How Pirates, Criminals, and COVID-19 Benefit Shy Sea Turtles

Human Scourges Are Godsends for Marine Creatures Who Need Solitude

When I read in the news that sea turtles are thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was not surprised. After all, the reasoning was sound: Fear of the virus has left beaches from Florida to Indonesia and beyond empty of tourists, so more adult females turtles can come ashore to lay eggs and more baby hatchlings can scamper towards the sea.

That a plague would be good for turtles made sense to me. As a sea turtle biologist, I’ve long studied how pernicious human foes—including organized crime, drug cartels, and high-seas …

To See the Fate of the Oceans, Look Back a Half-Billion Years

Too Much Carbon and Not Enough Oxygen Devastated Marine Life in Ancient Times

What can the deep geological history of the oceans tell us about the future?

This question is a difficult one. In fact, it is considerably easier to start with the opposite …