussel bed at high water.
Rilov G, Schiel DR (2011) Community Regulation: The Relative Importance of Recruitment and Predation Intensity of an Intertidal Community Dominant in a Seascape Context. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23958. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023958

Rumbling shrimp: Male shrimps make rumbling noises in turbid waters, almost certainly to communicate territory and attract mates. The behaviour is specific to wild habitats, perhaps because visibility is poor, or distances between shrimps are greater, so visual communication systems don’t work. ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2011)

Green tunicates: Studies indicate that the photosymbiont blue-green algae living within tunicates in the Bahamas are usually structured by the ascidian host, but can also be dominated by location effects.
López-Legentil S, Song B, Bosch M, Pawlik JR, Turon X (2011) Cyanobacterial Diversity and a New Acaryochloris-Like Symbiont from Bahamian Sea-Squirts. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23938. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023938

Heal yourself: Corals have the same basic pattern of wound healing as mammals.
Palmer CV, Traylor-Knowles NG, Willis BL, Bythell JC (2011) Corals Use Similar Immune Cells and Wound-Healing Processes as Those of Higher Organisms. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23992. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023992

Global bug-map: The first attempt to bring together information about bacterial communities in the marine ecosystem shows it to be diverse!
Zinger L, Amaral-Zettler LA, Fuhrman JA, Horner-Devine MC, Huse SM, et al. (2011) Global Patterns of Bacterial Beta-Diversity in Seafloor and Seawater Ecosystems. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24570. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024570

To CO₂ you will return: The Alphaproteobacteria are the most abundant heterotrphs in the ocean. They are equipped with a tiny genome that specialises in converting single carbon compounds – such as methanol and formic acid – into carbon dioxide, and are a vital mechanism for the return of dissolved organic carbon from the ocean to the atmosphere as CO₂.
Sun J, Steindler L, Thrash JC, Halsey KH, Smith DP, et al. (2011) One Carbon Metabolism in SAR11 Pelagic Marine Bacteria. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23973. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023973

Conservation

Tough reef: Reefs around the Indo-Pacific island of Moorea have recovered after several major disturbances. In each instance, after the reef has damaged the numbers of herbivorous fish has increased rapidly, ensuring that macro-algae do not get chance to dominate the ecosystem. The herbivore population is recruited from the lagoon emphasising the importance of the link between the two in forming a stable reef ecosystem.
Adam TC, Schmitt RJ, Holbrook SJ, Brooks AJ, Edmunds PJ, et al. (2011) Herbivory, Connectivity, and Ecosystem Resilience: Response of a Coral Reef to a Large-Scale Perturbation. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23717. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023717

Comb stopped by fresh water: Studies in the Baltic suggest that the invasive comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi is unable to form a sustainable population at salinities less than 15ppt.
Jaspers C, Møller LF, Kiørboe T (2011) Salinity Gradient of the Baltic Sea Limits the Reproduction and Population Expansion of the Newly Invaded Comb Jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi. PLoS ONE 6(8): e24065. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024065

1000 years whale watching: Review of Portuguese historical sources on cetacean sitings.
Brito C, Sousa A (2011) The Environmental History of Cetaceans in Portugal: Ten Centuries of Whale and Dolphin Records. PLoS ONE 6(9): e23951. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023951

4%: The area of the world’s oceans that would need to be converted into reserves to protect ‘the vast majority’ of marine mammals. ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2011)

Fisheries and exploitation

These are not the fish we are looking for: Genetic markers indicate that sales of Chilean Sea Bass are often not Chilean Sea Bass, and much of the catch was not from certified sustainable fishing grounds. About 15% of the fish analysed was bogus, raising questions about tracability in the certification scheme. ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2011)

Deep sea fish in trouble: Report indicates that almost none of the current deep-sea fisheries are sustainable. ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2011)

Fine-grained management may increase sustainable yields: Managing fish stocks geographically at the individual species level could increase sustainable catches by 25%.
Hamilton SL, Wilson JR, Ben-Horin T, Caselle JE (2011) Utilizing Spatial Demographic and Life History Variation to Optimize Sustainable Yield of a Temperate Sex-Changing Fish. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24580. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024580

SELTRA-trawl: reduces by-catch of cod in langustine fisheries. ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2011)

