Science – Page 47 – Southern Fried Science

An open letter to anyone who manages the RSS feed for a scientific journal

May 16, 2012May 16, 2012 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Science

To y’all’er’um it may concern, I really appreciate what you do. Checking the RSS feeds for my favorite scientific journals is the first thing I do, every morning; it’s how I find out about the latest publications in my various interests. That being said, when I come back from lunch and you do this: I’m … Read More “An open letter to anyone who manages the RSS feed for a scientific journal” »

The Semester I Got Crabs

May 14, 2012October 27, 2013 Guest Writer 2 Comments

Science

Shannon is a student who participated in my blogging workshop as part of her Science and Nature Writing class earlier this semester. He she recounts her experience conducting independent research at the Duke University Marine Lab.

This past semester I was simply enjoying my life and doing what college students do when it happened: I got crabs. Sixty-four of them, to be exact. Never before had I experienced such prolonged irritation; before long I was just itching to get rid of them. For weeks I was sure that I had made a foolish mistake, vowing to be more careful in the future. Now, I’m not talking about Pthirus pubis, the sexually transmitted disease—get your mind out of the gutter! The crabs I’m referring to are Clibanarius vitattus, the striped hermit crabs that haunted my dreams and terrorized my every waking moment for the duration of my first ever independent study experiment.

Read More “The Semester I Got Crabs” »

#SciFund Returns: Can an abalone in a bag save two on the reef?

May 10, 2012May 10, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

#SciFund, a month long initiative to raise funds for a variety of scientific research projects, is once again upon us. Project leaders post a project description and an appeal for funds, and members of the public are invited to make small donations to projects that they deem worthy. Donations come with rewards such as access to … Read More “#SciFund Returns: Can an abalone in a bag save two on the reef?” »

#SciFund Returns – A Climate for Castrators?

May 9, 2012 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

Science

Shark fin bans: A storify of this week’s twitter discussion

May 8, 2012 David Shiffman 20 Comments

Conservation, Science

Earlier this week, I asked my twitter followers what they thought about shark fin bans, which prompted a long and stimulating discussion. What follows is my first attempt at “Storify”, shared in the hopes that the discussion can continue here.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a big supporter of shark fin bans because they don’t allow for sustainable, well-managed fisheries to supply the market. Additionally, they promote the common (and false) belief that shark fin soup is the only major problem facing sharks, and don’t address many of the other important issues associated with shark conservation.

Instead, I favor a comprehensive approach to shark management, including requiring that sharks be landed with fins attached (i.e. a ban on “finning” but the fins can still be used if the shark is landed whole), special protections for threatened and endangered species, science-based fisheries quotas for species that can sustain fishing, time/area closures or gear restrictions when necessary, and careful monitoring (including requiring that all fishing nations report the species composition of their catch).

Check out the great discussion if you missed it, and let me know what you think of this important issue in the comments of this post.

#SciFund Returns: Coping with stress: Coral reefs in Kiribati

May 4, 2012May 3, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

Recollections from a future ocean – a short story for eno magazine

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

eno. is the new literary magazine for the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Its mission is “to inspire a respect for our environment by engaging in thoughtful expression through the use of artistic, reflective, and creative forms.” This year, I have two poems and one short story featured. Both poems can be found … Read More “Recollections from a future ocean – a short story for eno magazine” »

#SciFund Returns – Muddy waters: coral health after storm events

May 3, 2012May 3, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

#SciFund, a month long initiative to raise funds for a variety of scientific research projects, is once again upon us. Project leaders post a project description and an appeal for funds, and members of the public are invited to make small donations to projects that they deem worthy. Donations come with rewards such as access to … Read More “#SciFund Returns – Muddy waters: coral health after storm events” »

#SciFund Returns: Seahorse Adventures

May 2, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

#TaxonomyFail: Salps, Jellyfish, and the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

May 1, 2012November 4, 2013 Andrew Thaler 26 Comments

Science

I’m a bit late to the party, but last week, several news outlets reported that the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant was taken offline by “jellyfish-like creatures” that clogged several cooling intakes. While most sources were careful to point out that these were “jellyfish-like” organisms, some secondary sources truncated the description and announced that “Nuclear Power Plant Knocked Offline By Tiny Jellyfish, The Invasion Has Begun”. Unfortunately, these organisms are salps, not jellyfish, and you’d be more correct to describe them as human-like rather than jellyfish-like.

Salps are free-swimming pelagic tunicates, one of the most basal members of the chordate phylum. While they superficially resemble jellies to the untrained eye, they are far more derived, possessing three tissue layers (compared to the jelly’s two), a primitive, larval notochord, a perforated pharynx, and the rudimentary beginnings of a centralized nervous system. They form large, clonal colonies that are able to take advantage of plankton blooms by rapidly producing more clones to capitalize on an unpredicatable food source. Although I don’t have first hand reports, this is likely what happened in Diablo Canyon, as warm water discharges from nuclear power plants can trigger massive plankton blooms. Far from a “jellyfish invasion”, this was probably the natural response of a predator to increased food availability.