And when shed, that hair can boost mercury levels in surrounding seawater by about 17 times, researchers report September 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (sciencenews.org)
The unusual arrangement of arteries and veins in turtle muscles runs counter to examples noted in several species of warm - blooded aquatic creatures such as seabirds and mammals exposed to the same frigid environments: In the limbs of those animals, blood vessels are arranged such that body heat, which is largely generated in the liver, remains in the body core rather than being lost to the surrounding seawater. (sciencemag.org)
As the 2 - to -5-inch-long bivalves grew, their shells incorporated atoms of the elements oxygen and carbon of slightly different masses, or isotopes, in ratios that reveal the temperature of the surrounding seawater. (sciencedaily.com)