Marine life
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The wonders of seagrasses
They help fight marine plastic pollution, study finds.
Marine ecosystems are incredible. Although they’ve been besieged by plastic – among many other human-generated challe...
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Fish, undammed
Ingenious tube systems could reconnect ailing fish populations.
You wouldn’t be a freshwater fish for quids in this world. As human culture and ingenuity has progressed, the cons...
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Humans have dogs, fish have shrimp
We may not be only species to domesticate others.
Researchers have discovered that a species of coral fish uses shrimp to help fertilise its algae farms, which, they s...
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Magazine
Do fish dream?
Research certainly suggests they’re self aware.
By James Bradley A century ago the German biologist Jakob von Uexküll coined the term umwelt – literally “surround...
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Scientists go fishing for fish DNA
eDNA reveals species abundance as well as variety.
It seems you can tell how many fish there are in the sea (or at least a part of it) from what they leave behind. I...
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Genes help some coral cope with low oxygen
Researchers study varied stress susceptibility on reefs.
Low oxygen levels in the ocean prevent coral from respiring properly and could be as much of a threat to the world’s ...
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Conversation
Sea sponge with quite a story to tell
Unravelling a very old mystery of evolution.
By Emily S Wong, UNSW, Australia Many human traits, such as height and disease susceptibility, depend on genes tha...
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Rare Bigfin Squid in Australian waters
Scientists record some striking footage.
Australia is home to a host of weird and wonderful creatures, and now it can add the rare Bigfin Squid to its invento...
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Some (coral) like it hot
New CRISPR technique isolates heat tolerance gene.
Warming oceans are bad news for coral, but an improved CRISPR-Cas9 technique has revealed a “heat shield” gene that c...
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How crown-of-thorns starfish get around
Homing behaviours linked to coral abundance.
Marine time-lapse photography has given scientists more clues to the movements and habits of crown-of-thorns starfish...
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Focus
Cosmos Q&A: Saving our fishes
There’s much to learn about life in inland waterways.
Australian freshwater fishes have a tough time of it. The thing they most need – water – is regularly in short supply...
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Yes, megalodons were really big
Researchers confirm gigantism of the extinct species.
The megalodon (Otodus megalodon) has a long-standing reputation as one of the largest sharks to have roamed the ocean...