Missed out on December 2023's ocean news? Here's a glimpse into what went down in Davy Jones's Locker this month. News relates to marine animals & plants, the climate crisis and the ocean, fisheries and aquaculture, marine technology, oceanography, and people and the sea.
How deep sea knowledge can support climate policies
Deep knowledge supports Angel shark protection
Acting as a delegate to the IMO
Being part of the conversation at IMO
Bacteria linked to mass death of sea sponges weakened by warming Mediterranean
In 2021, divers off the Turkish Aegean coast first observed dark stinging sponges dying in great numbers. Researchers have now sampled three species of pathogenic Vibrio bacteria, previously known to infect unrelated marine animals, from diseased and dying sponges. Evidence suggests that vibriosis may be a secondary illness that affects already weakened sponges, but is not necessarily the primary agent of the novel disease.