While we've known for a while that oxybenzone, an ingredient in sunscreen, can damage and kill coral reefs, the exact mechanism was unknown. A study in Science has now found that oxybenzone only kills sea anemones and mushroom corals when they’re exposed to sunlight. When the corals are exposed to both oxybenzone and UV light, they metabolize the chemical in a way that turns it into a "potent photosensitizer." This causes damaging radicals to form, which are toxic to the animals. It was also found that the coral’s symbiotic algae absorb the toxins produced by the metabolized oxybenzone and protects the coral. This means that corals that are already bleached and therefore lack the algae, may be even more vulnerable to sunscreen damage. Read more: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn2600

Australian researchers have located what is believed to be the largest plant on Earth—and they estimate it's at least 4,500 years old stretching across 180 km. The discovery of the single plant or "clone" of the seagrass Posidonia australis blew people away. The researchers sampled seagrass shoots from across Shark Bay's variable environments and generated a "fingerprint" using 18,000 genetic markers. Just one plant has expanded over 180km in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on Earth. The existing 200 km2 of ribbon weed meadows appear to have expanded from a single, colonizing seedling. Read more: Largest plant on Earth is 4,500 years old: A 180 km seagrass field found to be one immense clonal plant

(Seychelles Nation 30.3.22) : A voluntary project by the fishing community on Praslin aimed at protecting fish stocks has produced positive results, to the satisfaction of all involved. The Praslin Fishers Association in collaboration with the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), environmental NGO ‘ANBA LAO’ yesterday presented their findings on the voluntary fisheries zone closure on Praslin.