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Author: Andrea Schlunk

I am a former PhD student from the University of Rhode Island, having discovered my love of teaching and informal science education in part through OceanBites! Since departing academia, I've focused on creating educational content for visitors at the New England Aquarium, Chincoteague Bay Field Station, and now the National Aquarium. I've also dabbled in co-creating a comedy/brainstorming podcast, ThunkTink, and enjoy getting lost in nature with my dogs.
Luminous luster…with teeth
Behavior Biology deep sea Physiology

Luminous luster…with teeth

Don’t worry—these glowing predators won’t harm you. They’re more interested in picking on someone their own size. Scientists take a…
March 8, 2021April 7, 2021 Andrea Schlunk
Warming up to the neighborhood: a gentoo penguin’s new digs
Climate Change Coastal Management Conservation Ecology Fisheries Human impacts Modeling Natural History Sea Ice

Warming up to the neighborhood: a gentoo penguin’s new digs

With warming temperatures, scientists expect to see species popping up in environments where they’ve previously been absent. Climate change virtually…
February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 Andrea Schlunk
‘Out of Sight’ Can’t Mean ‘Out of Mind’
Coastal Management Plastic Pollution

‘Out of Sight’ Can’t Mean ‘Out of Mind’

Surface marine debris and microplastic pollution has received more attention recently—which is great—but there’s another garbage problem we are only…
January 13, 2021 Andrea Schlunk
Communication Woes: Are we speaking the same language?
Methodology Outreach Science Communication

Communication Woes: Are we speaking the same language?

Scientists know communicating the significance of their findings is a huge part of their job. But what happens when the…
December 14, 2020December 13, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Crash Compilation #1: A review of vessel collisions with marine animals
Behavior Coastal Management Human impacts Noise

Crash Compilation #1: A review of vessel collisions with marine animals

As more people take to the seas, either for recreation or trade, sea life encounters have also increased. These encounters…
November 12, 2020December 9, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
From ancient blood come modern cures, or, How Horseshoe Crabs and Medicine Intertwined
Conservation Human impacts Policy Survey

From ancient blood come modern cures, or, How Horseshoe Crabs and Medicine Intertwined

If you’ve ever had a vaccination, congratulations, you’re linked to the ocean! Somewhere along the way, that vaccine batch was…
October 14, 2020November 11, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Homing in on a hammerhead’s range
Behavior Coastal Management Fisheries Human impacts Methodology Policy

Homing in on a hammerhead’s range

Over the decades, many shark species have become endangered. In an effort to save these fishes, humans have set up…
September 15, 2020November 11, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Stuck in the mud: a drilling downer for corals
Coastal Management deep sea Developmental Biology Human impacts

Stuck in the mud: a drilling downer for corals

Oil and gas play huge roles in shaping modern lifestyles, providing ease and comfort; while our lives may be simplified,…
July 1, 2020June 30, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Chemistry Climate Change Coastal Management Developmental Biology Ecology Human impacts Ocean Acidification Physiology

Ocean acidification and baby “squidlife” crises?

Ocean acidification has been known to cause problems for marine mollusks (like oysters and pteropods), because these animals have shells…
June 1, 2020May 29, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Tough bugs below the waves?
Coastal Management Genetics Human Health Microbiology

Tough bugs below the waves?

Just as humans can build up tolerances to things we’re exposed to, so can bacteria. Introduce antibiotics to an ecosystem…
May 6, 2020May 6, 2020 Andrea Schlunk
Coming Home to Roost: A case of parasites relying on ancestral DNA to take advantage of a new penguin host species?
Parasitism

Coming Home to Roost: A case of parasites relying on ancestral DNA to take advantage of a new penguin host species?

Parasites are nasty and resilient organisms, often highly specialized to fit their hosts. But sometimes, nature allows a bit of…
March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 Andrea Schlunk
Book Review

Now you see me, now you don’t…or do you?

Camouflage is a fantastic adaptation that appears all over the tree of life. One thing we don’t often consider, though,…
April 5, 2017April 5, 2017 Andrea Schlunk
Book Review Natural History Paleontology

A look into the past…and into a gnarly set of teeth

New discoveries are made every day, but ‘new’ does not always mean current. In this case, scientists are using technology…
March 6, 2017 Andrea Schlunk
Aquaculture Book Review Coastal Management Conservation Fisheries Human impacts

Fisheries and Food Security

Fish have provided sustenance for millions of people, but in a world where stocks are rapidly depleting, what are the…
February 3, 2017 Andrea Schlunk
Policy Science Communication technology

Citizen Science in the New Year!

Tired of only reading articles about science and wishing you could get out there any join those research teams instead?…
January 7, 2017January 22, 2017 Andrea Schlunk
Atmospheric Science Climate Change Science Communication

The Polar Linkage Express: complicated interactions between the Arctic and mid-latitudes

Climb aboard the Polar Linkage Express to learn about the main challenges facing scientists as they try to decipher just…
December 5, 2016 Andrea Schlunk
Behavior Book Review Climate Change Ecology Invasive Species

With A Little Help From My Friend: Unexpected benefits of invasive species?

Invasive species are widely talked about as unequivocally bad influences on ecosystems, but oftentimes their interactions are more complex. Click…
November 7, 2016November 7, 2016 Andrea Schlunk
Ecology Human impacts Noise Survey

Oil rigs, the food trucks of the sea?

We humans don't always take time to assess how we impact other environments; more often we survey before we enter…
October 15, 2016 Andrea Schlunk
Behavior Conservation Ecology Fisheries Harmful Algal Bloom Methodology Noise Remote Sensing

Listening for Symptoms: A new use for hydrophones in the face of harmful algal blooms

Whales aren't the only animals hydrophones can detect out in the ocean. In fact, in the near future it might…
August 21, 2016 Andrea Schlunk
Behavior Biology Book Review Developmental Biology Ecology

Do You Have Your Exit Buddy?

It’s a tough ocean out there for a larval fish—sticking together can be the best thing to do. But until…
July 19, 2016 Andrea Schlunk

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