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Changing Seas
Whales in a Plastic Ocean
Season 17
Episode 1702
Far out in the eastern Atlantic, the Portuguese island of Madeira rises from the depths of the open ocean. Despite its remote location, the archipelago is impacted by floating plastic trash. Researchers with MARE-Madeira study the effects plastics, and their chemical compounds, have on the health of marine mammals that frequent local waters.
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29:33
Scientists work to identify and link a devastating coral disease to a human pathogen.
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26:48
Examine the important role seagrasses and mangroves play in the ocean’s web of life.
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26:51
The Changing Seas crew shadows a team of research divers in Dry Tortugas National Park.
26:45
Scientists develop sustainable aquaculture methods to take the pressure off wild fish.
26:46
Scientists scan the ocean floor to find deep sea corals threatened by bottom trawling.