Hake today, hake tomorrow: Despite fisheries pressure northern European hake stocks have stood up pretty well, this appears to be due to warmer waters encouraging the survival of juvenile stages. ScienceDaily (Aug. 24, 2011)

Salmon in trouble: A new study indicates that the decline in wild salmon stocks are due to a number of factors acting in concert.
Otero J, Jensen AJ, L’Abée-Lund JH, Stenseth NC, Storvik GO, et al. (2011) Quantifying the Ocean, Freshwater and Human Effects on Year-to-Year Variability of One-Sea-Winter Atlantic Salmon Angled in Multiple Norwegian Rivers. PLoS ONE 6(8): e24005. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024005

Farming offshore: Blue fin tuna farmed off-shore suffer less from parasites.
Kirchhoff NT, Rough KM, Nowak BF (2011) Moving Cages Further Offshore: Effects on Southern Bluefin Tuna, T. maccoyii, Parasites, Health and Performance. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23705. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023705

Gouge out their eyes: Apparently tiger shrimp mature faster if their eyes are ‘ablated’. This study is looking for alternatives, but it sheds light on a rather disturbing and unpleasant practice…
Uawisetwathana U, Leelatanawit R, Klanchui A, Prommoon J, Klinbunga S, et al. (2011) Insights into Eyestalk Ablation Mechanism to Induce Ovarian Maturation in the Black Tiger Shrimp. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24427. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024427

Kelp farm? Further studies indicate that large-scale kelp farming may provide useful amounts of fuel. ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2011)

Fast fuel: Yeast allows sugars in seaweed to be quickly converted into biofuels: ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2011)

Climate change

A clam’s take on climate change: Clams can live for 100 years, and they lay down a record of the environment they are growing in in their shells. Just like tree-rings, they can be used to plot past climates. Results indicate that climate variations seen in the tropical Pacific have been strongly connected with those in the Antarctic for the last 50 million years. The good news from this is that the Pacific oscillations (El Niño) have persisted through past warm periods, so will probably continue through the current warming phase. ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2011)

Unstable sea-levels: Bahamian corals indicate tha sea-levels have varied considerably over the last warm inter-glacial:. ScienceDaily (Sep. 11, 2011)

King crabs on the march: Another report about king crabs finding their way into Antarctic waters, which have warmed up enough for them to thrive. ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2011)

Shipwrecks as climatic time capsules: The biological communities on WW2 shipwreck sites off the North American coast have been recorded to provide a baseline for monitoring climatic changes. ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2011)

Shore Walk Roa Island 30th August 2011

Barry — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:46:27 +0000

This will be an informal event looking for and recording some of the creatures that can be found on the shore at Roa Island. Low tide is at 7:30pm and will be particularly low – at 0.5 metres it should expose more of the shore than most tides which means that many creatures that are often only seen by divers may be found. There are also some creatures that divers don’t normally see that are easier to find when the tide has gone out.

Suitable for all ages; children must be supervised by a responsible adult. Meet at the top of the Jetty next to the Lifeboat Station @6:15pm – map reference SD 232648.

What to bring?

Must haves -

Wellies, sandals or other shoes that you don’t mind getting wet and probably a little muddy;
The same applies to your clothes; also bring some warmer clothes – the shore is exposed so can feel chillier than places on shore.

Optional extras -

A towel and a change of clothes just in case may be a good idea;
Shallow trays or a bucket to put creatures in to study (but be sure to put them back carefully exactly where you find them!);
A net;
A camera – but be aware that sea water and cameras do not mix well, if you bring a camera and have a waterproof housing then please use it and in any case take extreme care on the shore not to drop (or even put) your camera into water;
A torch – preferrably a waterproof one, or another good option would be a head torch (sunset is @8:10pm, dusk 8:45pm).

Anything that you bring or wear will be at your own risk.

If anyone wants to car share please let me know and I will try to arrange to meet at the westbound layby on the A65 about half a mile east of junction 36 of the M6 – map ref SD 541821. But note that timing will be a little tight for some of us to get away from work and get to the meeting point in time and that I will NOT do this unless it is requested and I can arrange to leave in time to get to Roa Island.

