oceanbites

Don’t get ~tide~ down: Are biodegradable nets a good solution to the ghost fishing problem?

Biodegradable nets are a potential solution to the ghost fishing problem-or the phenomenon of lost fishing nets still catching animals.…

Atmospheric Chemistry Atmospheric Science Chemistry Human impacts Pollution

Smog can be a Bog: A Story about Iron in the Air and Ocean

Have you ever wondered where smog goes? A group of scientists investigated where particles of iron start and end up,…

Behavior

Surf’s Up: Suckerfish Have a Whale of a Time

Remoras use the powerful suctioning organ on their heads to attach to different animals. For the first time scientists reveal…

Behavior Biology Conservation Ecology

Peek-a-Boo, I See You and My Food Too

Imagine yourself floating in a metal cage off the side of a boat. You are waiting to see something rare,…

Climate Change Paleoceanography

Can clays from northern Canada provide a 3,000-year temperature record of the Atlantic Ocean?

A sediment record from a lake in northern Canada is being used to reconstruct Atlantic Ocean temperatures at a resolution…

Pollution

Cold Water Conundrum: How does unusually cold water affect fish growth?

With the threat of climate change ever present, many of us focus on the negative effects of unusually warm water…

Fisheries

Fisheries and COVID-19: It’s stormy out there

As the pandemic continues to ripple across communities, the commercial fishing industry faces a number of particular challenges. There’s a…

Book Review

Hands-On Learning

Check out this study testing the ability of octopuses to learn via touch.

Coral

Predicting the future of coral reefs is complicated by human impacts

Coral reefs are often referred to as the “rainforests of the sea” for hosting a great diversity of life, but…

Methodology

How to catch a dead fish: using eDNA to reconstruct past fish abundances

Japanese researchers show an emerging method, eDNA, can be used to reconstruct fish abundances from up to 300 years ago.

Behavior Coastal Management Human impacts Noise

Crash Compilation #1: A review of vessel collisions with marine animals

As more people take to the seas, either for recreation or trade, sea life encounters have also increased. These encounters…

Conservation

Two by two includes corals too? Researchers call for a coral “Noah’s Ark”

In the Bible, the story of Noah’s Ark describes a storm so intense and so long that the earth is…

Climate Change

Fossilized Deep-Sea Corals Reveal Ancient Ocean Circulation Patterns

An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations helped end the last ice age. But what caused the carbon dioxide increase…

Glaciers

The Bellagio of the natural world: glacial fountains

Glaciers are sentinels of global change, yet there is still much to be learned about how glaciers melt, and in…

Behavior

Is Noise Pollution Causing Marine Mammals to Starve?

Noise surrounds our daily lives, and the oceans are no exception. Sonar is used by the Navy and oil industry,…

Parasitism

Wormception: How one parasite lives inside its cousin

Where do worms live? In the dirt, on sidewalks after a rain storm, and on the bottom of the sea…

Aquaculture Biodiversity Biological oceanography Coastal Management Conservation Human impacts Invasive Species

No language bounds in the ocean

What happens when an animal is found outside of its native range? Does it take over? How does it get…

Biology

Under pressure: Amphipod uses aluminum to survive in the deep sea

Crushing pressures and freezing temperatures prevent many animals from surviving in the deepest depths of our oceans; yet, somehow, a…

Biological oceanography Biology Conservation Ecology Fisheries Sharkbites Saturday

“Bienvenidos” to Baja California, Baby White Sharks!

Tamborin, E., Hoyos-Padilla, M., Sánchez-González, A., Hernández-Herrera, A., Elorriaga-Verplancken, F., Galván Magaña, F. (2019). “New Nursery Area for White Sharks…

Behavior Biological oceanography deep sea Ecology

Red Light, Green Light… Squid Light?

It's spooky season! And what better way to celebrate than learning about the creatures of the deep? This recent paper…