Attack of the Lionfish: Can they be Stopped?

By: Deborah Netburn

These animals are not your typical friendly, beautiful fish. "They are invading coral reefs and devouring native fish throughout the Caribbean. They are lionfish, and they are multiplying like crazy."(Netburn 1). These fish are completely unstoppable and we don't know if there is any hope for the coral reef.  These fish will eat anything that they can get into their mouths and their spikes are very dangerous so it is very difficult to fight them off. This is whats called "gape-limited". They just eat and eat constantly and they grow so quickly. Ideally, the only way to kill these fish is to get in the water and kill them with a spear or use a net to catch them. "Eradication seems impossible, but a new study published in the journal Ecological Applications finds that you don't have to remove every last lionfish from a reef in order for native fish populations to return-- you just have to remove most of them." (Netburn 1). In the Bahamas, research has been done which tells us that 75% to 95% of lionfish has been removed on one reef and it takes a lot of time to catch these animals. It is hopeful in the future that fishermen and divers will work together to help to make lionfish free zones, in order for fish and coral reefs to stay protected. More and more research is being developed to discover where else these fish are and really their native range goes from the coast of Africa all the way to Australia. (Netburn). Overall, these fish spread so quickly and more action needs to be taken to prevent from the coral reefs from suffering. These fish might will give you a new impression of them, after seeing how much they are affecting things in our ocean. (Netburn).


http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-war-on-lionfish-20140123,0,5512010.story#axzz2rXh11DDF

The Flood the Next Time 

By: Nicole Bengiveno 


"Scientists have spent decades examining all the factors that can influence the rise of the seas, and their research is finally leading to answers. And the more the scientists learn, the more they perceive an enormous risk for the United States."(Bengiveno 1). The country's main focus right now is the East coast because the issues of the storms and devastations. Scientists have been searching through new ideas, like looking at the ancient ice sheets and the effect of the giant meteor. But, when researching, the scientists have observed that the tide are one of the most important things. "The best calculation suggests that from 1880 to 2009, the global average sea level rose a little over eight inches. (Bengiveno 1). Even the smallest change, can dramatically affect the tides and the sea level. This accelerated rise in sea level is really affected from the greenhouse gases in the air. These gases are heating the planet and this heat is traveling into the oceans. (Bengiveno). 

"Scientists say the East Coats will be hit harder for many reasons, but among the most important is that even as the seawater rises, the land in this part of the world is sinking. And that goes back to the last ice age, which peaked some 20,000 years ago." (Bengiveno 2). Another issue that scientists need to look more into is sinking. There has been sinking occurring throughout the areas of Maine, all the way down to Florida. Furthermore, when looking at the Chesapeake Bay region, you can see that there was a population of 400, but now it has completely disappeared. There were homes, stores, buildings, that were completely left and the island eroded. (Bengiveno). This is so concerning. When everything started to disappear, there was only one house that remained and in 2010, that completely went down. Overall, all of these numbers are going and this will soon affect town like the community on the Chesapeake Bay region. There have been so many changes and the question is now how are we going to solve this? What is our plan for the future? (Bengiveno).  



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/science/earth/grappling-with-sea-level-rise-sooner-not-later.html?ref=oceans

Focus on Ocean's Health as Dolphin Deaths Soar 

By: Lizette Alvarez 


Even though we really need to focus on the ocean, we also need to pay attention to the marine wildlife. (Alvarez). Dolphins have been turning up off of coasts completely deteriorated in Miami. Looking back in June, they first started showing up on the coast of New Jersey and will soon turn up in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. This is a huge concern for this animal. "So far this year, nearly 1,000 bottlenose dolphins- eight times the historical average- have washed up dead along the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Florida, a vast majority of them victims of morbillivirus. Many more are expected to die from the disease in the coming months". (Alvarez 1). Because the high numbers of death over the last 25 years, scientists are really concerned. Dr. Greg Bossart, a veterinary pathologist has said that bottlenose dolphins usually stay near and close to shore lines, so whatever happens close to shore, will affect them also. (Alvarez). 

It has been hard to identify the complete cause of death because all of these dolphins are near and experience different things. (Alvarez). Research also tells us that these dolphins have to fight disease, infection, and the residue from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. "It is alarming when you see so many different die-offs of marine mammals going on at once," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service, which is tracking and investigating the deaths. "We can't say they are linked. But it says there are a lot of challenges that marine mammals are facing." (Fougeres). In addition, more and more dolphins are going to unfortunately die because they spreading it through one another. Overall, dolphins are really suffering throughout the coat and this is only the beginning. (Alvarez). 


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/us/focus-on-oceans-health-as-dolphin-deaths-soar.html?ref=oceans

Beijing's Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi

By: Gardiner Harris


Very recently, Beijing has been having problems with the air. People are having urgent health issues because of this and the air is so polluted. (Harris). All of this madness has resulted in four major highways being closed for people's safety. Because people are having trouble breathing, people are determined to get face masks and purchasing air filters to help. Many studies have been done and it they have most recently have said that Beijing's air is the most polluted out of every city in the world. But, with these new studies, it has been discovered that New Delhi's air is even more dangerous and polluted. "Lately a very bad air day in Beijing is about an average one in New Delhi." (Harris 1). When Beijing were having these big issues in the beginning of January, "The United States Embassy in Beijing sent out warning, when a measure of harmful fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5 went above 500, in the upper reaches of the measurement scale, for the first time this year. This refers to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which is believed to pose the greatest health risk because it penetrates deeply into lungs." (Harris 1).

When looking at the graph below, you can see that New Delhi's average daily peak is twice as high, when compared to Beijing's. (Harris). New Delhi's number was 473, while Beijing's was only 227. That is a significant difference. In addition, new studies have shown that Indians have the weakest lungs. Furthermore, India has the highest death rates and these people are really paying for it because of the pollution in the air. After interviewing people in India, they have said that they are treated for asthma twice a day, but when they had moved out of India, their breathing has gotten progressively better. (Harris).

MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER

800

New Delhi

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

Beijing

0

Jan. 1

7

14

21

By The New York Times

Sources: Delhi Pollution Control Committee; U.S. Embassy in Beijing

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/world/asia/beijings-air-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?ref=science