logo
Experts issue dire warning after thousands of marine animals wash up dead on coastline: 'It's devastating'

Experts issue dire warning after thousands of marine animals wash up dead on coastline: 'It's devastating'

Yahoo15-07-2025
Something disturbing is unfolding along the South Australia coastline — and the pictures alone are crushing. Over the last few months, beaches have become graveyards, with thousands of fish, shellfish, and other marine animals washing ashore lifeless.
A toxic algal bloom, caused by a species known as Karenia mikimotoi, has been destroying marine life in South Australian waters. The algae produce brevetoxins that are lethal to anything with gills, suffocating fish and invertebrates and causing massive die-offs along the coastline.
At least 9,000 animals across more than 390 species have been reported dead so far — and many believe the actual number is much higher, with most deaths going unrecorded.
"This is incredibly sad," one commenter said on Instagram, where footage of the grim scene has circulated widely. "It's devastating," another added.
While such blooms have occurred elsewhere — in China, the North Atlantic, and New Zealand — what makes this one especially alarming is its size, duration, and intensity. Marine biologist Shauna Murray called it "quite unusual," adding that the limited number of harmful algal bloom experts — just five to 10 in the country — made responding quickly even more difficult.
The consequences of this event extend far beyond what's visible on the shoreline. Toxic blooms don't just kill marine life — they disrupt entire ecosystems. In a similar event in Wellington Harbor in the 1990s, it took three to five years for the ecosystem to stabilize. With this outbreak spanning a much larger area, the timeline for recovery could stretch even longer.
What's fueling the bloom is still under investigation, but rising ocean temperatures — even by a single degree — may be a contributing factor. Murray explained that Karenia mikimotoi thrives under specific conditions, and small shifts in temperature, nutrients, and ocean currents can trigger rapid growth. As global waters continue to warm, scientists worry these events may become more frequent and more deadly.
Though local response teams have managed the situation as well as possible given limited resources, experts say long-term solutions are urgently needed. That includes government funding for marine research, improved monitoring systems, and early detection tools to help communities respond before damage is done.
For individuals, reducing runoff from fertilizers and supporting sustainable seafood practices can help limit the conditions that feed harmful algae. Supporting marine science initiatives and habitat restoration programs can also make a big impact over time.
While we can't reverse what's happened on the South Australian coast, there's still time to learn from it — and to act before the next bloom is triggered.
Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty?
Definitely
Only in some areas
No way
I'm not sure
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fast internet is getting in the way of understanding the universe, scientists warn
Fast internet is getting in the way of understanding the universe, scientists warn

Yahoo

time40 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Fast internet is getting in the way of understanding the universe, scientists warn

The rush for faster and more widely available internet is making it harder to understand the cosmos, according to scientists. SpaceX's Starlink satellites are intended to circle the Earth and offer fast internet in regions that might otherwise be underserved. The company has launched thousands of them in recent years, with a view to covering the planet with signals. But researchers have found that the satellites are interfering with radio astronomy, getting in the way of astronomers' view of space. The satellites leak out unintended signals that drown out the often very faint radio waves that astronomers use to see the universe. The new work from Curtin University looked specifically at SpaceX's Starlink because it has the most satellites in orbit. But a number of other companies are looking to use satellites to offer faster and more widely available internet. In the research, scientists gathered 76 million images of the sky using an early version of the Square Kilometre Array, which will be the world's biggest and most sensitive radio telescope when it is finished later this decade. In that data, scientists found more than 112,000 radio emissions from 1,806 Starlink satellites. Those emissions could make it much more difficult for scientists to see the important radio signals that they rely on. 'Starlink is the most immediate and frequent source of potential interference for radio astronomy: it launched 477 satellites during this study's four-month data collection period alone,' said Dylan Grigg, who led the study. 'In some datasets, we found up to 30 per cent of our images showed interference from a Starlink satellite.' Many of those signals were not being intentionally emitted from the satellites, and come more strongly at different frequencies than expected. That could make it difficult for researchers to pick them out. 'Some satellites were detected emitting in bands where no signals are supposed to be present at all, such as the 703 satellites we identified at 150.8 MHz, which is meant to be protected for radio astronomy,' Mr Grigg said. 'Because they may come from components like onboard electronics and they're not part of an intentional signal, astronomers can't easily predict them or filter them out.' That interference could eventually keep us from understanding deep truths of the cosmos, the researchers warned. 'We're standing on the edge of a golden era where the SKA will help answer the biggest questions in science: how the first stars formed, what dark matter is and even test Einstein's theories,' said Steven Tingay, who helped author the study. 'But it needs radio silence to succeed. We recognise the deep benefits of global connectivity but we need balance and that starts with an understanding of the problem, which is the goal of our work.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data

