Excerpts from Current Biology, Volume 22, Issue 20, R860-R861, 23 October 2012

The whale lived among a group of dolphins and socialized with two female white whales. The whale was exposed to speech not only from humans at the surface -- it was present at times when divers used surface-to-diver communication equipment.

Research has revealed that bull sharks bite with almost 6,000N, a force that is greater than what is required to kill and eat prey. In a study published in the journal Zoology, Maria Habegger from Tampa’s University of South Florida, along with colleagues in the US and Germany, examined bite forces produced by 13 shark species and their close relatives, ranging from 1m-long ratfish to the great white shark.

The survey revealed coral “hotspots,” and found that a new coral habitat suitability model could help predict where corals are likely to occur.

The exploration, the first to look for corals and sponges in the area in decades, is helping researchers develop a computer model to determine where other coral hotspots might be found.

More than 70 deepwater canyons, ranging from 330 to 11,500 feet (100 to 3,500 m) deep, exist along the Northeast's continental shelf and slope. Few are well-studied, and many are likely home to as-yet-undiscovered life forms.

The deep-sea coral and sponge habitats observed in the canyons are not like those found in shallow-water tropical reefs or deep-sea coral habitats in other regions

Lionfish have no natural predators and are taking food and habitat from native fish that are important to the local ecology and economy. Lionfish are now found in waters from North Carolina south to Florida, the Caribbean, and all Gulf of Mexico states.

This new manual, Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management includes the best available science and practices for controlling lionfish in marine protected areas, national parks, and other conservation areas.