Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
The conservation movement is full of organizations whose stated goal is to protect specific organisms (i.e. “save the whales” or “save the sea turtles”) or to protect certain ecosystems (i.e. “save the rain forest” or “save the coral reef”). While these groups do admirable work, I can’t help put notice that they primarily focus on … Read More “Save the krill!” »
Almost a year ago, we discussed briefly the Krill Surplus Hypothesis. In this model, the removal of large baleen whales created a competitive release for Minke whales, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, exponentially increasing their food supply and and allowing their population to boom. By removing all other krill eating whale from the Antarctic, Minke whales were allowed … Read More “The Krill Surplus Hypothesis and the Power of Data” »
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: The Biggest Manu Splash Off in French History — and also the First Manu Splash off in French History (do not fact check this) — will crash into the waves off Nice, France at 8:00 AM on Thursday, 12 June 2025 at a location to be determined near CoCo Beach. Do you have … Read More “UN Ocean Conference Manu Championship” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow environmental social scientist Angela Dean on twitter! Ice free passage for ships could cause problems for marine mammals. From MongaBay Bone scraps hint at whale harvest by ancient Romans. From Nature News. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and and Transportation is holding a hearing entitled “SHARKS!” “We don’t see many … Read More “Ice-free Arctic and salmon symphonies: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, July 12 2018” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow science illustrator Bethann Garramon Merkle on twitter! Great Pacific Garbage Patch is sprawling with more debris than thought. By Oliver Milman, for the Guardian. In Bali fish die-off, a human hand is suspected. By Luh De Suriyana, for MongaBay. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): Mullet Mania. By Michael Patrick O’Neill, … Read More “Migrating mullet and expanding garbage patches: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, March 22, 2018” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow marine conservation biologist Julia Spaet on twitter! Nearly half of freshwater turtles are at risk of extinction. By John Platt, for Revelator. Fishing bots “going dark” raise suspicion of illegal fishing. By Scott Neuman, for NPR. Ocean sensors can track progress on climate goals. By Joellen Russell, for Nature News. Spoils (long … Read More “Endangered turtles and fish venom: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, March 15, 2018” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Watch this skate seen on a SCUBA dive in Scotland! Video by Catherine Hollingdale Follow fish parasitologist Isaure de Buron on twitter! Judge halts Hawaii aquarium fishing until environmental review. By the AP. There are more fish in the sea, because the Magnusson-Stevens Act is working. By George Leonard, for the Ocean … Read More “Seagrass restoration, seabirds, and sea turducken! Thursday Afternoon Dredging: November 2, 2017” »
Fog Horn (A Call to Action) Gratuitous self-plug alert! There’s still a few chance left to get your own Unflappable Mola Mola sticker, but they’re going fast. For this and the rest of the Jaunty Ocean Critter series, subscribe to my Patreon campaign and help keep Southern Fried Science and Oceanography for Everyone running! Flotsam … Read More “Unflappable Mola Molas, a Cousteau biopic, sharkcats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 21, 2017” »
Dr. Misty Paig-Tran is Assistant Professor at California State University Fullerton. Her laboratory (Functional Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Biomaterials) studies how animals feed and move, among other things. Her research is focused on big filter-feeding animals (Sharks and Manta rays) and mid-deep water fishes – you know, the scary looking ones. You can learn about her research here, and you can follow … Read More “Oarfish: The true tale of the fish we can’t seem to get enough of” »
A couple of days ago (20th January) was penguin awareness day1. But do we really need to be more aware of penguins? Well, actually yes. Photo by Chris Parsons We conducted a study a couple of years ago (pdf also available) to look at public awareness of penguins (using university students as a sample) and … Read More “Unhappy feet – why we need more than a day of penguin awareness” »
