Coastal Power Plant Records Reveal Decline in Key Southern California Fishes
Integrated Marine Observing System
Published: 9 July 2013
A 40-year study using fish caught at California power plants shows a 78% decline in coastal fish populations, especially forage fish, due to ocean changes rather than overfishing, affecting marine ecosystems like sea lion health.
Keywords: fish decline, forage fish, ocean warming, power plant data, Scripps Oceanography, marine ecosystem, sea lions
Dawn of Carnivores Explains Animal Boom in Distant Past
Integrated Marine Observing System
Published: 29 July 2013
A study links rising oxygen levels and carnivore evolution to the Cambrian radiation 500–540 million years ago, with modern low-oxygen zones offering clues to how future oxygen loss could reverse biodiversity gains
Keywords: low-oxygen zones, biodiversity, marine worms, NSF, fossil record
No Single Factor Controls Sardine, Anchovy Populations
Integrated Marine Observing System
Published: 29 July 2013
New research shows climate and fishing jointly drove California's sardine population crash. Models reveal natural population cycles amplified by overfishing, speeding collapse and delaying recovery.
Keywords: sardine collapse, anchovy fluctuations, overfishing, population dynamics, California Current, Scripps Oceanography