Walking 7,000 steps a day is enough to boost health
Walking 7,000 steps a day is enough to boost health

Yahoo

time40 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Walking 7,000 steps a day is enough to boost health

Walking 7,000 steps a day may be enough to protect against a number of diseases, a new study suggests. While many people have the goal to get 10,000 steps in their daily routine, some find this target difficult to achieve. But new research suggests 'sizeable' health benefits – including a reduced risk of dementia, heart disease and premature death – can still be seen from fewer daily steps. Even modest step counts of 4,000 steps a day can reap benefits over very low levels of activity, experts found. But experts noted that '10,000 steps per day will still be better than 7,000 steps' – with the higher step count leading to more health benefits. The new study, led by academics from the University of Sydney in Australia, saw researchers examine data from dozens of studies from around the world, including in the UK, on tens of thousands of adults. People who walked 7,000 steps each day appeared to have a protective effect against a number of diseases including: a 25% lower risk of heart disease; a 14% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes; a 38% lower risk of dementia and 22% reduced risk of depression. The researchers also found that when people walked 7,000 daily steps, compared to walking 2,000 steps, they were 47% less likely to die during the follow-up periods of the studies analysed. And while the number of steps walked did not sway whether or not a person got cancer, people who walked more steps were significantly less likely to die from cancer – with 37% lower odds of cancer death compared to people who walked fewer steps. 'Although 10 000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some,' the authors wrote in the journal Lancet Public Health. They added: 'Even modest daily step counts were associated with health benefits. '7,000 steps per day was associated with sizeable risk reductions across most outcomes, compared with the reference of 2,000 steps per day.' 10 minutes or 60. 500 steps or 5,000. It all helps you get closer to your health and wellness goals. So do what you can today, and try to add a little more tomorrow. The important thing is to keep going! — American Heart Association (@American_Heart) April 24, 2025 Commenting on the study, Dr Daniel Bailey, Reader – Sedentary Behaviour and Health, Brunel University of London, said: 'The finding that doing 5000-7000 steps per day is an important addition to the literature which helps to debunk the myth that 10,000 steps per day should be the target for optimal health. 'This study suggested that 5000-7000 steps per day can significantly reduce the risk of many health outcomes, but that does not mean you cannot get benefits if you don't meet this target. 'The study also found that health risks were reduced with each 1000 extra steps per day, up to a maximum of 12,000 steps per day. So just adding more steps from your starting point can have important benefits for health.' Dr Andrew Scott, senior Lecturer in clinical exercise physiology at the University of Portsmouth, added: 'In most cases the 10,000 steps per day will still be better than 7,000 steps, just by decreasing margins of health benefit return. 'More important than the exact number of steps, it demonstrates that overall, more is always better and people should not focus too much on the numbers, particularly on days where activity is limited. 'The steps per day is useful when people's exercise is weight-bearing, however cycling, swimming and rowing are not well-represented by the steps per day model.'

