A charming image of two southern elephant seal pups in a Falklands rock pool has earned Australian photographer Matty Smith the 2026 Underwater Photographer of the Year title
The seal pup was underweight, dehydrated and covered in mud when it was rescued near Seatown.
Here are the year's breakthroughs for the climate and nature you might have missed.
Seal pups and jellyfish-like organisms are among the creatures washed up on Dorset's beaches.
Scientists from HR Wallingford say the study provides "critical insights" into tackling plastic pollution.
Sixty states have ratified a global treaty to protect the oceans - it will become law in January.
As tiny pieces of plastic clog our oceans, natural meadows of seagrass are bundling up microplastics and spitting them back out onto beaches in the form of "Neptune balls".
The UK's seas have had their warmest first seven months of the year on average since records began.
The catastrophe has turned South Australian waters toxic green and suffocated masses of marine life.