Contact: Lewis Bambury

Tel: 01524 414318
Mob: 07798 707318

Marine science update 21st August 2011

Barry — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:19:48 +0000

The hardest coral on the reef may well be a softie, as much of the rocky structure of these reefs is found to derive from the sclerites from soft corals! This debate over how much support environmental agencies will grow as our economic worries deepen, how high up the scale do you put the environment? Essential for our continued existence on the planet, or jobs/hospitals now (environment later – maybe)? This week DSN reports on the debate in the US in our conservation leader. Our pollution section, however, points out that one of the most damaging aquatic pollutants – nitrogen from fertilisers – can be reduced while saving money and increasing yields…

Marine science

Simple eel: World’s most primitive eel found off Palau. ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2011)

Soft coral builds strong reefs: Research suggests that soft corals contribute directly to hard reef formation, with microscopic sclerites from the soft corals forming a significant proportion of the hard reef structure. ScienceDaily (Aug. 16, 2011)

Beach life: How do physical, chemical and biological factors on a beach influence the community that lives there? Simple bivariate relationships are not very useful in describing beach communities, but this can be done when a larger number of variables, taking into account all three primary factors, is considered.
Ortega Cisneros K, Smit AJ, Laudien J, Schoeman DS (2011) Complex, Dynamic Combination of Physical, Chemical and Nutritional Variables Controls Spatio-Temporal Variation of Sandy Beach Community Structure. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23724. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023724

Filling in the gaps: Modelling real movement based on telemetry tracking of the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) in the Bering Sea.
Hanks EM, Hooten MB, Johnson DS, Sterling JT (2011) Velocity-Based Movement Modeling for Individual and Population Level Inference. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22795. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022795

Lost city: Models of the dispersal of chitons found in deep sea habitats suggests that there are additional populations, as yet undiscovered.
Yearsley JM, Sigwart JD (2011) Larval Transport Modeling of Deep-Sea Invertebrates Can Aid the Search for Undiscovered Populations. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23063. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023063

Pinning down parasitic copepods: Morphology and diversity of the Monstrilloida. Their life cycle consists of a planktonic stage which locates its molluscan or polychaete host before changing into a parasitic juvenile phase, with two feeding appendages that penetrate into the host’s tissues. These break off when the animal matures, giving a free-swimming adult.
Suárez-Morales E (2011) Diversity of the Monstrilloida (Crustacea: Copepoda). PLoS ONE 6(8): e22915. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022915

Flu season: Infection of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) appears to be cyclical, high disease rates can effect the entire marine food-chain through the release of macro- and micronutrients from dead cells. ScienceDaily (Aug. 11, 2011)

Not on speaking terms: Genetic analysis shows that there are three sub-populations of the coral Pocillopora damicornis between the Gulf of Pnama and that of Chiriqui. The populations are may be diverging due to restricted transport of larvae in the region.
Combosch DJ, Vollmer SV (2011) Population Genetics of an Ecosystem-Defining Reef Coral Pocillopora damicornis in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. PLoS ONE 6(8): e21200. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021200

DNA trail: DNA persists at detectable levels in freshwater aquatic systems for up to a month after the species in question is no longer present.
Dejean T, Valentini A, Duparc A, Pellier-Cuit S, Pompanon F, et al. (2011) Persistence of Environmental DNA in Freshwater Ecosystems. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23398. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023398

Fast fingerprinting: A quicker way to identify marine microbial communities?
Coll-Lladó M, Acinas SG, Pujades C, Pedrós-Alió C (2011) Transcriptome Fingerprinting Analysis: An Approach to Explore Gene Expression Patterns in Marine Microbial Communities. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22950. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022950

Conservation

Economy or environment? Debate in the US steps up as environmental agencies face cuts. Marine Conservation News, August 08, 2011

Human pathogen attacks coral: The pathogen Serratia marcescens has been associated with disease in elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata).
Sutherland KP, Shaban S, Joyner JL, Porter JW, Lipp EK (2011) Human Pathogen Shown to Cause Disease in the Threatened Eklhorn Coral Acropora palmata. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23468. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023468

Global map of coral stress: Combining all of the stresses faced by corals into a single map showing where stress is most severe, but also indicating how stress factors other than climate change might be reduced to improve the chance of coral survival.
Maina J, McClanahan TR, Venus V, Ateweberhan M, Madin J (2011) Global Gradients of Coral Exposure to Environmental Stresses and Implications for Local Management. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23064. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023064

