The latest annual report on coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef shows the ecosystem is showing signs of recovery, with hard coral cover across all three regions increasing slightly or remaining close to last year’s levels, the Australian Institute of Marine Science can reveal. This follows the steep declines in coral cover recorded after 2024’s mass bleaching event. 

According to the 36th annual State of the Climate report, greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level, and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2025. The State of the Climate in 2025 features contributions by 625 scientists in 60 countries. The report is published annually in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Researchers analyzed additive-derived chemicals in floating microplastics and larger plastic debris collected from coastal, offshore, riverine, and seafloor environments around Japan. They detected a wide range of chemicals, including antioxidants, plasticizers, ultraviolet stabilizers, and flame retardants, and identified Irgafos 168-related compounds, the plasticizer DEHP, and the flame retardant HBCD as chemicals of particular concern. These chemicals showed distinct environmental behaviors, including leaching from plastics, sorption from surrounding water and particles, and persistence during fragmentation and transport in marine environments. The findings show that fragmentation into microplastics does not necessarily reduce concerns about chemicals and highlight the need to consider the environmental fate of plastic-associated chemicals in risk assessment and management.

Environmental pressures are known as a driving force behind many of the major animal developmental transitions, such as the switch from tadpoles in the pond to a frog's life on land with legs. Yet the mechanisms behind this physical and environmental relationship remain somewhat of a mystery. Published in Science Advances, a new multi-year study sheds light on the mechanistic link between environmental variation and developmental adaptability. Using a common reef fish as a model, the researchers explored how environmental differences impacted thyroid hormone signaling, a process essential for development regulation.

A new study presents high-resolution nitrogen isotope records from the inner-ramp Penglaiba section in the Tarim Basin, documenting a two-stage deoxygenation–reoxygenation redox history of shallow marine environments during the Terreneuvian Epoch. Integrated with regional datasets, the findings demonstrate a persistent depth-dependent redox gradient across the basin, providing cross-basin validation for the hypothesis that stepwise shallow-ocean oxygenation modulated the multi-phase trajectory of the Cambrian Explosion.

Bull sharks have a slight preference for spending time with their relatives, new research shows.

A resilient native seagrass could offer a new path to restoring Florida’s troubled coastal waters. Researchers found that Ruppia maritima can survive repeated flooding, poor water quality and other environmental stressors in the Indian River Lagoon, then regenerate from a persistent seed bank when conditions improve. Its successful cultivation and self-sustaining growth in a seagrass nursery suggest this hardy species could serve as a pioneer for jump-starting recovery in degraded coastal habitats.