According to a new study by Rachel Cartwright and colleagues from California State University, Channel Islands, baleen whale calves develop oxygen-carrying myoglobin as they mature, with exercise driving the vital component of early development.

Natural products play an invaluable role as a starting point in the drug discovery process, and plants and animals use many interesting biologically active natural products as chemical defence mechanisms against predators. Among marine organisms, many nudibranch gastropods are known to obtain toxins from what they are eating, such as sponges.

These toxins are used as chemical defences and bright colours to warn potential predators away,

New research suggests that major hurricanes, though devastating to humans, have a minimal impact on salt marshes. The Boston University study reveals coastal ecosystems are more at risk of erosion by waves from moderate storms than from full-fledged tropical storms. In eight different marshes studied in the United States, Italy and Australia, extreme storm events accounted for less than one per cent of erosion.

If current indicators follow suit, a large percentage Florida’s manatees may soon need a new winter home. Over the next 10-20 years, the state’s coal-fired power plants are expected to close. As 60 percent of the manatee population utilize the plants for refuge during winter, many will be forced to move to the natural springs such as those on the Crystal River. The springs’ constant 74-degree temperatures could soon be overcrowded with the gentle giants.