deep sea
Deep Sea Vampires and Octopods
Happy (early) Halloween from the depths of the sea! The two animals from this study live in the deep sea and not much is known about their lives. I’m talking about a deep-sea octopus named Japetella diaphana and a vampyromorph named Vampyroteuthis infernalis (more commonly known as the vampire squid). Tropical, Temperate, and Deep-Sea The scientists […]
Hiding at its best: Ultra-black fish of the deep sea
Animals stay hidden from predators using different skin colors and patterns as camouflage. Scientists recently discovered a unique way some fish use ultra-black pigment to hide in the dimly-lit waters of the deep sea. Tejashree ModakCurrently, I am a postdoctoral research fellow in URI. Broadly, I study response of marine species to various stressors such […]
Upward and onward: how deep-sea larvae utilize vertical swimming to disperse across ocean basins
Deep-sea larvae show vastly different dispersal ability and pathways based on simulating how they swim. Gabrielle StedmanI am currently a 3rd year PhD student in Biological Oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. I use DNA found in the environment (eDNA), like a forensic scientist, to detect deep-sea animals and where they live. Much […]
Bottom trawling may irreparably damage seamount habitats
Destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling damage seafloor habitats. To see how detrimental this fishing technique might be on fragile deep-sea ecosytems, scientists investigated how long it takes seamounts to recover from bottom trawling. The results are not extremely promising. Ashley MarranzinoI received my Master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island where I studied […]
Telling time in the deep sea
Can animals tell time in the pitch black of the deep-sea? Find out how researchers Dr. Audrey Mat and others discovered that hydrothermal vent mussels use the motion of the ocean to pace their days. Gabrielle StedmanI am currently a 3rd year PhD student in Biological Oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. I […]
Are we ready to mine the seafloor?
Are we ready to mine the seafloor? Effects evident even after 26 years. Saumya SiloriHi, I am a Ph.D. student at the National Institute of Oceanography, India. I am currently studying the particulate and dissolved organic matter dynamics in the central and eastern Arabian Sea. I am also interested in the effects of climate change […]
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, those of larval cold-water corals could be getting cut short—even if their home reef isn’t right next door to a wellhead. Click here to find out about the culprit! Andrea SchlunkI am a former PhD […]
Hotspots of geology, biology, and economic interest
There is growing interest to exploit the resources of deep-sea hydrothermal vents to support the demand for electronic manufacturing. We don’t know how mining activities will affect these ecosystems or how the vent community will adapt to perturbations. Scientists are finding faster and easier ways to study the biodiversity and dynamics before foreseeable mining. Gabrielle […]
Oil and Gas Seeps: Microbial Elevators through Ocean Sediments
Many microorganisms live in ocean sediments – both at the seafloor, as well as in the subsurface hundreds to thousands of meters below. But how do these separate microbial populations interact, and what are the consequences? Amanda SemlerI’m a PhD candidate in Earth System Science at Stanford University, and I study how microbes in deep […]
Life in the Abyss: the ecological impacts of deep-sea mining
Did you know that about 95% of the ocean is unexplored? The deep ocean is logistically very difficult to access, so how do scientists study organisms that live hundreds of meters below the sea surface? The landscape of the deep-sea is diverse and certain structures such as polymetallic nodules, supports a vast array of marine […]
Deep Breathing Underwater
The Labrador Sea is one of the lungs of the ocean. A new study finds that it is taking an even deeper breath than expected—making it more vulnerable to climate change than thought. Emily ChuaI am a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University where I am developing an underwater instrument to study the coastal ocean. I […]
Deep Sea: The Final Frontier
With the decade drawing to a close, it is a good time to look toward the future and start thinking about what the next decade holds for scientific discovery. Star Trek has popularized the idea of outer space as “the final frontier.” But what if it’s really the deep sea? Ashley MickensI recently graduated with […]
Zombie worms in whale bones
Looking for a cool Halloween costume? Dress up as a zombie worm that lives under the sea and injects acid into whale bones! These exist – and scientists have just discovered a new species deep in the Atlantic Ocean near the Brazilian coast. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate at Northeastern University in Boston. I […]
Into the deep: Deep sea mining is upon us, whether you would risk it or not
While we have a lot to discover about the deep sea, we do know that in the depths of the ocean are a number of valuable minerals and metals like gold, manganese, and cobalt. Yet with so little known, companies are ready to dive into the cold deep, gathering these metals for economic gain. Kristin […]
The Biological Big Bang: Testing the hypothesis that sperm whales use auditory bursts to stun prey and other proposed feeding strategies.
Article Fais, A., Johnson, M., Wilson, M., Soto, N. A., & Madsen, P. T. (2016). Sperm whale predator-prey interactions involve chasing and buzzing, but no acoustic stunning. Scientific reports, 6, 28562. Background Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are big. To put it in perspective, an adult or bull sperm whale is longer on average (52 ft.) […]
Growing a Scientist: Undergraduate Research 2018, part 3
Check out these posts by guest authors Deborah Leopo, Mike Miller, Whitney Marshall, and Robert Lewis about deep sea snail species, sea level rise, and tectonic modeling–these students were part of the SURFO program at URI-GSO over Summer 2018, and have some really exciting research to share! Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD student […]
A Gentle (Robotic) Hand
The world of deep-sea environments is fascinating, and there is so much to learn from what we’ve yet to actually see. Scientists are now 3D printing soft manipulators that allow us to study fragile, deep-sea organisms without damaging them, all with the added benefit of real-time problem solving. Rishya NarayananRishya is a multimedia science communicator […]
Not So Organic Marine Snow
What happens when plastic pollution mixes into the ocean carbon cycle? Read to find out more about how plastic from the surface ocean might reach mussels living at the bottom of the sea! Melanie FeenI am a first year graduate student at the Graduate School of Oceanography at University of Rhode Island. I use robots […]
Octopus Mama Drama: Research Expedition Bonus Science
Dorado Outcrop is a small underwater mountain that first received attention from a few scientists because the seafloor that it sits upon is colder than what is expected. It ended up in the media spot-light because of the hundreds of octopuses that call it home. Anne M. HartwellHello, welcome to Oceanbites! My name is Annie, […]
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