Kristin Huizenga
Digging Deep: Burrowing Animals are Just One Element of a Healthy Mudflat
Despite mudflats supporting fisheries, providing homes for birds, and serving as a buffer between land and sea, these ecosystems are still threatened by human development. Researchers looking for ways to protect mudflats found that in order for mudflats to remain healthy, 4 important roles must be filled by the animals living in them. Kristin HuizengaI […]
The Slow Burn: Slower Metabolisms May Help Mollusks Avoid Extinction
By looking at fossils found in the Western Atlantic, Dr. Luke Strotz and a team of scientists at the University of Kansas and Oxford have come across an intriguing idea: that an animal’s metabolism may be linked to how likely the species is to going extinct. Kristin HuizengaI am a masters student studying Biological Oceanography […]
Holding fast: kelp in Nova Scotia tries to grow on turf algae after a period of decline
Kelp has had a few rough decades that have led to the decline that threatens not only kelp but the other species that use the algae for habitat. Researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia set out to determine if kelp can make a comeback from seas filled with turf algae. What they found is […]
Turtles in the Trash: How microplastics are washing up where turtles breed
Like plastic bags and other larger plastic pieces, these insidious micro particles can make their way into animal digestive tracts and pollute the places they live. This pollution is what concerns Doctors Beckwith and Fuentes, from Florida State University. If microplastics are spreading through the ocean, what does this mean for the future of sea […]
Good Neighbors: Why we need to be careful with Piping Plovers, even when they aren’t breeding
A new study has discovered that leaving Piping Plover habitat unprotected when the birds aren’t breeding may be hindering conservation efforts. Piping Plovers are stressed by human activity, making the birds less likely to survive. Kristin HuizengaI am a masters student studying Biological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. My interests […]
Scaredy Fish: How Timid Fish Could Skew Research
Divers have long suspected that some fish are more afraid of people than others. A recent study has shown that certain groups of fish will actually hide for hours after a diver has passed through a reef. This has important implications for the future of coral reef surveys and the way we study species diversity. […]
Bite or Flight: How Seaweed Can Shape Feeding Behavior in Fish
What is a forest without trees or a coral reef without coral? Neither a forest nor a coral reef. Entire ecosystems are made possible by the living flora that define them; they provide shelter and hunting grounds for the animals which live in them. But what happens when the building blocks of these ecosystems are […]
Killing Jaws: Tackling the Idea of the Bloodthirsty Predator
Even though shark attacks are rare, fear of sharks has led people to support laws that kill sharks en masse. A new study shows that at the root of our fear of sharks is the belief that they intend to hurt us. By thinking about how we talk about shark intentionality in educational settings and […]
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