The tidal environment of mangrove forests serves as nurseries for many fish species. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have measured carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in 23 of world’s mangrove areas. The study sends out a warning that these ecosystems are increasingly threatened as sea temperatures continue to rise.

Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans’ delicate chemical and biological balance. A new study demonstrates that the microbes may already be adapting well to warmer, nutrient-poor waters. Researchers predict that these surprisingly adaptable archaea will play an important role in reshaping ocean chemistry in a changing climate. 

Herring from different parts of the Baltic Sea belong to distinct populations genetically adapted to local differences in salinity and temperature. However, these populations can also mix with each other, according to a new study by researchers from Uppsala University, Stockholm University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. These results have important implications for the management of the Baltic herring. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Narrow-ridged finless porpoises were long assumed to be mostly solitary species with little allomaternal interaction. In a new study, researchers from Kindai University found four infant porpoises swimming with non-mother adults. The functions of these interactions are unclear. It is possible that they reduce swimming effort for infants and help young females learn to interact with infants before having their own offspring. These findings are valuable for wildlife conservation and rehabilitation of abandoned infant porpoises.

How is carbon metabolized and processed in different ecosystems? In a recent study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, researchers led by Joely Maak, the study’s first author and researcher in the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”, examined the carbon cycle in a unique marine ecosystem.