The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea; leatherback) is the largest and most migratory of the world's turtles, with the most extensive geographic range of any living reptile. This highly specialized turtle is the only living member of the family Dermochelyidae. It exhibits reduced external keratinous structures: scales are temporary, disappearing within the first few months and leaving the entire body covered by smooth black skin. Dorsal keels streamline a tapered form. The species has a shallow genealogy and strong population structure worldwide, supporting a natal homing hypothesis. Gravid females arrive seasonally at preferred nesting grounds in tropical and subtropical latitudes, with the largest colonies concentrated in the southern Caribbean region and central West Africa. Non-breeding adults and sub-adults journey into temperate and subarctic zones seeking oceanic jellyfish and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Long-distance movements are not random in timing or location, with turtles potentially possessing an innate awareness of profitable foraging opportunities. The basis for high seas orientation and navigation is poorly understood. Studies of metabolic rate demonstrate marked differences between leatherbacks and other sea turtles: the "marathon" strategy of leatherbacks is characterized by relatively lower sustained active metabolic rates. Metabolic rates during terrestrial activities are well-studied compared with metabolic rates associated with activity at sea. The species faces two major thermoregulatory challenges: maintaining a high core temperature in cold waters of high latitudes and/or great depths, and avoiding overheating in some waters and latitudes, especially while on land during nesting. The primary means of physiological osmoregulation are the lachrymal glands, which eliminate excess salt from the body. The leatherback was re-classified in 2000 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as Critically Endangered. It remains vulnerable to a wide range of threats, including bycatch, ingestion of and entanglement in marine debris, take of turtles and eggs, and loss of nesting habitat to coastal processes and beachfront development. There is no evidence of significant current declines at the largest of the Western Atlantic nesting grounds, but Eastern Atlantic populations face serious threats and Pacific populations have been decimated. Incidental mortality in fisheries, implicated in the collapse of the Eastern Pacific population, is a largely unaddressed problem worldwide. Although sea turtles were among the first marine species to benefit from legal protection and concerted conservation effort around the world, management of contemporary threats often falls short of what is necessary to prevent further population declines and ensure the species' survival throughout its range. Successes include regional agreements that emphasize unified management approaches, national legislation that protects large juveniles and breeding-age adults, and community-based conservation efforts that offer viable alternatives to unsustainable patterns of exploitation. Future priorities should include the identification of critical habitat and priority conservation areas, including corridors that span multiple national jurisdictions and the high seas, the creation of marine management regimes at ecologically relevant scales and the forging of new governance patterns, reducing or eliminating causal factors in population declines (e.g., over-exploitation, bycatch), and improving management capacity at all levels.

Charles Robert Darwin, FRS (12 February 1809 - 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. Darwin published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining thediversity of life. -wikipedia

The story of a brutal shark attack that cost a woman her arm and much of her leg, and her death-defying recovery. One of the most dreadful experiences humans fear is a shark attack. This horrifying agony is exactly what happened to Nicole Moore, a nurse from Orangeville, Ontario. It was an assault all the more brutal for being so unlikely — she was standing in waist-deep water at a Mexican resort. She came very close to dying, losing 60 percent of her blood from deep bites on her arm and leg, and was rushed to a hospital where she received a questionable level of medical care that left her and her family confronting physical and mental anguish. Surviving gruesome misery, including the amputation of her left arm and attempts to rebuild her disfigured leg, she has fought on to become a source of inspiration for those facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.

This is a new release of the original 1961 edition.

The Mekong River is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the world, and it supports the most productive freshwater fisheries in the world. Millions of people in the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB) countries of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam rely on the fisheries of the basin to provide a source of protein. The Mekong Fish Network Workshop was convened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in February 2012 to discuss the potential for coordinating fisheries monitoring among nations and the utility of establishing standard methods for short- and long-term monitoring and data sharing throughout the LMB.

This abstract describes the Final Environment Impact Statement and Management Plan for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposes to designate water encompassing and surrounding Thunder Bay on Lake Huron as a National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with the State of Michigan.

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary contains one of the richest and most productive marine habits in the U.S. It is home to a diverse fish community and serves as one of the most important feeding grounds in the North Atlantic for a number of migratory endangered whale species as well as some apex fish predators such as bluefin tuna and sharks.

Davidson Seamount is one of the largest seamounts in U.S. waters and the first to be characterized as a "seamount." In 2002 and 2006, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) led two multi-institutional expeditions to characterize the geology and natural history of Davidson Seamount. Results from these expeditions to Davidson Seamount are adding to the scientific knowledge of seamounts, including the discovery of new species. In November 2008, the MBNMS boundary was expanded to include the Davidson Seamount.

The coastal ecosystem of South Florida is comprised of distinct marine environments. Circulation of surface waters and exchange processes, which respond to both local and regional forcings, interconnect different coastal environments. In addition, re-circulating current systems within the South Florida coastal ecosystem such as the Tortugas Gyre contribute to retention of locally spawned larvae.

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) (Figure 1) is managed by the National Marine Sanctuary Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. This Final Management Plan (FMP) is designed to replace the 1983 GRNMS management plan, as management strategies have been updated and revised to address current and priority resource issues. The strategies within this revised plan address impacts from human activities, such as anchoring, diving, marine debris, and fishing, as well as administration, research, exploration, evaluation, and education needs.

Humans and dolphins have a unique bond. We know that dolphins are highly intelligent, intensely sociable beings who recognize their own reflections, introduce themselves by name, form close friendships, communicate constantly, feel despondent, rescue one another (and humans), deduce, infer, throw tantrums, gossip, joke, and scheme. Many who have swum with them describe the experience as life-changing. They are heralded as magical creatures, and yet we force them into starring roles at theme parks, trade them on the black market and put them to slaughter. Voices in the Ocean is at once a celebration of these beloved animals and a devastating chronicle of the damage wrought when human and dolphin worlds meet. Through Casey's illuminating portrayal of these beguiling creatures we encounter the best and worst of ourselves.

As Four Thousand Hooks opens, an Alaskan fishing schooner is sinking. It is the summer of 1972, and the sixteen-year-old narrator is at the helm. Backtracking from the gripping prologue, Dean Adams describes how he came to be a crew member on the Grant and weaves a tale of adventure that reads like a novel--with drama, conflict, and resonant portrayals of halibut fishing, his ragtag shipmates, maritime Alaska, and the ambiguities of family life. At sea, the Grant's crew teach Dean the daily tasks of baiting thousands of longline hooks and handling the catch, and on shore they lead him through the seedy bars and guilty pleasures of Kodiak. Exhausted by twenty-hour workdays and awed by the ocean's raw power, he observes examples of human courage and vulnerability and emerges with a deeper knowledge of himself and the world. Four Thousand Hooks is both an absorbing adventure story and a rich ethnography of a way of life and work that has sustained Northwest families for generations. This coming of age story will appeal to readers including young adults and anyone interested in ocean adventures, commercial fishing, maritime life, and the Northwest coast. Visit the author's website: http://www.fourthousandhooks.com/