Ecology
The Evidence of Things Not Seen: eDNA and Fisheries Stocks
Unlike fields of corn or herds of cattle whose yields are easily counted, wild fish stocks are more difficult to count. The ocean is a huge place, so finding and estimating populations to set future catch limits is really hard! There may be a new way of gathering this information though—one with less impact to […]
Greenland sharks: Caught on tape for conservation
In 2016 researchers discovered that Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are the oldest living vertebrates on the planet. What does that mean for the conservation and management of these large, cold-water predators? This week we’ll find out. Grace CasselberryI am currently a Marine Science and Technology Doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I use […]
Hawksbills in hot water? Temperature and Precipitation Impacts on Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nests
Climate change is already having effects on sea turtles. All seven species of sea turtle are dependent on temperature for habitat selection and physiology. The impacts of temperature and moisture on hatchling development have real long-term impacts on marine turtle populations. Matthew LarsenI am a second year master’s student at Coastal Carolina University in the […]
What’s next for Air Jaws? Research Priorities for The Great White Shark
Since the beginning of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, viewers have been mesmerized by the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The great white shark coverage outshines the rest with television specials like the Air Jaws series filling many of the week’s time slots. There are numerous unanswered questions about its ecology, physiology, and relationship with humans. To […]
Climate-driven events leave an imprint on corals in the Great Barrier Reef
Last year, it was reported that half of the Great Barrier Reef had just died after heat stress caused severe coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017 back-to-back. Now, researchers believe that the way to study coral loss going forward is to understand how one climate-driven disturbance relates to those that came before it. Nyla HusainI’m […]
Ecology of Fear: Current Implications of Orca Presence on Narwhal Behavior and Future Trends
The ecology of fear is a hypothesis that predators drive habitat use and behavior in prey species. In the Arctic, the orca drives behavioral changes in a variety of species including narwhals. Analyzing a narwhal population in a Fjord in Greenland researchers were able to look at how fear drives narwhal behavior. Article Breed, Greg […]
Hydrothermal vents spew out tasty morsels for local marine consumers
Hydrothermal vents are not only cool structures where magma meets the sea; they offer a previously unappreciated food source for marine organisms. Read on to find out how Chang et al. 2018 uncovered the role of vents in marine food webs. Katherine BarrettKate is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at […]
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.) […]
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 […]
Saving Sawfish: Adventures in the Everglades
A few months ago, I wrote about sawfish research in Papua New Guinea, but if you live in the U.S. you can find sawfish much closer to home. The smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) once roamed throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast, but now calls South Florida, particularly Everglades National Park, home. […]
I like to move it, move it: Krill boogie down all year
Krill, the tiny organisms that feed the Southern Ocean, have long been thought to be pretty mellow in the winter. As it turns out, it is quite the party down there year around! Eric OrensteinEric is a PhD student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research in the Jaffe Laboratory for Underwater Imaging focuses […]
Beyond cannibalism, can tide pools help explain the universe?
It turns out tide pools are a lot more complex than they seem – and often inhabited by cannibals. Can we glean answers to the universe by peering into them? John Steinbeck seemed to think so. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models […]
Fixin’ to lose: Trichodesmium reacts to climate change
Nitrogen is vital for all life on the planet. One of the main global sources for nitrogen, the bacteria Trichodesmium, may stop providing nitrogen to the global cycle in an ocean affected by climate change. LeAundra JeffsI am a Master’s Candidate at University of Delaware where I study the evolution of microbes in the sediments […]
Cyanobacteria invasions… from space?
They may not come from space, but they can be seen from up there! Learn how microscopic plants called cyanobacteria accumulate in the Baltic Sea, how they’re measured with satellites, and what it all means. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to […]
Little fish, big fish… which one poses the bigger threat?
Article: Biton-Porsmoguer, S., Bǎnaru, D., Boudouresque, C. F., Dekeyser, I., Bouchoucha, M., Marco-Miralles, F., … & Harmelin-Vivien, M. (2018). Mercury in blue shark (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) from north-eastern Atlantic: Implication for fishery management. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 127, 131-138. Have you ever heard the term mercury poisoning? It may not be as common as […]
Biofilms are a prominent first step in the colonization of wood-falls
A profound yet never-before-appreciated first step in the colonization of sulfur oxidizing bacteria on the surface of wood-debris in the deep-sea is attributed to sugars and other labile components of wood. Anne M. HartwellHello, welcome to Oceanbites! My name is Annie, I’m a marine research scientist who has been lucky to have had many roles […]
Tracking predators in seagrass beds
Scientists have long recognized that predators are more abundant at lower compared to higher latitudes. Read more to find out how a group of marine ecologists investigated the importance of predator-prey interactions in seagrass beds. Katherine BarrettKate is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at the University of Notre Dame, and […]
Snowmageddon: A lighthearted start to Marine Snow theme week
While the term “marine snow” may conjure images of an aquatic winter wonderland, some aspects of this phenomenon may not inspire a Bing Crosby song. Marine snow is responsible for transporting many of the nutrients found in the surface, sunlit waters of the ocean to depths where it becomes a significant food and nutrient source […]
The backbone of an ecosystem: bone-eating zombie worms control biodiversity at deep-sea whale falls
Zombies are real – but they are nothing like the ones from The Walking Dead. No, these zombies are worms that live in the ocean. And instead of brains, they eat and break down bones. In fact, these zombie worms are quite important to food webs. Click here to find out more about zombie worms […]
Solstice Strategies for Survival: Yule be amazed!
Winter blues got ya down? For some organisms on our planet, the shortened days may influence their very survival. On this, the shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, read on to find out how one type of tiny marine algae cope with the low-light conditions, and may even thrive compared to their […]
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