Ocean Roundup: Some Baby Coral Can Adapt to Ocean Acidification, Electric Eels Stun Prey with Electric Discharge, and More - Oceana USA
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December 8, 2014

Ocean Roundup: Some Baby Coral Can Adapt to Ocean Acidification, Electric Eels Stun Prey with Electric Discharge, and More

– New research on baby corals shows hope for coral reefs in the face of climate change, finding that some baby corals are able to adapt to more acidic conditions. The research primarily focused on staghorn corals, which is a key reef-building species in the Indian and Pacific. The Guardian

– Last week, two weeks of UN climate talks began in Peru, with a focus on how best to adapt to rising seas and other effects of climate change. In a UN Environment Program report released last week, they said adaption funds will reach $300 billion per year by 2050. Bloomberg Businessweek

– A new study unveiled that electric eels can stun their prey through an electric discharge. By doing so, eels are better able to capture their prey, which are immobilized or jump from the shock. BBC

– Last week, TransCanada announced it was halting plans for an oil export terminal in Quebec after the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife assessed a nearby beluga whale population as endangered. Several environmental groups have spoken out again the pipeline, saying it threatens beluga whale calving and habitat. Bloomberg

Long Read:

– Recent estimates say that less than 100 vaquita porpoises—the smallest porpoise in the world—remain, and are threatened by fishing activity in their Gulf of California habitat. The U.S. government has pressed Mexico to take action on protecting these small porpoises and urged the U.S., Mexico, and China to collaborate on saving vaquitas before it’s too late, but so far, action has been met without enforcement. The Washington Post