Blue Crabs | Southern Fried Science

Hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, the social value of a hydrothermal vent, more ways plastic booms could kill the ocean, and hagfish. Monday Morning Salvage: January 28, 2019.

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

It’s all hagfish today, baby!

Hagfish appear to use slime to avoid predators like sharks (top) and large fish (bottom). The images above are from videos showing fish eating a hagfish, which then produces slime and is able to escape (Images from wikimediacommons).

Giant penguin colonies and tiny squid: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, March 8th, 2018

Posted on March 8, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow Travis Tai, a graduate student studying climate change and fisheries, on twitter!
Thumbnail-sized pygmy squid discovered in Australia. By Shreya Dasgupta, for MongaBay.
This octopus is 40,000 times heavier than its mate. By Liz Langley, for National Geographic.
Seal poo reveals plastic’s path in the sea. Nature research highlights.
Grass is back in the Chesapeake, and crabs will follow. By Dan Charles, for NPR.
Be sure to fill out your Mammal March Madness brackets, now featuring a Cookiecutter Shark! (Don’t know what March Mammal Madness is? Check out my 2017 article about it)

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Mega-colony of 1.5 million penguins discovered. By Damian Carrington, for the Guardian.
Supplemental nutritional assistance for whales. By John Strang, for Hakai.
Is ocean acidification a chance for bipartisan cooperation in Congress? By Ian Evans, for Oceans Deeply.
The fish that makes other fish smarter. By Ed Yong, for the Atlantic.

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!

Release the Karaqan! How does Aquaman’s latest foe stack up against real ocean giants?

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Andrew Thaler

Aquaman #27. DC Comics.

It’s been more than 2 months since we last discussed the patron saint of Southern Fried Science, the one and only Aquaman. The Atlantean übermensch has a new lead writer, Jeff Parker, who’s teamed up with Aquaman veteran Paul Pelletier to produce an engaging and visually stunning story. After the epic conclusion to Throne of Atlantis, Aquaman is off on an entirely new adventure. Unfortunately, this new quest puts our hero in the path of a gargantuan guardian of ancient Atlantis, the Karaqan!

The Karaqan is big, but just how big is it? How does the Karaqan stack up against living sea creatures? Could an arthropod ever get as big as the Karaqan? Most important, if Aquaman does successfully slay the Karaqan, just how much Old Bay would we need to steam it?

Read More