Graeme S. Cumming | Lightnews

William Barnacle @urchinartdesigns.bsky.social · 19h

That's a Giant Kelp holdfast or base clinging to rocks on a shallow part of a reef. The mass migration of urchins seeking food is called an "urchin stampede". The holdfast is only a fraction of the mass of a kelp stand so this behavior is very destructive. This happens when their predators are gone.

ron-kichurchak.bsky.social @ron-kichurchak.bsky.social · 1d

McCoy's elf skink from northeastern Australia. Look at those stubby little arms, likely an adaptation to its burrowing lifestyle.

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 1d

Swim bladder problems? Fish do this when swim bladder is infected or damaged.

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 2d

ah the joys of evolution... this is the kind of beast that got me hooked on biology 🤩

Doug Aoki @nantanreikan.bsky.social · 2d

Barreleye fish.

Doug Aoki @nantanreikan.bsky.social · 2d

Barreleye fish.

Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social · 2d

What causes tipping points in complex microbial ecosystems? Check this @pnas.org paper by @thilogross.bsky.social showing that cross-feeding networks create strong interdependencies & small structural changes can trigger abrupt collapses. @akhilesh-nandan.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 4d

Sugarloaf Rock in WA is a secure breeding spot for locally endangered red-tailed tropicbirds.

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 4d

One thing about Australia is it has incredible public infrastructure. This is at sugarloaf rock, near Cape Naturaliste in WA.

Picture shows a bright orange lifesaving ring fastened to a rock in a remote spot

Nature Communications @natcomms.nature.com · 5d

New study uses #satellite records and shows that #SouthernOcean #phytoplankton responds in contrasting ways to marine #heatwaves and #cold spells. The impacts vary sharply by region, exposing distinct #ecological sensitivity to #climate -driven extremes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Extreme temperature events reshuffle the ecological landscape of the Southern Ocean - Nature Communications

Satellite records reveal that Southern Ocean phytoplankton responds in contrasting ways to marine heatwaves and cold spells. These opposing impacts vary sharply by region, exposing distinct ecological...

www.nature.com

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 5d

The Hallucigenia of sharks.

Royal Ontario Museum @romtoronto.bsky.social · 5d

The Helicoprion puzzled scientists for years, who couldn't figure out where to place its spiral-shaped jaw loaded with teeth.

Dr. Nathan Lujan (Curator of Fishes) @potamophile.bsky.social sheds some light on this mysterious, extinct shark. Learn more at Sharks, on now through March 22!

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 9d

Marine protected areas aren’t in the right places to safeguard dolphins and whales in the South Atlantic

Despite Brazil’s recent expansions of protected areas, research shows that the favorite habitats of whales and dolphins are still threatened by human activities.

theconversation.com

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 9d

It's hard to grasp how large this grouper is until you see it in comparison to the ship's toilet on the left.

This appears to be an Atlantic goliath grouper or 'itajara' (Epinephelus itajara). They can reach 800 lbs (350 kg) & 8 feet long (2.5 m)

Let's talk about these gentle giants.

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 10d

And no Octopus is not Orlando’s little brother, sorry

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 10d

Nice example of how ecological variability doesn’t play nicely with human economic systems. Climate change will increase this variability further.

The Marine Biological Association @thembauk.bsky.social · 11d

Octopus numbers exploded around the UK’s south-west coast in 2025 – a new report explores this rare phenomenon

Great write up in @uk.theconversation.com about the Octopus Bloom

The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 12d

Climate-driven shifts in ocean and atmospheric dynamics underpin these recent blooms in octopus numbers in UK waters.

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 11d

Thousands of lion’s mane jellyfish have washed into the shallows and on to the sand across Port Phillip Bay, from Altona in the west to Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia. Photographer and ocean swimmer Rodney Dekker captured video of the incredible sight. 🪼

The Marine Biological Association @thembauk.bsky.social · 11d

Octopus numbers exploded around the UK’s south-west coast in 2025 – a new report explores this rare phenomenon

Great write up in @uk.theconversation.com about the Octopus Bloom

The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 12d

Climate-driven shifts in ocean and atmospheric dynamics underpin these recent blooms in octopus numbers in UK waters.

Octopus numbers exploded around the UK’s south-west coast in 2025 – a new report explores this rare phenomenon

Climate-driven shifts in ocean and atmospheric dynamics underpin these recent blooms in octopus numbers in UK waters.

tcnv.link

The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 12d

The teeth of white sharks are not static weapons but living records of a shark’s changing lifestyle.

Great white sharks grow a whole new kind of tooth for slicing bone as they age

theconversation.com

Catherine @shadowdogdesigns.bsky.social · 13d

Rare Glimpses of Diverse #Marine Life Take the Stage in This Year’s #Ocean Art #Photography Contest

Link for more #photos and information: www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/01/ocea...

