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Category: Science

A new blog joins the Southern Fried Science Network

Posted on September 15, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Science

A new blog has just joined our humble little network. Head over to SouthernPlayalisticEvolutionMusic and give DNLee a hearty welcome! From the author: Yea, I love hip-hop and many might be surprised as how knowledgeable I am in all of the various hip-hop and rap demonimations.  I am a Hip-Hop Maven….and I’m also a nerdy … Read More “A new blog joins the Southern Fried Science Network” »

Real Monsters – Eurypterids!

Posted on September 11, 2010September 10, 2010 By David Shiffman
Science

My favorite real sea monster is the Eurypterid, also known as the Sea Scorpion. These fearsome predators were the largest arthropods ever to live- they could grow to over six feet in length! Eurypterids are believed to have crawled along the seafloor using their pincers to grab trilobites and other prey. Sadly (or fortunately, depending … Read More “Real Monsters – Eurypterids!” »

Real Monsters – The Giant Isopod

Posted on September 11, 2010September 7, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 2 Comments on Real Monsters – The Giant Isopod
Science

Now that Ocean of Pseudoscience Week has come to a close, we thought it would be a good time to talk about our favorite real sea monsters – amazing marine creatures that capture the imagination. For mine, we naturally have to take a trip to the deep sea to find Bathynomous, the giant deep-sea isopod. … Read More “Real Monsters – The Giant Isopod” »

Ocean of Pseudoscience Shorty – Chemosynthetic ecosystems and independence from the sun

Posted on September 9, 2010September 10, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Science

One of the many frequent claims that crop up in both popular and scientific reports about deep-sea hydrothermal vents is that chemosynthetic ecosystems are independent of photosynthetic ecosystems. Even high quality scientific reporting have been guilty of making this claim: “These animals live completely independent of sunlight” (NOAA Ocean Explorer). But are chemosynthetic systems totally … Read More “Ocean of Pseudoscience Shorty – Chemosynthetic ecosystems and independence from the sun” »

Elaine Morgan says we evolved from aquatic apes

Posted on September 9, 2010August 30, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Science

Reader mail: Shark Fin propaganda

Posted on September 9, 2010August 31, 2010 By David Shiffman 1 Comment on Reader mail: Shark Fin propaganda
Science

Last weekend, longtime SFS reader Suzy sent me an interesting question. Suzy is Asian, and though she is a committed conservationist, several members of her family regularly eat shark fin soup. One relative just sent her a copy of a news article entitled “Shark Fin Soup: Eat it without guilt” (available here). Suzy asked me if the information in this article is correct, and how she should respond to her family members.

Though it is a few years old, I had never seen this article, and it’s a little shocking. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better example of distorting or ignoring science to promote a political agenda outside of Fox News. In short, Suzy, most of the information in here is either false or intentionally misleading.

Read More “Reader mail: Shark Fin propaganda” »

Our favorite sea monsters – The Giant Manta Special Edition

Posted on September 8, 2010September 5, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 2 Comments on Our favorite sea monsters – The Giant Manta Special Edition
Conservation, Science

Sea Monsters, mythical beasts of legend and lore that ply the world’s oceans, sinking ships, terrifying sailors, swallowing entire crews whole. Sea monsters occupy a special place in our imagination. The ocean is huge, unfathomable. Of course mighty beast could dwell within, undetected.

Every once in a long while, the myths, the legends, the stories, turn out to be true. This is one of those times.

Read More “Our favorite sea monsters – The Giant Manta Special Edition” »

Maximum (un)Sustainable Yield

Posted on September 8, 2010December 20, 2011 By Bluegrass Blue Crab 10 Comments on Maximum (un)Sustainable Yield
Science

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.orgIn 1954 and 1957 Gordon and Schaefer respectively described the idea of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) – that is, the amount of fish that could be taken by commercial fishing operations to maximize reproduction by the system year after year. Since then, it has been heralded as the mathematical panacea to fisheries management.

Gordon and Schaefer also described the maximum economic yield which threw price relations into the mix.  It describes the point at which the fishers will make the most money, accounting for revenue and their expenses. Note in the graph below the fold that the maximum economic yield (MEY) is below the MSY in terms of effort. Gordon and Schaefer imagined a private manager or government overseer that could calculate the MEY and regulate fisher behavior in order to meet it. The idea was meant to be win-win for the fishers and the fish.

Read More “Maximum (un)Sustainable Yield” »

Biodiversity Wednesday – Ancient Sea Monsters Triple Feature

Posted on September 8, 2010September 5, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Science

Bone-eating worms and contorted creationist thinking

Posted on September 7, 2010January 12, 2012 By Andrew Thaler 10 Comments on Bone-eating worms and contorted creationist thinking
Science

I tend to avoid the creationist blogs. Every time I get sucked into that vortex of pseudoscience, I find the exact same debunked claims that were bunk when I was 12. There are better bloggers out there who have the energy and patience to systematically dissect the same tired old rubbish day after day, but I’m not one of them.

This claim, however, is special. There’s nothing new in the rhetoric behind it, it’s just another “how could this commensalism/symbiosis/mutualism evolve? It must be magic!” mantra. And the analysis isn’t terribly sophisticated, anyone could do the basic googling to find out why every argument in it is either wrong or deceptive. What’s special is that it’s about one of my favorite critters, Osedax – the bone eating worm.

Read More “Bone-eating worms and contorted creationist thinking” »

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