Science – Page 76 – Southern Fried Science

Project S – The creation of the Rimicanoe

May 26, 2010May 27, 2010 Andrew Thaler 6 Comments

Science

Rimicaris exoculata, the eyeless vent shrimp is an iconic member of hydrothermal vent communities on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The shrimp is characterized by a lack of eyes, an enlarged carapace, chemoautotrophic symbionts that they farm in their gills, and, most curiously, large photoreceptors on the top of its carapace. A solution to the mysterious eyespots was first hypothesized by Cindy Lee Van Dover, who inferred that Rimicaris exoculata can “see” low-level light produced by hydrothermal vent effluent.

Iconic, novel, biologically fascinating; of all the adjectives I can think of to describe Rimicaris exoculata, the one that jumps immediately to mind is sort-of-canoe-shaped. In fact, it’s so sort-of-canoe-shaped that this hydrothermal vent shrimp needs to have a canoe made in its image.

Presenting the grand unveiling of Project S – the Rimicanoe (sensu strictissimo Rimicaris exocu-yacht-a)!

Project S revealed! The <i>Rimicanoe</i> — Project S revealed! The Rimicanoe!

Elasmobranch diversity

May 26, 2010May 26, 2010 David Shiffman 4 Comments

Science

Three weeks ago, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources COASTSPAN survey started it’s 2010 season. I was thrilled- it had been far too long since I was out on a boat catching sharks. The weather report looked good, and our scheduled sample site was only a few miles from where we set the DNR record for most sharks caught in a day (248). On paper, it looked like it was going to be a pretty good day. As it turned out, it was a great day. As we hauled in the first set of the first day of the season, something in the net caught my eye. Despite sampling in this exact location a dozen times before, despite years of working with sharks and two decades of loving sharks, we caught a species that I had never seen before. The smooth dogfish pup, only a few weeks old, made his species the fiftieth I have ever seen. In honor of this occasion, here is a brief excerpt from my upcoming shark conservation book, including pictures of me with some of the 50 species I’ve encountered. Enjoy!

Read More “Elasmobranch diversity” »

And sense achieved a great victory – 85 years after Scopes

May 25, 2010May 25, 2010 Andrew Thaler

Science

85 years ago today John Scopes was indicted for violating the Butler Law – a law that made it illegal to teach evolution in Tennessee. The Scopes Trial, engineered by several parties to bring attention to both Dayton, Tennessee and the controversial anti-evolution laws, left a lasting mark on America’s legal system and the public perception of science. It was the bombastic firebrand H. L. Menken, one of the architects of the trial, that summerised best the spirit of the Monkey Trail:

The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous. Is it, perchance, cherished by persons who should know better? Then their folly should be brought out into the light of day, and exhibited there in all its hideousness until they flee from it, hiding their heads in shame.

Aftermath by H. L. Mencken

Are sandbar sharks more like bowhead whales or cod?

May 24, 2010December 20, 2011 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

At first glance, the question posed in the title seems silly. Both cod and sandbar sharks are fish, therefore they must be more similar to each other than either are to bowhead whales (which are mammals). However, a recent conservation genetics paper has demonstrated that one aspect of a sandbar shark’s life history is more similar to that of bowhead whales: both sandbar sharks and bowhead whales have an effective size that is very similar to their census size.

Day 5: Storm with no rain

May 24, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab

Science

We’d all been staring at the weather forecast in disbelief for the last couple of days. We had plenty of warning it was coming, but even in the midst of a storm, I don’t believe it’s happening. Why? Because it’s sunny out. However, there are gale force winds outside causing 12-14 foot swells and rocking the boat every which way.

Read More “Day 5: Storm with no rain” »

Unguided deep-sea research is essential for national and global security

May 24, 2010January 14, 2013 Andrew Thaler

Conservation, Science

This Sunday on NPR I heard the following paraphrased comment: “The ROV pilots have never had to deal with anything like this before, no one has trained for the kinds of maneuvers needed to close to well.” I’ve known many ROV pilots. They are all incredibly skilled, know how to handle their robots, and generally have many years of experience working in industrial settings.

But commercial ROV work tends to be monotonous. Many pilots I know spend the vast majority of their time inspecting pipelines and oil rigs, flying over long tracks of seafloor with little to no variation, looking for any signs of damage. When their skills are put to the test, it’s often the same repetitive motion, over and over. Even training simulations to prepare them for catastrophes cannot predict the infinite variations that could occur as an oil-rig collapses. It’s impossible to train for everything.

Until you throw a biologist into the mix.

Bio ex machina – Craig Venter unveils synthetic life

May 24, 2010 Andrew Thaler

Science

Monday morning blogaerobics: shark news roundup and a message from Antarctica

May 24, 2010May 24, 2010 David Shiffman

Science

In the last few weeks, I’ve been busy with final exams and the start of my field season. Fortunately, many of the other shark bloggers have written about the important topics I’ve missed. RTSea and Underwater Thrills both have written about how the Gulf oil spill can affect whale sharks, which are filter feeders who … Read More “Monday morning blogaerobics: shark news roundup and a message from Antarctica” »

Kevin Costner shows off his Oilspill Clean-up Machine

May 23, 2010 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

Day 3 at sea: first day in one place

May 22, 2010 Bluegrass Blue Crab 2 Comments

Science

After 6 long hours processing the phytoplankton profile from last night’s CTD, we decided to stay on this station for the remainder of our trip. The profile showed a distinct (and stable) maximum of phytoplankton. Interestingly, this maximum isn’t at the top as you might expect for sun-loving organisms.