Science – Page 67 – Southern Fried Science

What’s Killing California’s Sea Otters?

September 17, 2010September 20, 2010 Andrew Thaler 8 Comments

Sea Otters are turning up dead in central California. In 2007, 11 sea otters were recovered from Monterrey Bay. Over the last three years, dead otters washing up on beaches has reached a record high?

What could be causing all these otter deaths? Are there new predators in the area? Is there some kind of disease? Could increased otter deaths reflect an increase in otter populations, indicating not otter population decline, but otter population growth? The answer turns out to be even more surprising – freshwater algae.

hearseaspeak — Here no Otter, Sea no Otter, Speak no Otter

Non-Monophyly within Syngnathidae

September 16, 2010December 6, 2011 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

Science

Objective 1: Develop the least publicly accessible title for a blog post about seadragons, mate selection, and evolution

Objective 1 Status: complete

Objective 2: Draw in whatever readers push passed the unwieldy title with an unconventional narrative structure.

Objective 2 Status: complete

Objective 3: Hook the reader with a fascinating, though brief, background on seahorses, seadragons, and pipefish.

Innovative Conservation: Shark Attack Survivors Speak About Saving Sharks

September 15, 2010 David Shiffman

Conservation, Science

Last Monday, the Pew Environment Group’s Global Shark Conservation Campaign arranged for a brilliant PR stunt – they arranged for survivors of shark attacks to speak about shark conservation outside of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Though very few people are ever bitten by sharks, many fear them, which makes it difficult to … Read More “Innovative Conservation: Shark Attack Survivors Speak About Saving Sharks” »

A new blog joins the Southern Fried Science Network

September 15, 2010 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!

September 11, 2010September 10, 2010 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

September 11, 2010September 7, 2010 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

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

September 9, 2010September 10, 2010 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

September 9, 2010August 30, 2010 Andrew Thaler

Science

Reader mail: Shark Fin propaganda

September 9, 2010August 31, 2010 David Shiffman 1 Comment

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.

Our favorite sea monsters – The Giant Manta Special Edition

September 8, 2010September 5, 2010 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

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.