Climate-driven oxygen loss in the Black Sea thousands of years ago triggered the expansion of microorganisms capable of producing the potent neurotoxin methylmercury. That is shown in a new study published in Nature Water, led by Eric Capo at Umeå University, which suggests that similar processes could occur in today’s warming oceans.

A Tulane University-led study published in Nature Geoscience reveals that melting North American ice sheets were the primary driver of dramatic sea-level rise at the end of the last ice age, overturning long-held assumptions that Antarctica played the larger role. Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, retreating North American ice sheets caused more than 30 feet (10 meters) of global sea-level rise, reshaping scientists’ understanding of Earth’s climate history.

Research has revealed that about 90 percent of marine aquarium fish sold by online retailers in the United States are sourced directly from wild populations. This reliance on wild capture threatens the sustainability of coral reef ecosystems and puts endangered and threatened species at greater risk of extinction.

A new manuscript in the Journal of Fish Biology reveals that relationships between fish and sea anemones are more diverse than those portrayed in Finding Nemo. Captured through breathtaking blackwater photography, the images featured in the article show rarely seen encounters between these creatures that may provide mutual benefits.

Two fault systems on North America’s West Coast – the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault – may be synchronized, with earthquakes on one fault potentially triggering seismic events on the other, a new study found.

It’s a scene fit for a nature documentary: In the frigid ocean surrounding Antarctica, the water boils over as seabirds dive from above and marine animals like seals and whales rise from the depths to all feast on krill. But zoom out and this flurry of activity is just a tiny speck in a desolate seascape. Scientists have been puzzled by how these various species are all able to find the same food source at the same time. In research published October 6 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Duke University and UC Davis scientists tease out how multiple species of Antarctic seabirds forage together – with takeaways for conservation and for crowd behavior — and shows that flocks find food better when they rely on each other’s senses.

A new study from researchers at MBARI and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science—with an interdisciplinary team of collaborators from the Hakai Institute, Xiamen University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Southern Denmark, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada—has revealed the impacts of marine heatwaves on the foundation of the ocean food web. Pairing data from robotic floats deployed as part of the Global Ocean Biogeochemical Array with eDNA samples from ship-based plankton surveys, the team found that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs, which in turn can slow the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hamper the ocean’s ability to buffer against climate change.