There’s an elephant in the room as summer arrives on the Gulf Coast: hypoxia season.
This year, it’s a different Gulf, one covered in the largest oil slick in our country’s history. No one is quite sure what the interaction between the oil and hypoxia will be. Best guess is that both stresses will mean the end for most organisms living in the area and that hypoxia will exacerbate problems associated with the spill and hinder recovery by limiting oxygen availability for detoxifying bacteria. However, step back for a minute and speculate on other possibilities: could the oil spill actually be helpful if it prevents or slows the eutrophication process? Could the damages associated with the oil spill be less than those associated with a large hypoxic zone?
Charlie helps build Bluegrass Blue Crab’s canoe.
This is a little different from my usual Crowdsourcing ConGen posts. I recently completed my qualifying exams for PhD candidacy, so have a very large reading list compiled for population and conservation genetics. So, if you’re interested in the field, you should check out some of these papers, and if you know of any others that should be included, please let me know in the comments.
Charlie enjoys his New England Aquarium shark encrusted adult beverage container, thanks to @thejives. Check out the NEAQ’s Global Explorer blogs and follow them on twitter @NEAQ.
Charlie enjoys his New England Aquarium beverage container, thanks to @thejives. Check out the NEAQ’s Gloabl Explorer blogs and follow them on twitter @NEAQ.
I am proud to host the latest edition of Scientia Pro Publica, a blog carnival that celebrates that best science, medicine, and nature writing aimed at the general public. Biology/Evolution/Conservation Melissa from Out Walking the Dog invites you to celebrate Bird Neck Appreciation Day. Learn how and why bird necks are so flexible and diverse. … Read More “Scientia Pro Publica #30” »
Next week our own Bluegrass Blue Crab will be embarking on her first research cruise – out to the Sargasso Sea. Over the years I’ve compiled a list of advice that I send out to my colleagues for their first voyage. So here is some advice for your first trip to sea. Everyone gets seasick. … Read More “Monday Morning Blogaerobics – some advice for your first trip to sea” »
A few weeks ago, I attended a public hearing about offshore oil drilling here in Charleston. I filmed the public comment period, and several participants agreed to be interviewed after the hearing ended. I have over 3 hours of footage if anyone is curious about what didn’t make the final cut. Interestingly, only a few participants lived in South Carolina. Oil companies and conservation NGO’s sent people from their Washington, DC headquarters. Most of the people who spoke were affiliated with a conservation NGO or an oil company or conservation NGO, but the unaffiliated individuals (residents of South Carolina) who spoke were all opposed to offshore drilling.
Read More “WhySharksMatter attends an offshore drilling public hearing” »
Charlie checks out our Antarctica buddies’ MISHAPs at Tagging Whales in Antarctic Seas