Turbulence generated by speeding motor boats kills significant numbers of zooplankton, a study has revealed for the first time. Experiments on copepods, tiny crustaceans that live and float in water, show that a third die in waters frequented by propeller-driven boats. That is significantly more than in bodies of water not used by boats.
Zooplankton play a crucial role in water ecology and their death may have hitherto unknown impacts. Details of the discovery are published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Read more...
