oceanbites

Commercial fishing in Marine Protected Areas highlights the need for careful management

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) increase biodiversity and preserve ecosystem health when they are properly managed. But researchers have detected destructive…

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,…

Physiology

Beneath the Waters: A Giant Discovery

What lurks beneath the murky swamps and marshes in southern U.S.? A new giant salamander!

Biological oceanography Physical oceanography Remote Sensing

Rugged Southern Ocean phytoplankton weather the storms

Phytoplankton from the "wild west" of the world's oceans have learned to regrow after storms... over and over and over…

Sharkbites Saturday

Tracking the Bay’s Rays: Cownose ray migration along the Atlantic coast

If you’ve ever tickled the back of a stingray in an aquarium’s touch tank, you’ve likely introduced yourself to a…

Book Review

Hijackers within the Sea: Catching a ride across an ocean

Did you know that organisms attached to marine debris can unintentionally cross ocean basins? Read more to learn how the…

Ecology

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…

Biology

Saving the Blue Bloods: Horseshoe Crab Edition

We use horseshoe crab blood to test every FDA approved drug given to humans. Yet with horseshoe crab populations dropping…

Biological oceanography

Small currents influence small creatures

Phytoplankton, the tiny photosynthesizing organisms in the ocean, tend to just go with the flow. Even the smallest currents can…

Physical oceanography

Reevaluating the Ocean Conveyer Belt

A recent study suggests that surface processes in the Indian and Pacific Oceans may be more important to global ocean…

Biology

Can you smell that? Oil spills change stingray’s sense of smell

It may have occurred 8 years ago, but scientists are still talking about the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. This…

Behavior Biology Conservation deep sea Ecology Methodology Physiology Trophic Ecology

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…

Plastic Pollution

A boon to ocean conservation? Certain fungi can degrade marine plastics

Brunner I, Fischer M, Ru ̈thi J, Stierli B, Frey B (2018) Ability of fungi isolated from plastic debris floating…

Fisheries

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Seafood Fraud

Sustainable seafood has recently become a hot topic in marine conservation, and scientists and conservationists advise transparency in the seafood…

Book Review

Tips from a workshop on Negotiating

Negotiating is a valuable skillset that many scientists are never formally trained in. This post highlights some of the take…