Don't get overwhelmed by 10,000 steps. Here's how many you may really need
Don't get overwhelmed by 10,000 steps. Here's how many you may really need

CNN

time42 minutes ago

  • CNN

Don't get overwhelmed by 10,000 steps. Here's how many you may really need

Does the popular activity benchmark of walking 10,000 steps a day feel like too distant of a goal? Don't worry, you can get health benefits just by moving a little more than you already are, new research has found. When possible, aiming for 7,000 steps a day is a good objective, said lead study author Dr. Melody Ding, professor of public health at the University of Sydney. Ding and a team of researchers reviewed 31 different studies on the impacts of step count on health markers, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, cancer, depressive symptoms and early death, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet Public Health. Compared with people who got 2,000 steps a day, which researchers considered the minimal possible step count for adults, people who took 7,000 daily steps had a 47% lower risk of death from all causes. The more active adults also had a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 38% lower risk of dementia. Many people who use fitness trackers see 10,000 steps as a sign they are getting enough movement in a day, but that number is not based on good evidence, said Dr. Sean Heffron, assistant professor of medicine at New York University Langone Health and NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. He was not involved in the research. Aiming for 10,000 steps likely originated from a marketing campaign for an early pedometer manufactured in Japan by Yamasa Clock and Instrument Company that was called Manpo-kei, or '10,000 steps meter' in Japanese, according to a 2019 study. Cardiologist Dr. Martha Gulati said she is usually skeptical when the benchmark is such a nice round number. Gulati was also not involved in the research. However, it is clear from this study and the existing data that moving more is fundamental for good health and is usually a sound idea, Heffron said. 'More than 7k doesn't do harm, and may even offer some additional benefits,' Ding said in an email. 'If one is already very active and doing 10+k a day, they definitely don't need to hold back and go back to 7k!' The study is a meta-analysis, which analyzes evidence across many studies and is one of the highest-quality kinds of research for making clinical recommendations, Heffron said. Measuring step counts as the recent study did is important not because walking is the only activity that matters, but rather because it is a good way to get a fairly accurate estimate of overall exercise levels, said Gulati, director of preventive cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. If a patient tells her they did half an hour of exercise, Gulati has to not only trust that they estimated the time accurately but also guess at the intensity of that time spent exercising, she said. On the other hand, if a patient is wearing a tracking device that said they walked 5 miles, that impact is clear whether they walked it, ran it, did it in one go or broke it up, she added. Unfortunately, many people are quite sedentary, but the baseline for human bodies is to be active, Heffron said. It makes sense that moving less is linked to more health problems. 'The less you move, the less your muscles get engaged, the less exerkines, which are these special chemicals that are released with muscle contractions that benefit levels of inflammation, benefit blood vessel health, but also improve insulin sensitivity and improve blood pressure, and probably have some impact on cognitive function,' he said. 'As there's less of that movement, the rates of all the detrimental conditions increase.' Physical activity also improves muscular strength, which can help protect against falls and fractures, Gulati said. From a cardiovascular perspective, exercise is linked to lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol and a better response to insulin, she added. Most Americans could stand to move more, Gulati said. For people who aren't moving much, aiming for 7,000 steps a day may seem like a lot, but just getting started makes a big difference. 'Accumulating daily steps offers a broad range of health benefits. Even low step counts, such as 4k, offers health benefits than lower step counts,' Ding said in an email. The biggest bang for your buck in terms of your health comes from going from no exercise to adding any movement –– and then gradually building up to more regular activity from there, Heffron added. Maybe walking isn't your favorite way to get moving. Do things you enjoy, such as dancing, gardening, playing pickleball or hiking with a friend, Heffron said. Getting to the gym and dedicating a block of time to activity may not always be feasible, so he recommends finding ways in your day to add in a little bit more movement. You can get up every hour at work for a five-minute walk, which incorporates 45 minutes of activity in your day, he said. If you take the bus or subway, getting off a stop or two early and walking the rest of the way can also help you meet your fitness goals. 'It will add a few minutes onto your commute, but every one of those minutes is going to be involved in physical activity,' Heffron said. 'That all adds up little by little over the course of a day and week.' Getting more steps, however, may not be the best guideline for everyone, particularly those who are limited in their capacity to walk, Ding added. For seated exercises, try hand cycling or chair exercises with or without weights, Bishnu Pada Das, a certified personal trainer based in Kolkata, India, said in a previous CNN story. Sign up for CNN's Fitness, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you ease into a healthy routine, backed by experts.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store