Pollution
A century-long record of mercury contamination in seabirds
Seabird feathers can tell us how serious mercury pollution in the ocean is.
Tag: food web
Ecology
Feasting whales fuel ocean ecosystems
Baleen whales eat a lot. Can their appetites help marine ecosystems recover from overfishing?
Chemistry
Metals from penguin poop can support life in the Southern Ocean
Penguins help the Southern Ocean ecosystems by pooping! Read about how metals from penguin poop keep the Southern Ocean healthy.
Pollution
Fish feed on ocean plastic… but are they really only eating plastic?
Pretty much any plastic product is made from plastic pellets. However, billions of pellets have now made their way into…
Biodiversity Biological oceanography Biology Climate Change Coastal Management Conservation Ecology Fisheries Invasive Species
The Circle of Life: Understanding Lionfish Life Cycles
We know who's the king of the jungle, but who's the king of the reef? Lionfish may look cool, but…
Biological oceanography Climate Change Ecology Fisheries
Winter Cruisin’ on the North Atlantic
Do you wonder what it is like to do oceanographic research aboard a sea-going vessel? What types of research are…
Climate Change
Catch prey while the sun shines – Herring grow bigger when they can see their food
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a sea creature in possession of a home in higher latitudes (further from…
Human impacts
Larval fish foraging grounds inundated by plastic pollution
If the adage "you are what you eat" holds true, we may be in some big trouble. A recent study…
Ecology
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…
Climate Change
Appreciate seafood? Climate change isn’t your friend.
Seafood depends on healthy food webs that support fish populations...but food webs depend on environmental conditions! Read on to learn…
Trophic Ecology
Small but mighty: the importance of forage fish to larger marine creatures
Forage fish like menhaden or capelin are vital to the health of larger marine animals; read on to learn how…
Plastic Pollution Toxicology
Microplastics demystified: a review examining how these tiny plastics act in pollutant transfer
Paper: Lohmann, R. Microplastics Are Not Important for the Cycling and Bioaccumulation of Organic Pollutants in the Oceans—but Should Microplastics…
Biochemistry Biological oceanography Climate Change Ecology Evolution Genetics
Clamate Change: How clams may be able to cope with a warming world
Global temperatures are increasing at a rate never before seen in Earth’s history. Although efforts to mitigate this are still…
Biology Parasitism Physiology
Deadly Dino’s
Copepods dominate the world’s oceans. They are important in the marine food web and help to regulate the global carbon…
Biology Ecology
Picky Eaters: how the feeding preference of lobsters may be slowing the return of California kelp forests.
There is a well-documented link between increased sea urchin abundance and the overall decline of kelp forest ecosystems. Too many…
Biology Chemistry Fisheries
Big Fish Eats Little Fish: Biomagnification of Natural Toxins
Naturally occurring poisons produced by some microorganisms can concentrate to dangerous levels in carnivorous fish, just like man-made pollutants do.…