New Tool Makes Oyster Restoration Easier
Scientists and stakeholders have created a mapping tool that indicates optimal locations to restore oyster reefs, which is being put to use creating a sanctuary in Pamlico Sound.
Plants & Animals
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Study: Nesting Turtles Prefer Dark Beaches
Anna Windle at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort has been leading a study on sea turtle nesting and artificial light, finding that nest density is higher on darker beaches.
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Dolphin’s Last Meal Helps Fill Knowledge Gap
A tagged striped bass recently found in the preserved stomach of a dolphin that died 14 years ago on Ocracoke Island has helped fill in blanks in fisheries science.
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Not Just Young Sharks, More Big Ones, Too
Bull sharks are increasingly using North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound as a nursery, according to a recent study, but long-term research has shown that waters in the region are teeming with more large sharks – a good sign for the ecosystem.
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Venus Flytrap Could Get Federal Protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a petition seeking endangered or threatened status for the Venus flytrap, the famed carnivorous plant native to the Carolinas.
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Students Dig Into Decades of Turtle Data
Two grad students in the math department at UNCW are crunching three decades’ worth of raw data on sea turtle nesting at Bald Head Island as part of an effort to better understand their behavior.
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Venus Flytraps Don’t Eat Their Pollinators
These carnivorous plants native to the Wilmington area rely on insects as pollinators and prey, but researchers have discovered that Venus flytraps don’t feast on the bugs that pollinate them.
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Study: Corals Prefer the Taste of Plastic
Plastic debris in the ocean is often mistaken for food by marine animals, but researchers at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort recently discovered that coral found off the N.C. coast prefer it to food.
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Studies: Right Whales’ Extinction More Likely
A recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration review of the endangered North Atlantic right whale’s status paints a grim picture for the species’ survival.
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Reefs As Carbon Sinks? Location Matters
Researchers at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences have found that oyster reefs may help in mitigating climate change, but near-shore reefs sequester carbon better than others.
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Mysterious Squid Washes Up on Portsmouth
A mysterious squid found in late March on a Portsmouth Island beach was later discovered to be a species that’s commercially fished in Japan.
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MAGIC Team Reveals Algae’s Hidden Powers
Duke Marine Lab researchers with the Marine AlGae Industrialization Consortium are developing ways to create both liquid fuel and livestock feed from naturally oily, nutrient-rich algae.
