Studies begin to reveal effects of Gulf Oil Spill (Oceana)

• “First of all, for every bird, dolphin or sea turtle found beached or floating at sea, a much larger number died. After the Exxon Valdez accident, 30,000 birds were found, but 250,000 were eventually estimated to have been killed by the oil. Scientists are now trying to determine the “death multipliers” for the Gulf spill.”

Zimbabwe’s shattered economy, pervasive hunger and entrenched dictator are not enough to stop rhino conservation (Yale e360)

• There was an increase in black rhino numbers in Zimbabwe last year. Still, black rhino numbers are down to 440 from about 64,000 in 1970.

Squids and octopuses could suffer life-threatening injuries from ocean noise pollution (Scientific American)

• “Not only can squids and octopuses sense sound, but as it turns out, these and other so-called cephalopods might be harmed by growing noise pollution in our oceans—from sources such as offshore drilling, ship motors, sonar use and pile driving.”

Ocean pollution causes food security crisis in Small Island Developing States (The Bahamas Weekly)

• “It is extremely important obviously to know what the conditions of our reefs are, to access what the real vulnerability is to threats like climate change, and also to think about adaptation measures The Bahamas might be able to participate in either nationally, internationally, or globally, so that all needs to be underpinned with sound science.”

Florida’s coral reefs hit hard by record cold water temps (Summit County Citizens Voice)

• “During the first two weeks of January, water temperatures dropped below 50 degrees, to some of the coldest readings ever recorded, leading to coral bleaching and deaths in the Florida National Marine Sanctuary Coral reefs generally can’t survive at water temperatures below 60 degrees. The cold snap also killed manatees and untold numbers of fish.”