Plastic Pollution
How much lost fishing gear contributes to ocean pollution each year?
A realistic global estimate for derelict fishing gear in our oceans.
deep sea Microbiology
Bacterial Batteries: Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents Host Electrifying Bacteria
In a world without light, hydrothermal vent bacteria can still make a spark.
Behavior
Nemo’s neighbours: anemonefish recognize other fish by their stripes
Clownfish treat other reef fish differently depending on their colour patterns
Pollution Remote Sensing
Silty Seas: A Look at Coastal Water Quality Following Wildfires
Wildfires may be impacting more than just air quality!
Parasitism
How can we manage marine diseases in the face of climate and anthropogenic changes?
Glidden, Caroline K., Field, Laurel C., Bachhuber, Silke, Hennessey, Shannon M., Cates, Robyn, Cohen, Lesley, Crockett, Elin, et al. 2022. “ Strategies for Managing Marine Disease.” Ecological Applications 32( 7): e2643. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2643…
Conservation
Where there are birds… there are whales?
You've probably heard that where there's smoke, there's fire. A new study shows a similar connection between whales and birds.
deep sea
Predator of the Deep: the Yokozuna Slickhead
This fish may be a sign of life in the deep sea - especially for large consumers.
Ecology
What does the Amazon Rainforest and the deep ocean have in common?
Cutting down trees in the Amazon affects more than just land animals. What does it mean for the deep ocean?
Ecology
The function of life
Marine vertebrates have different functions in reef ecosystems – what would happen if they disappeared?
Paleontology
This is your brain on arthropod evolution
Reference: Moysiuk, J., Caron, J.B. (2022). A three-eyed radiodont with fossilized neuroanatomy informs the origin of the arthropod head and…
Restoration
SURFO SPECIAL: Egregious Erosion
Erosion is eating away our coasts. What are scientists doing to stop it?
Paleoceanography
Ocean oxygen levels were controlled by plate tectonics during the Phanerozoic Eon
Pohl, A., Ridgwell, A., Stockey, R.G. et al. Continental configuration controls ocean oxygenation during the Phanerozoic. Nature 608, 523–527 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05018-z ************************************ …
deep sea technology
Using Sound as Sight: acoustic technology finds hidden deep sea creatures
A new device allows researchers to visualize organisms while they are buried in the seafloor.
Undergraduate Research
SURFO SPECIAL: Understanding Cold-Water Corals
SURFO student, HuxleyAnn Huefner, describes her summer research on deep-water corals.
Undergraduate Research
SURFO SPECIAL: Robots and Velcro: How You’re $2,500 Away from Being an Oceanographer
SURFO student, Ashley Hutchins, describes her summer research on a cool remote controlled vehicle known as GeoFF.
Human impacts SURFO Special
SURFO SPECIAL: Stuck on you: A look into biofouling
SURFO student, Kate Silvester, describes her summer research on biofouling.
Climate Change
How climate change is warming up your dinner plate
Climate change isn’t just about warming. How does climate change effect the delicate balance of nutrients in the ocean?
Climate Change
It’s getting hotter out there…
The global ocean is experiencing heat on a more intensive scale than it has in the last 150 years.
Biology
Playing dress-up with crabs
Some crabs enjoy attaching material to their carapaces to decorate themselves – what are the mechanisms at play?
Microbiology
Larger than life- largest bacteria discovered in salt marsh
Scientists found the largest bacteria ever discovered, 50x larger than the previous record, in a tropical mangrove forest in Guadeloupe.