Tippets: Florida’s Red tide, Salmon Move Toward the Arctic, Scant Wilderness Left in the Ocean

August 8, 2018 By: Erin Block

  • The waters of Florida’s southwest coast are experiencing the worst red tide condition in decades, killing fish, birds, and manatees. “Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane blamed the tide on a perfect storm of coastal pollution and a hot Gulf ignited by flushing nutrient-laden water from Lake Okeechobee.” Via The Miami Herald.
  • Salmon, a common species along the west coast of the Lower 48, are increasing their range farther north, raising issues of climate change. “Salmon used to be infrequent visitors to the Mackenzie River and communities of the Arctic, but more species have begun to show up in the North more often and in greater numbers than ever before.” Via The Narwhal.
  • The ocean is “often portrayed as Earth’s last great frontier,” writes Justine E. Hausheer. And yet, new research has revealed “only 13.2 percent of the ocean remains as wilderness, and much of that wilderness is found in the high seas, where protecting it will prove difficult.” Read more via Nature.