Algae blooms are popping up with increasing frequency around the world, due in part to farm and waste runoff. Scientists are expanding research beyond the organisms’ basic biology to look for ways to track and forecast their emergence, their effects on the health and livelihoods of coastal residents, and their economic impact, which runs into the tens of millions of dollars in the United States alone.

Read (Christian Science Monitor)

Scientists have found a tiny caterpillar in Hawaii, which binds snails with silk webbing before devouring them whole.

Read (BBC)

“Supersize” mice are eating seabird chicks alive on Gough Island, an important breeding ground in the South Atlantic.

Read (BBC)

A research cruise from the bottom of the bay in Virginia to its origin at the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland from July 11 to July 15 found that about 36 percent of the bay’s central stem had less than 5 milligrams per liter of dissolved oxygen – the level that rockfish, oysters, and other aquatic life need.

Read (WTOP)

Attacks on albatrosses seem to be a learned behaviour.

Read (Nature)

It’s hard to imagine a tiny, 2-inch frog could cause so much harm. Beloved in its native Puerto Rico, the coqui frog has become a menace in Hawaii, where it suddenly appeared in the 1990s. With no natural predators, such as snakes, to keep their numbers under control, the frogs and their loud “ko-KEE” mating calls have multiplied exponentially causing headaches for homeowners.

Read (WTOP)

A major source of chemical contamination in the Arctic turns out to be bird droppings. Wind currents and human activities long have been blamed for fouling the pristine Arctic. But a study by a group of Canadian researchers found that the chemical pollution in areas frequented by seabirds can be many times higher than in nearby regions.

Read (WTOP)

There are signs that the real estate boom that has sent land and home prices soaring in some cities and suburbs is spilling over into rural areas, including Virginia’s picturesque Shenandoah Valley.

Read (NPR)

Some of northern New Mexico’s aspen stands have been stripped of their leaves by masses of wriggling caterpillars in search of food and a place to build a home, but forest officials are confident the trees will recover in time to show off their brilliant colors.

Read (WTOP)

Hurricanes can trigger swarms of weak earthquakes and even set the Earth vibrating, according to the first study of such effects.

Read (New Scientist)

The facial tumour disease that has wiped out nearly one-third of the creatures since the mid-1990s may be spreading through physical contact.

Read (New Scientist)

Poaching is the biggest killer of mountain gorillas, but respiratory diseases come a close second, and human proximity may be contributing.

Read (New Scientist)

Wildlife officials are trying to determine what is killing hundreds of sea birds that have washed ashore in Virginia Beach and other locations along the Atlantic coast in the past several weeks.

Since June 12, more than 500 dead sea birds have been reported from Maryland to Florida.
Most of the birds are greater shearwaters, which are now migrating north from their breeding grounds in the South Atlantic.

Read (WTOP)

The oceans are gradually turning into a vast “fizzy drink” – the transformation could be catastrophic for ocean life.

Read (New Scientist)