Author: Erin McLean

Hi and welcome to oceanbites! I recently finished my master's degree at URI, focusing on lobsters and how they respond metabolically to ocean acidification projections. I did my undergrad at Boston University and majored in English and Marine Sciences - a weird combination, but a scientist also has to be a good writer! When I'm not researching, I'm cooking or going for a run or kicking butt at trivia competitions. Check me out on Twitter @glassysquid for more ocean and climate change related conversation!

Conservation Ecology Human impacts Volcanoes

Stop: Recovery Time!: Using volcanoes to model recovery of deep-sea communities

Deep sea communities are full of weird and wonderful animals that we don't know much about, and human demand for…

Climate Change Ocean Acidification

Are marine “nuisance” species expected to increase under ocean acidification?

Most studies that look at how animals respond to climate change look at species we like - oysters, corals, and…

Behavior Climate Change Coastal Management Conservation Economy Policy

Will Climate Change Alter How We Vacation?

When we talk about climate change, usually we talk about the effects that it’ll have on the environment and the…

Biology Ecology Human impacts Plastic Pollution Sea Turtles

The new fad diet for sea turtles? Plastics

Paper: Wedemeyer, K. R., George, S., James, H. B., Peterson, T. D., Wicksten, M. K. and Plotkin, P. T. (2015). High…

Biology Ecology

Diving birds find an abundant food source in a surprising place

Jellyfish have been getting some bad press recently, and for good reason. As temperatures warm, jellyfish increase in number, and…

Biology Ecology

Beyond the shell: What are hermit crabs really after?

A favorite activity for beachgoers is to comb the sand and tide pools for marine life, and one of the…

Biology Climate Change Ecology Ocean Acidification

Giant Clams Catch a Giant Break

Most of today’s research into the effects of climate change and ocean acidification is all doom and gloom: this animal…

Biology Ecology Parasitism

Gulls in Argentina bully whales into changing their behavior

Whales are a lot like people: if something’s annoying or hurting you, you’ll go out of your way to avoid…

Biology Climate Change

Can sperm cells make it in an acidified ocean?

Researchers in Australia investigated whether sea urchin sperm are going to make it through an acidified ocean or if they’ve…

Aquaculture Biology Climate Change Conference Developmental Biology Ecology Fisheries Ocean Acidification Physiology

Highlights from the National Shellfisheries Meeting

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to go to a scientific conference? Here’s a summary of what conferences are…

Biology Coastal Management Conservation Ecology Fisheries Human impacts

Best laid plans of lobsters and men: More disease prevalent in marine protected areas

Everyone usually agrees that establishing more protected areas in our oceans will help overfished populations recover. But what if that's…

Biochemistry Biology

What do diabetics and cone snails have in common? The need for insulin

Cone snails are a family of organisms that use venom injected into the water to help them capture their prey.…

Human impacts Pollution

Microplastics Rolling in the Deep

Everyone knows that there's a lot of plastic floating around in our oceans - we see it on our beaches…

Biology Human impacts Pollution Toxicology

Prozac and Cons: How Marine Snails React to Antidepressants

Ever wonder where our antidepressants go after they pass through our systems? Like all waste, our drugs pass out of…

Biology Climate Change Ecology

Fatal attraction: Under climate change, fish swimming towards predators, not away from them

There are all kinds of ways that climate change can directly affect marine life – habitat loss, changes in the…

Biology Human impacts Physiology

Whale Watching: Fun for Us, Stressful for Them

Whale watching is a popular activity around New England, especially in the summer, but this new study suggests we're doing…

Biology Physiology

Suck It!: Why Octopus Arms Don’t Stick To Each Other

Many students have wondered why the sticky, sucker-covered arms of the octopus don’t stick to one another as the animal…

Biology Climate Change Ecology Human impacts Physiology Pollution

Keep it Down!: Eels Having Problems Avoiding Predators in Noisy Waters

We don't traditionally think of our ships making noise that will disrupt animal behavior, but this study, looking at eels…

Biology Climate Change Physiology

The Seventh Sense: Catfish Sense pH Changes

Some catfish aren't just limited to the traditional five senses - instead, they have a unique adaptation to sense pH…