This week’s science news is a mixed bag – so I’ve not tried to pull out articles by theme. Many of the articles have a strong central thread of common sense running through them, however! If the amount of fresh water entering the Baltic is reduced, the Baltic will become saltier, dispersing an oil-slick is not the same as making it disappear…

Dry and salty: Scientists analysing the lst 500 years worth of climatic data for the Baltic have found that warmer periods result in less rainfall in the Baltic catchment area, so resulting in an increase in salinity in the Baltic. From ScienceDaily (May 31, 2010)

Responding to light: One of the mysteries of spring is being revealed, as scientists uncover the molecular machinery that tells plants to green up and grow! The trigger compound is phytochrome, which is composed of two molecules. Phytochrome had previously evaded structural analysis due to its floppy/dynamic nature. The study reveals a switch that is sensitive to single photons, changing the contact area between the component molecules in response to photons from the red or far red region of the spectrum. From ScienceDaily (June 1, 2010)

A personal account of why one scientist is interested in nudibranchs: The photos are from warm waters in the US, but there are plenty of pretty UK nudibranchs. By Terry Gosliner, Scientist at Work, June 1st 2010

Sahara, dust and … slime? Dust blown off the Sahara desert carries important nutrients, such as iron, that are scarce in the open ocean. It has only recently been reported, however, that this dust can have a considerable impact on the composition of marine bacterial communities. Measurements were carried out by scientists from the University of Southampton, who were fortunate enough to be on a research cruise when a dust cloud settled over their ship! From ScienceDaily (June 2, 2010)

Smithsonian Ocean Portal: This new site offers a range of educational resources including: Marine Ecosystems (great white shark and coral reefs plus a selection of species from the ‘Encyclopedia of Life’), Photo Essays (making a native Alaskan’s canoe, whale tale), the Ocean over time (whale evolution, top predators), Ocean science (Moorea, Deep Ocean Exploration), the Ocean and You (sustainable seafood, climate change), For Educators (teacher resource packs).

All multi-media packages suffer form having high production costs, making it difficult to bring together a lot of material. This site is focussed on children (who should find something to enjoy) and educators (who may find something useful). I thought some of the links chosen to the Encyclopedia of Life were excellent (I liked the sea pig – which is sensational!) and likely to engage children with some of the broader sweep of marine life (there is more to it than sharks, coral and whales!).

Ecology of shearwaters: Sooty (Puffinus griseus) and short tailed (Puffinus tenuirostris) shearwaters have been tracked in the Southern Oceans. This tracking data has been compared with trawl catches and oceanographic data to evaluate how shearwaters were managing their foraging. It was found that the shearwaters were concentrating on areas of upwelling, which correspond to high abundance of copepods and fish. Raymond B, Shaffer SA, Sokolov S, Woehler EJ, Costa DP, et al. (2010) Shearwater Foraging in the Southern Ocean: The Roles of Prey Availability and Winds. PLoS ONE 5(6): e10960. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010960

Oil pollution around the world: The Times of India documents damage to Karwat beach from oil pollution. The source of the pollution is a bit of a mystery, but it may have originated from a ship, the Ocean Seria, which had been salvaged 5km off the beach about three years previously.

Fishermen taught biology based approaches to fisheries management: Fisheries the world over are in very bad shape. Unfortunately they are also essential sources of protein for many communities. It is, therefore, good to see the NOAA sponsoring summer courses around the world to teach students better fisheries management techniques. Better (or even some) management can only improve the marine ecosystem to the benefit of everyone conrned. From the Saipan Tribune June 7 2010.

Grim reading: After any major oil spill comes a rescue attempt for the many oil drenched birds – but is there a successful treatment for their condition? This blog post is biased towards cleaning, but introduces some of the grim statistics – exactly how unlikely birds are to survive for long after this experience. What we cannot do is allow ourselves is the luxury of believing that because we ‘clean up after ourselves’, the disaster has somehow been made to go away…

What happens to all of that oil? The Deepwater Horizon is in such deep water that only a fraction of the oil released makes it to the surface. A lot is held in suspension in the water column, either by the physical conditions of depth and pressure, or by the dispersants added to try and hide the mess. Scientists are getting increasingly uneasy about the effects of this hidden oil, hovering in the water column it can spread over a very wide area and may cause considerable damage to a wide range of ecosystems. From ScienceDaily (June 6, 2010)

Knock-on effects: Damsel-fish cultivate gardens of algae (their principle food source), but these gardens over-grow coral reef, and kill the underlying coral. The increase in numbers of damsels in the Caribbean had been blamed on overfishing of their predators, but an alternative theory has now been postulated. In this it is found that damsels prefer staghorn corals, and their activity in this coral is not as damaging as on other coral species. Unfortunately staghorn corals are currently in short supply due to disease and hurricane damage. From ScienceDaily (June 6, 2010)

Diversity strengthens fisheries: Studies on the commercially important sockeye salmon fisheries in Alaska indicate that reduced biodiversity in the Bristol Bay Sockeye salmon population would result in ten times as many closures for the fisheries. This would result in the fisheries being closed every two or three years, rather than the historic average of once every 25 years. A larger diversity in the population means that it can make better use of what resources are available – low temperatures, or mis-timing the breeding of food source only catches a part of the population, most continue to thrive. The study emphasises the importance of maintaining a large healthy stock of fish, and habitats, to ensure a thriving fishing industry. From ScienceDaily (June 1, 2010)

Following an elephant: Three ton elephant seals on King George Island, Antarctica, have been fitted with trackers that have allowed scientists to follow them about their daily business. Elephant seals spend six months of each year at sea, travelling thousands of kilometers in their feeding grounds, and diving to depths of two kilometers in search of food. Dives can last an hour! The tracking devices were developed in St Andrews, and should be able to follow the seals for a year, until they next moult. From ScienceDaily (June 7, 2010)