Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/node/9 en Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects | Helen Pilcher https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/forget-birdwatching-i-m-moth-watching-they-re-fascinating-and-misunderstood-insects-he <p>According to new research, distinguishing between the UK’s 2,500 species could halt cognitive decline – so my brain could not be happier, or healthier</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/forget-birdwatching-i-m-moth-watching-they-re-fascinating-and-misunderstood-insects-he" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:00:50 +0000 admin 102935 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Nigel Farage’s farming adviser calls for wheat prices to double https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nigel-farage-s-farming-adviser-calls-wheat-prices-double <p>Exclusive: critics warn Reform UK use of trade policy would increase food costs amid cost-of-living crisis</p> <p>Nigel Farage’s farming adviser has called for a doubling of wheat prices by using trade policy, which critics have said would hike food costs during a cost-of-living crisis.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nigel-farage-s-farming-adviser-calls-wheat-prices-double" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:00:49 +0000 admin 102934 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org We’ve been coming to this waterhole for 30 years. Like the creek we’ve been rearranged – ravaged by time but still shining | Jessie Cole https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/we-ve-been-coming-waterhole-30-years-creek-we-ve-been-rearranged-ravaged-time-still-sh <p>When we strip off, it is all there on our bodies: scars mixed in with the ordinary wear and tear. It’s bolstering – this evidence of life lived</p> <p>Most waterholes in the northern rivers of New South Wales are hidden from view. Creeks snake through private land, unseen from the road. To find the path to my waterhole, a visitor needs directions. The forest is thick and there is no line of sight.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/we-ve-been-coming-waterhole-30-years-creek-we-ve-been-rearranged-ravaged-time-still-sh" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:00:38 +0000 admin 102933 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Cambridge offers botany course that inspired Darwin after rare archive uncovered https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cambridge-offers-botany-course-inspired-darwin-after-rare-archive-uncovered <p>University’s botanic garden will use study materials created by John Stevens Henslow, the naturalist’s mentor, 200 years ago</p> <p>Plant specimens and teaching materials that inspired Charles Darwin and qualified him to work as a naturalist on HMS Beagle have been unearthed from an archive in Cambridge and will be used for the first time to teach contemporary students about botany.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/cambridge-offers-botany-course-inspired-darwin-after-rare-archive-uncovered" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 06:00:20 +0000 admin 102932 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Assessing the status and challenges of vulnerability to viability transitions: small-scale fisheries in the transboundary Sundarbans mangrove forest https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/assessing-status-and-challenges-vulnerability-viability-transitions-small-scale-fisher <p>npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 28 March 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-026-00189-y">doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00189-y</a></p> <p>Assessing the status and challenges of vulnerability to viability transitions: small-scale fisheries in the transboundary Sundarbans mangrove forest</p> Sat, 28 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000 admin 102931 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Whale stranded off Germany swims to freedom after days of efforts to save it https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/whale-stranded-germany-swims-freedom-after-days-efforts-save-it <p>Rescuers used boats and excavators to try to guide 10-metre long sea mammal to deeper waters</p> <p>A humpback <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/whales">whale</a> stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said on Friday.</p> <p>A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/whale-stranded-germany-swims-freedom-after-days-efforts-save-it" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:35:13 +0000 admin 102929 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Scientists film whale giving birth while other whales work together to help her https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/scientists-film-whale-giving-birth-while-other-whales-work-together-help-her <p>Female named Rounder surrounded by family members when about to give birth to her second calf</p> <p>Scientists have managed to film a sperm whale giving birth while other female whales worked together to support the mother and her newborn.</p> <p>A team from Project Ceti, an international effort seeking to understand how whales communicate, was in a boat near a pod of 11 whales off the coast of the Caribbean island of Dominica on 8 July 2023.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/27/scientists-film-whale-giving-birth-other-whales-help-her">Continue reading...</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:13:07 +0000 admin 102930 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Striking it licky: rare tongue-shaped fungus found for first time in UK https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/striking-it-licky-rare-tongue-shaped-fungus-found-first-time-uk <p>Blue-based earthtongue specimen discovered in West Sussex nature reserve is only second recorded in Europe</p> <p>The discovery of a rare, tongue-shaped fungus is being hailed as a sign of the crucial ecological value of England’s national nature reserves.</p> <p>Never before recorded in the UK, the blue-based earthtongue, also known as <em>Microglossum cyanobasis</em>, was found sprouting at the Kingley Vale national nature reserve in West Sussex.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/striking-it-licky-rare-tongue-shaped-fungus-found-first-time-uk" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:41:16 +0000 admin 102928 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Wily coyote? Urban canines take more risks compared with rural ones, study finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wily-coyote-urban-canines-take-more-risks-compared-rural-ones-study-finds <p>Researchers believe behavioral gap, which may hold true across species, is probably product of less fear of harassment in cities </p> <p>Anyone who has lived long enough in a city can tell you – with time, you just stop noticing strange new things. A unicycling bagpiper.<strong> </strong>A person changing clothes on the subway. Murals that transform streets into art.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wily-coyote-urban-canines-take-more-risks-compared-rural-ones-study-finds" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:00:03 +0000 admin 102927 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Is foraging really feasible to feed myself? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/foraging-really-feasible-feed-myself <p>This labor-intensive way of eating isn’t for everyone – and I’m not sure it’s for me. It requires planning and flexibility</p> <p>When I called Robin Greenfield, an environmental activist and author, his assistant answered. “We’re stopped really quick,” Marielle said, adding “he is harvesting a ton of wild onions right now. He’ll be on in just a minute.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/foraging-really-feasible-feed-myself" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:00:04 +0000 admin 102925 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org