Ambio - A Journal of Environment and Society @ambio-journal.bsky.social · 13d

New Publication:

Conceptualising and mapping polarisation trends in land systems

Open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Conceptualising and mapping polarisation trends in land systems - Ambio

Polarisation is a key process in land systems, describing land-change trajectories within a region that simultaneously move in opposite directions, such as co-occurring agricultural intensification an...

link.springer.com

Nature Communications @natcomms.nature.com · 14d

New study shows that #marine #HeatWaves exacerbate extreme #rainfall over land by 20–30%, increasing #flood risks for #coastal regions. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Extreme rainfall over land exacerbated by marine heatwaves - Nature Communications

This study shows that oceanic extreme warm events, termed marine heatwaves, exacerbate extreme rainfall over land by 20–30%, increasing flood risks for coastal regions.

www.nature.com

Nick Dulvy @nickdulvy.bsky.social · 18d

New paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com by the #GlobalSharkTrends team: Bending back the curve of shark & ray biodiversity loss;
Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9
@sfu.ca
@sfubiosciences.bsky.social
@earth2ocean.bsky.social

Bending back the biodiversity loss curve of sharks and rays. The loss of sharks and rays to date has involved serial depletion of the largest, most evolutionary and functionally distinct species, and the increasing prevalence of smaller-bodied species that have benefited from release from predation.

joeymaier 🌊 @joeymaier.bsky.social · 19d

#dugong #Thailand

"In 2022, at least 273 dugongs lived in Thai waters..."

They're now losing about 42/year

😨

Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores? | Global development | The Guardian share.google/qIUzUfAX3faR...

Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?

The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have gone

share.google

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 19d

I would disagree, I think, on the grounds that we still have much to learn. One of the biggest issues is that we have been slow to understand the full scope of the sustainability problem and its complexity; object of study has been too narrowly defined. ‘Implementation’ is endogenous, not external.

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19d

Antarctic warming from fossil fuel burning is driving the fastest breeding shift ever seen in penguins. Gentoo, Adelie, and Chinstrap penguins are nesting up to 24 days earlier. This increases competition for food and space, helping Gentoos expand but threatening Chinstrap and Adelie.

Penguins bring forward breeding season as Antarctica warms: study

Penguins are bringing forward their breeding season at record rates as Antarctica rapidly warms due to climate change, according to research published by a global team of scientists on Tuesday.

www.rfi.fr

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 21d

One of the strangest maps you'll ever see...

Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 21d

Free falling Iguana 🦎 Alert Activated for Monday AM so look out below!
But seriously, the map is colored by where we expect cold stunned iguanas and where they’ll be marked safe.
Keep in mind, they are rare north of the Treasure Coast and Sunshine Skyway.

Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 21d

Free falling Iguana 🦎 Alert Activated for Monday AM so look out below!
But seriously, the map is colored by where we expect cold stunned iguanas and where they’ll be marked safe.
Keep in mind, they are rare north of the Treasure Coast and Sunshine Skyway.

Graeme Cumming @gscumming.bsky.social · 24d

I still need to read this, but looks interesting! 🧪🌍🪸🌐

Felipe Martello @felipemartello.bsky.social · 25d

Very happy to share this new paper is out! 🚀

Using multitaxa trait-based data, we introduce new indicators that capture ecosystem resilience and the critical role of functionally unique species for sustaining ecosystem functioning.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Multitaxa functional diversity increases the resilience of biological natural capital in the Amazon

This study presents a trait-based framework integrating functional diversity into biological natural capital accounting, capturing both ecosystem resilience and species uniqueness across multiple tax...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Cameron Thrash @jcamthrash.bsky.social · 24d

Accounting for ocean impacts nearly doubles the social cost of carbon www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊

Accounting for ocean impacts nearly doubles the social cost of carbon - Nature Climate Change

Oceans provide essential ecosystem services to human society, yet the climate impacts on blue capital have long been ignored. Incorporating the latest works on ocean science and economics, researchers...

www.nature.com

Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) @cms.int · 25d

The @iucnshark.bsky.social presents first global overview of Important Shark & Ray Areas for CMS and Sharks MoU species, helping show where they reproduce, feed, gather and migrate. 🦈

>1/3 of sharks and rays risk extinction due to overfishing, habitat degradation and climate change.

Links below!

Felipe Martello @felipemartello.bsky.social · 25d

Very happy to share this new paper is out! 🚀

Using multitaxa trait-based data, we introduce new indicators that capture ecosystem resilience and the critical role of functionally unique species for sustaining ecosystem functioning.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Multitaxa functional diversity increases the resilience of biological natural capital in the Amazon

This study presents a trait-based framework integrating functional diversity into biological natural capital accounting, capturing both ecosystem resilience and species uniqueness across multiple tax...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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