Nature Index |
Featured
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Editorial |
Reform the Antarctic Treaty
Political protection for the planet’s last great wilderness is no longer fit for purpose. Make its governance democratic: scrap the veto that lets individual interests rule.
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News Feature |
How to save the high seas
As the United Nations prepares a historic treaty to protect the oceans, scientists highlight what’s needed for success.
- Olive Heffernan
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Letter |
Carbonate-sensitive phytotransferrin controls high-affinity iron uptake in diatoms
Phytotransferrin, a functional analogue of transferrin, has an obligate requirement for carbonate to bind iron, which suggests that acidification-driven declines in the concentration of seawater carbonate ions may negatively affect diatom iron acquisition.
- Jeffrey B. McQuaid
- , Adam B. Kustka
- & Andrew E. Allen
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Comment |
Protect the neglected half of our blue planet
Maintaining momentum is crucial as nations build a treaty to safeguard the high seas, argue Glen Wright, Julien Rochette, Kristina M. Gjerde and Lisa A. Levin.
- Glen Wright
- , Julien Rochette
- & Lisa A. Levin
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Letter |
A major lineage of non-tailed dsDNA viruses as unrecognized killers of marine bacteria
Members of a family of marine dsDNA non-tailed bacterial viruses have short, 10-kb genomes, infect a broader range of hosts than tailed viruses and belong to the double jelly roll capsid lineage of viruses, which are associated with diverse bacterial and archaeal hosts.
- Kathryn M. Kauffman
- , Fatima A. Hussain
- & Martin F. Polz
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News |
Investigation finds Swedish scientists committed scientific misconduct
Probe centered on controversial paper that claimed microplastic pollution harms fish.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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News |
South Africa tackles crime at sea with ship-spotting satellites
Automated vessel-tracking system aims to spy poachers and smugglers.
- Linda Nordling
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News |
Plans rejected for East Antarctic marine park
Negotiations to conserve unique ecosystems fail for the sixth year running.
- April Reese
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News |
Sharks can live a lot longer than researchers realized
Errors in past studies could undermine conservation plans.
- Daniel Cressey
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News |
Anglers' online boasts reveal illegal shark hunting
Researchers fear sport fishing is a serious threat to endangered species — but study of Internet forum also finds awareness of environmental issues.
- Ben Upton
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News |
First genetically engineered salmon sold in Canada
US firm AquaBounty Technologies says that its transgenic fish has hit the market after a 25-year wait.
- Emily Waltz
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News |
Air guns used in offshore oil exploration can kill tiny marine life
Lethal effects from pulses of sound used to probe the sea floor can travel over a kilometre.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
Iron-dumping ocean experiment sparks controversy
Canadian foundation says its field research could boost fisheries in Chile, but researchers doubt its motives.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
Controversial microplastics study to be retracted
Authors of high-profile paper strongly criticized by Swedish ethics panel.
- Daniel Cressey
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News & Views |
The race to fish slows down
A fishery can allow participants to fish as hard as they can until its quota is reached, or allocate quota shares that can be caught at any time. A comparison of the systems in action reveals that shares slow the race to fish. See Letter p.223
- Andrew A. Rosenberg
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News |
Fake stars, panda suits and ants on treadmills
February’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.
- Daniel Cressey
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News Feature |
Arctic 2.0: What happens after all the ice goes?
Researchers look into the future of the far North for clues to save species and maybe even bring back sea ice.
- Julia Rosen
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News |
Canada's proposed natural-gas plant stirs more controversy
Lawsuits and a new study raise questions about the project's environmental impact.
- Lesley Evans Ogden
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News |
World’s largest marine reserve hailed as diplomatic breakthrough
Antarctic agreement follows years of failed discussions and represents the first major conservation effort in the high seas.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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News |
Pangolins and parrots among winners at largest-ever meeting on wildlife trade
CITES conference hailed as a “game changer” for vulnerable species.
- Daniel Cressey
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Letter |
Ecogenomics and potential biogeochemical impacts of globally abundant ocean viruses
The assembly and analysis of complete genomes and large genomic fragments have tripled the number of known ocean viruses and uncovered the potentially important roles they play in nitrogen and sulfur cycling.
- Simon Roux
- , Jennifer R. Brum
- & Matthew B. Sullivan
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News |
South China Sea ruling sparks conservation fears
Court decision escalates tensions in ecologically sensitive region, but may also push nations to cooperate.
- David Cyranoski
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Comment |
Policy: Marine biodiversity needs more than protection
To sustain the seas, advocates of marine protected areas and those in fisheries management must work together, not at cross purposes, urges Ray Hilborn.
- Ray Hilborn
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News |
Farmed fish drive sea change in global consumption
Giant UN report also reveals sustainability problem for wild-caught fish.
- Daniel Cressey
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News |
Mass coral death drives efforts to identify resilient reefs
Widespread bleaching gives scientists new urgency to avert decline of key ocean ecosystems.
- Daniel Cressey
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News |
Massive ocean-observing project launches — despite turmoil
Network of deep-water observatories streams data in real time.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
Marine ecologists take to the skies to study coral reefs
Satellites and research aeroplanes could offer a better, broader view of coral health.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
Boaty McBoatfleet: British ship joins wave of rugged polar vessels
Ice-going vessels like Britain’s RRS Sir David Attenborough — named Boaty McBoatface by the Internet — are being built across the world.
- Alexandra Witze
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Letter |
In situ imaging reveals the biomass of giant protists in the global ocean
An in situ imaging technique has been used to show that large rhizarian plankton represent a much larger biomass than previously thought, meaning that they are likely to make an important contribution to ocean ecosystems.
- Tristan Biard
- , Lars Stemmann
- & Fabrice Not
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News Feature |
Cold truths at the top of the world
As it pursues independence, Greenland seeks to develop its economy without ruining one of Earth's last pristine places.
- Julia Rosen
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Research Highlights |
A path to better fisheries
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News |
Negotiations to tame marine Wild West begin
Nations debate how to protect biodiversity in the high seas.
- Daniel Cressey
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Correspondence |
Keep allowable fish catches sustainable
- Griffin Carpenter
- , Sebastian Villasante
- & Bethan C. O'Leary
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Article |
Lytic to temperate switching of viral communities
An analysis of 24 coral reef viromes challenges the view that lytic phage are believed to predominate when the density of their hosts increase and shows instead that lysogeny is more important at high host densities; the authors also show that this model is consistent with predator–prey dynamics in a range of other ecosystems, such as animal-associated, sediment and soil systems.
- B. Knowles
- , C. B. Silveira
- & F. Rohwer
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Letter |
Vast assembly of vocal marine mammals from diverse species on fish spawning ground
Vocalizations were recorded for over eight distinct whale species as they converged on a shoal of herring to feed; the predators divided the shoal into overlapping but species-specific foraging sectors and the activities of the whales changed between day and night.
- Delin Wang
- , Heriberto Garcia
- & Purnima Ratilal
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Correspondence |
More to fisheries than catch limits
- John Casey
- , Jann T. Martinsohn
- & Hendrik Dörner
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News |
Microplastics damage oyster fertility
Plastic litter affects offspring of exposed marine animals.
- Daniel Cressey
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News |
Genetics rewrites story of fish species trapped in single hole
DNA work shows Devils Hole pupfish might have occasionally mingled with relatives.
- Daniel Cressey
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News |
Independent study tallies 'true catch' of global fishing
Huge collaboration raises questions about official reporting.
- Daniel Cressey
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Editorial |
Fishy limits
The European Union has set a worrying trend by ignoring scientific advice on overfishing. It must put long-term sustainability plans ahead of short-term political gains.