Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/karl.mathiesen.freelance%40guardian.co.uk en We’ve been coming to this waterhole for 30 years. Like the creek we’ve been rearranged – ravaged by time but still shining | Jessie Cole https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/we-ve-been-coming-waterhole-30-years-creek-we-ve-been-rearranged-ravaged-time-still-sh <p>When we strip off, it is all there on our bodies: scars mixed in with the ordinary wear and tear. It’s bolstering – this evidence of life lived</p> <p>Most waterholes in the northern rivers of New South Wales are hidden from view. Creeks snake through private land, unseen from the road. To find the path to my waterhole, a visitor needs directions. The forest is thick and there is no line of sight.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/we-ve-been-coming-waterhole-30-years-creek-we-ve-been-rearranged-ravaged-time-still-sh" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:00:38 +0000 admin 102933 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Cambridge offers botany course that inspired Darwin after rare archive uncovered https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cambridge-offers-botany-course-inspired-darwin-after-rare-archive-uncovered <p>University’s botanic garden will use study materials created by John Stevens Henslow, the naturalist’s mentor, 200 years ago</p> <p>Plant specimens and teaching materials that inspired Charles Darwin and qualified him to work as a naturalist on HMS Beagle have been unearthed from an archive in Cambridge and will be used for the first time to teach contemporary students about botany.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cambridge-offers-botany-course-inspired-darwin-after-rare-archive-uncovered" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 06:00:20 +0000 admin 102932 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Assessing the status and challenges of vulnerability to viability transitions: small-scale fisheries in the transboundary Sundarbans mangrove forest https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/assessing-status-and-challenges-vulnerability-viability-transitions-small-scale-fisher <p>npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 28 March 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-026-00189-y">doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00189-y</a></p> <p>Assessing the status and challenges of vulnerability to viability transitions: small-scale fisheries in the transboundary Sundarbans mangrove forest</p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000 admin 102931 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Whale stranded off Germany swims to freedom after days of efforts to save it https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/whale-stranded-germany-swims-freedom-after-days-efforts-save-it <p>Rescuers used boats and excavators to try to guide 10-metre long sea mammal to deeper waters</p> <p>A humpback <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/whales">whale</a> stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said on Friday.</p> <p>A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/whale-stranded-germany-swims-freedom-after-days-efforts-save-it" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:35:13 +0000 admin 102929 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Scientists film whale giving birth while other whales work together to help her https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/scientists-film-whale-giving-birth-while-other-whales-work-together-help-her <p>Female named Rounder surrounded by family members when about to give birth to her second calf</p> <p>Scientists have managed to film a sperm whale giving birth while other female whales worked together to support the mother and her newborn.</p> <p>A team from Project Ceti, an international effort seeking to understand how whales communicate, was in a boat near a pod of 11 whales off the coast of the Caribbean island of Dominica on 8 July 2023.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/27/scientists-film-whale-giving-birth-other-whales-help-her">Continue reading...</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:13:07 +0000 admin 102930 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Striking it licky: rare tongue-shaped fungus found for first time in UK https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/striking-it-licky-rare-tongue-shaped-fungus-found-first-time-uk <p>Blue-based earthtongue specimen discovered in West Sussex nature reserve is only second recorded in Europe</p> <p>The discovery of a rare, tongue-shaped fungus is being hailed as a sign of the crucial ecological value of England’s national nature reserves.</p> <p>Never before recorded in the UK, the blue-based earthtongue, also known as <em>Microglossum cyanobasis</em>, was found sprouting at the Kingley Vale national nature reserve in West Sussex.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/striking-it-licky-rare-tongue-shaped-fungus-found-first-time-uk" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:41:16 +0000 admin 102928 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Wily coyote? Urban canines take more risks compared with rural ones, study finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wily-coyote-urban-canines-take-more-risks-compared-rural-ones-study-finds <p>Researchers believe behavioral gap, which may hold true across species, is probably product of less fear of harassment in cities </p> <p>Anyone who has lived long enough in a city can tell you – with time, you just stop noticing strange new things. A unicycling bagpiper.<strong> </strong>A person changing clothes on the subway. Murals that transform streets into art.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wily-coyote-urban-canines-take-more-risks-compared-rural-ones-study-finds" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:00:03 +0000 admin 102927 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Is foraging really feasible to feed myself? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/foraging-really-feasible-feed-myself <p>This labor-intensive way of eating isn’t for everyone – and I’m not sure it’s for me. It requires planning and flexibility</p> <p>When I called Robin Greenfield, an environmental activist and author, his assistant answered. “We’re stopped really quick,” Marielle said, adding “he is harvesting a ton of wild onions right now. He’ll be on in just a minute.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/foraging-really-feasible-feed-myself" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:00:04 +0000 admin 102925 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Week in wildlife: a flying rodent, a duty-free possum and an emerald viper https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/week-wildlife-flying-rodent-duty-free-possum-and-emerald-viper <p>This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2026/mar/27/week-in-wildlife-a-flying-rodent-a-duty-free-possum-and-an-emerald-viper">Continue reading...</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:00:02 +0000 admin 102924 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Beavers ‘breathe new life’ into Dorset as dams built and biodiversity returns https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/beavers-breathe-new-life-dorset-dams-built-and-biodiversity-returns <p>National Trust says one year after reintroduction they are enriching habitats and may be having kits this summer</p> <p>They were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/i-feel-real-hope-historic-beaver-release-marks-conservation-milestone-in-england">released this time last year</a> with fanfare, much hope and also, perhaps, a little trepidation.</p> <p>Twelve months on, there have been ups and downs for the first beavers to be (officially) reintroduced into the wild in England since the semiaquatic mammals were hunted to extinction 400 years ago.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/beavers-breathe-new-life-dorset-dams-built-and-biodiversity-returns" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:00:06 +0000 admin 102922 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org