Happy Monday everyone!
The eagle eyed among you last week might have spotted that last week I didn’t include the headlines of a diver who was ‘swallowed’ by a whale. Instead of sharing ‘swallowed alive’ clickbait with you, I wrote a piece for Nat Geo about whether it’s possible to be swallowed by a whale, which you can read here.
And, with that, it’s onto this week’s ocean news:
🐳 Whales
“I can speak whale”: Will we ever be able to understand whale vocalisations? (Live Science)
A challenging study: Researchers are finding out more about elusive beaked whales… through carcasses (Popular Science)
Surprise! Love this picture of these whale watchers missing an incredible spectacle right behind them (Mirror)
Getting social: Drone footage is helping researchers understand more about killer whales’ social lives (BBC)
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🦈🐬 Marine animals
Where’s Wally? The walrus is back and recently seen off the Isles of Scilly (BBC)
Ouch: Calls for legal protection for octopuses and other species that feel pain (BBC)
Spotted on social: Could rising ocean temperatures be the cause of this mysterious skin disease in whitetip reef sharks? (Sky News)
Under the spotlight: Light pollution could harm young clownfish (Guardian)
Too bold: Presence of antidepressants in the water could embolden crayfish and put them at more risk of being hunted (Nat Geo)
Very rare: Cool footage of a long-snouted seahorse off the coast of Plymouth (BBC)
Ancient fish: study suggests coelacanth can live for 100 years and pregnancy lasts five years! (Sci News)
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🚯🎣 Pollution & fisheries
Tackling plastic problems: Satellite readings tracking the presence of microplastics in the ocean (Science Alert)
Offshore wind: Natural England has outlined the role wind energy plays in the recovery of marine environments (Gov.uk)
Under threat: Illegal Chinese fishing fleets are depleting stocks in the most fertile fishing ground in the world (Guardian)
Hitching a ride: Plastic debris is helping invasive species travel to new areas of the ocean (Guardian)
💰 Funding & opportunities
Kelp the planet: students are being called to join this virtual hackathon on 28 July (Carbon Kapture)
Minorities in shark science fellowship: Applications for internship opportunities at Bimini Biological Field Station are open until 1st July (MISS)
🐚🐠 Ecosystems
Glider: check out the new innovation in marine conservation (WHOI)
Global journey: Researchers have mapped the journey water particles take from the Atlantic Ocean (Phys.org)
Climate Risk: The UK’s risks and opportunities when it comes to climate change outlined in a new report (The CCC)
Dasgupta Review: The UK government has responded to the report on the economics of biodiversity (Gov.uk)
Freshwater: a huge new project will study and map the life in rivers around the world (Guardian)
❄️ Ice, ice, baby
5,000km drift: Study finds icebergs from northeastern Canada travelled all the way to southern Florida (Phys.org)
High levels of mercury: discovered in Greenland glaciers (DW)
Splitting up: An ice shelf is breaking up faster than expected, increasing the chance of Pine Island Gracier’s collapse (Clean Technica)
That’s all for this week folks. My assistant was against me working this weekend (see photo below) but in the end he got on board. From both of us, thanks for reading!
Melissa (and Spud)
PSA: Wowee - my comms consultancy and copywriting services are now booked up until the end of July. If you’re interested in working with me from next month please do get in touch before August books up too! 🤓
Baleen is provided completely free each week to help you keep on top of the latest marine conservation news - if you find it useful, shout me a coffee (thanks!)