Speaking of Science: A boon for marine life

Nearly 1,700 species have been listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act since the legislation was passed a half-century ago. Of those, many are aquatic,...

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A northern sea otter floats on its back while crushing a clam shell with its teeth in the small boat harbor at Seward, Alaska. (Dan Joling/AP Photo, File) Nearly 1,700 species have been listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act since the legislation was passed a half-century ago. Of those, many are aquatic, including several species of sea turtle and dozens of marine mammal populations. A new study from researchers at the Center for Biological Diversity suggests that the majority of these marine species increased in population size after the animals were listed. The authors of the recent work, published in the journal PLOS One on Wednesday, compiled reports from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, academic literature and other sources; they tallied two dozen marine mammal populations (these included protected whales, otters, sea lions, seals and manatees) and eight turtle populations. The good news: Seventy-five percent of the sea turtle groups and 78 percent of the marine mammals are recovering. The remainder of the sea turtle populations showed little change. But two marine mammal populations — the Southern Resident killer whales, which live off the Pacific northwest coast, and Hawaiian monk seals — have declined significantly. Recovery can be sped by designating funds and critical habitat protections, the authors of the new work say. Newer species additions, though, seemed to fare worse. Species listed relatively recently, within the past 20 years, were more likely to decline or have no population change. The study will provide ammunition for supporters of the Endangered Species Act at a time when the law faces political opposition. Recent Republican administrations have attempted to weaken it; George W. Bush's administration made it more difficult to list species, and added only 59 species between 2001 and 2008 (previous administrations, including that of George H.W. Bush, added that many species annually). In July 2018, the Trump administration proposed reducing the act's power, allowing officials to consider economic impacts, for instance, during their wildlife protection assessments. — Ben Scientists had never seen anything like this supernova. Could it be a newborn black hole? Months after a dazzling supernova was spotted in the sky above Hawaii, scientists are puzzling over what caused it. By Sarah Kaplan · Read more     ADVERTISEMENT   How your at-home DNA test results could solve cold cases The rise of consumer genetic tests has provided law enforcement with new tools that have the potential to break open cold cases. By Daron Taylor and Taylor Turner · Read more   The Hubble Space Telescope has a glitch — again A hardware problem has hobbled ultraviolet and optical observations from one of telescope's celebrated cameras. By Sarah Kaplan · Read more     ADVERTISEMENT   Scientists just got closer to solving one of astronomy's biggest mysteries A new instrument detected more than a dozen fast radio bursts — powerful flashes of radio energy that appear all over the sky. By Sarah Kaplan · Read more   As shutdown continues, so does damage to U.S. science Scientists are smarting from the loss of data, research opportunities and paychecks. By Ben Guarino, Carolyn Y. Johnson, Sarah Kaplan and Lenny Bernstein · Read more   Recommended for you Get The Switch newsletter The top stories on the tech industry, tech policy and tech in our lives, delivered every weekday. Sign Up

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