Fish recovery: The Cabo Pulmo National Park, a no take zone created in 1995, saw a 460% increase in fish biomass up to 2009. This is the largest increase seen in any protected area, and reflects strong community leadership and local environmental effects. Economic benefits through tourism suggest that these community managed schemes are a viable option.
Aburto-Oropeza O, Erisman B, Galland GR, Mascareñas-Osorio I, Sala E, et al. (2011) Large Recovery of Fish Biomass in a No-Take Marine Reserve. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23601. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023601

Corals in cold waters: Recent warm years have resulted in bleaching of of many corals, now researchers have found that some corals are equally susceptible to unexpected cold temperatures. An unseasonal cold snap in early 2010, when water temperatures in the upper Florida Keys dropped below 18°C for two weeks resulted in devastation of the reef building corals there.
Lirman D, Schopmeyer S, Manzello D, Gramer LJ, Precht WF, et al. (2011) Severe 2010 Cold-Water Event Caused Unprecedented Mortality to Corals of the Florida Reef Tract and Reversed Previous Survivorship Patterns. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23047. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023047

Scent of death: It may be possible to control the spread of sea lampreys in the Great Lakes with chemicals that mimic those given off by their dead bretheren. ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2011)

Fisheries and exploitation

Coral reef fish flee fishermen: Species normally caught by spear-gun display faster flight reactions than other fish.
Januchowski-Hartley FA, Graham NAJ, Feary DA, Morove T, Cinner JE (2011) Fear of Fishers: Human Predation Explains Behavioral Changes in Coral Reef Fishes. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22761. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022761

Fair wind farm: The impact on birds from North Sea wind farms is less than feared, whilst the structures and their footings provide a new habitat for a range of organisms, increasing diversity. ScienceDaily (Aug. 8, 2011)

Flexing antimicrobial mussels: Myticin C – an anti-microbial agent identified in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is shown to protect against some viral infections.
Balseiro P, Falcó A, Romero A, Dios S, Martínez-López A, et al. (2011) Mytilus galloprovincialis Myticin C: A Chemotactic Molecule with Antiviral Activity and Immunoregulatory Properties. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23140. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023140

Oyster wall: Ozster banks can help to protect shorelines from errosion.
Scyphers SB, Powers SP, Heck KL Jr, Byron D (2011) Oyster Reefs as Natural Breakwaters Mitigate Shoreline Loss and Facilitate Fisheries. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22396. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022396

Pollution

Nitrogen spreadsheet: The cost benefit analysis of adding nitrogen in agriculture: Reduced usage in Europe and the US alongside increased yields suggest that simple models need to be developed for global use, so that farmers can see clearly what the optimum amount of fertiliser use is. This will reduce the cost of fertiliser to the farmer, and minimise environmental damage.
Good AG, Beatty PH (2011) Fertilizing Nature: A Tragedy of Excess in the Commons. PLoS Biol 9(8): e1001124. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001124

Climate change

Mackerel movement: Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) stocks on the Eastern coast of the US have moved 255km northeastward and into shallower waters in response to climate change. ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2011)

How fast can you change? Measuring the ability of invertebrate larvae to respond to increased marine acidity.
Sunday JM, Crim RN, Harley CDG, Hart MW (2011) Quantifying Rates of Evolutionary Adaptation in Response to Ocean Acidification. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22881. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022881

Fizzy oysters: How changes to carbonate chemistry due to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide effect the embryonic growth of the pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas).
Gazeau F, Gattuso J-P, Greaves M, Elderfield H, Peene J, et al. (2011) Effect of Carbonate Chemistry Alteration on the Early Embryonic Development of the Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas). PLoS ONE 6(8): e23010. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023010

Climate killer: Models of fish populations in the Great Lakes (fresh water) indicate that climate change is a greater threat than invasive species.
Sharma S, Vander Zanden MJ, Magnuson JJ, Lyons J (2011) Comparing Climate Change and Species Invasions as Drivers of Coldwater Fish Population Extirpations. PLoS ONE 6(8): e22906. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022906

Can you do without snails? It looks like ocean acidification will lead to a reduced the harvest of marine molluscs such as mussels and oysters. This may lead to deprivation in many nations – those identified in the report include Senegal, Madagascar, Gambia, Mozambique and Haiti. Via EurekaAlert! 2nd Aug 2011