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Changing Seas
Sponges: Oldest Creatures in the Sea? - Trailer
Until recently there was scientific consensus that sponges were the first animals to branch off the “Animal Tree of Life,” a kind of family tree for all living and extinct animals on earth. But recent DNA research has cast doubt on that theory, with some scientists suggesting that ctenophores, also known as comb jellies, are an older lineage.
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27:13
Scientists experimant to see if giant manta rays are impacted negatively by microplastics.
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27:13
Changes to the ocean environment affect the way carbon is cycled through the seas.
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27:13
Lake Okeechobee, once the blue heart of Florida, now has putrid mats of blue green algae.
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26:43
Visit the remote Pacific, the islands of Maug - a natural laboratory for scientists.
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26:43
Some scientists are suggesting that ctenophores are the oldest sea animals.
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26:44
Researchers provide data necessary to protect fish populations from further decline.
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26:42
Researchers study what impact ecotourism might have on southern stingrays.
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26:43
Researchers are beginning to understand where turtles go during their “lost years.”