Happy Friday Everyone! We frequently link to other important marine and general science blogs, to the extent that regular readers can probably guess which science blogs we read and how often, but science isn’t everything. We decided to take a moment to tell y’all about the non-science blogs that we enjoy.
Author: Andrew Thaler
Marine science and conservation. Deep-sea ecology. Population genetics. Underwater robots. Open-source instrumentation. The deep sea is Earth's last great wilderness.
Uncategorized
Some more detailed information on hydrothermal vent formation and dynamics.
Uncategorized
Every year high school students from across the country come together to compete against each other and test their knowledge of marine systems and processes. The National Ocean Science Bowl is soliciting applications for question writers to contribute their knowledge to the competition. If you think your ocean skills are up the task, head on … Read More “Become a question writer for the National Ocean Science Bowl” »
Conservation
Happy World Ocean Day. In lieu of an actually post, take a look at this graph, courtesy of Information is Beautiful. I think this is one of those rare items that needs no additional commentary.
Conservation
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), an alliance of over 70 international organizations working to promote the conservation of deep sea biodiversity, has officially launch their blog – Save the Deep Sea. We all care about the wondrous life that exists in the deep sea – both known and unknown – and we all recognize … Read More “Saving the Deep Sea” »
Conservation, Science
We are in the midst of a global extinction crisis. Biodiversity is in decline as species after species disappear. Some estimates predict that up to 50% of species will be committed to extinction by 2050. Other estimates claim the current rate of extinction may be 10,000 times the background rate. Many ecologists and conservationists have declared the current species decline the sixth great mass extinction.
A recent paper published in the journal Nature argues that our current estimates of species loss are based on a flawed model and tend to overestimate the magnitude of species decline. The paper has received plenty of attention, and has been heavily criticized by ecologists and conservation biologists. The paper is wrong, but it is wrong for the right reasons, and the criticisms it has garnered point to a gaping hole in our understanding of population dynamics.