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Tag: food webs

Some ~don’t~ like it hot: Ocean warming is bad for pelagic animals
Biological oceanography Climate Change

Some ~don’t~ like it hot: Ocean warming is bad for pelagic animals

Global ocean warming is predicted to have negative impacts on ocean animals living in the middle of the food web.
November 21, 2022November 16, 2022 Hannah Collins
Narwhal Tusks Indicate Changing Mercury Levels in Arctic Waters
Sea Ice

Narwhal Tusks Indicate Changing Mercury Levels in Arctic Waters

By analyzing growth rings in the tusks of narwhals, scientists uncover trends in mercury pollution in the Canadian Arctic and…
July 28, 2021July 27, 2021 Rena Kingery
The Death of an Ecosystem: Understanding the Collapse of Northern California’s Kelp Forests
Ecology

The Death of an Ecosystem: Understanding the Collapse of Northern California’s Kelp Forests

In 2014, kelp forest ecosystems in northern California essentially disappeared. The reasons for the loss are now clear to scientists,…
May 31, 2021 Rena Kingery
Size matters: The power of particles in determining ocean color
Biological oceanography ocean engineering Remote Sensing technology

Size matters: The power of particles in determining ocean color

Ever wonder why the ocean is blue, or why ocean color changes? New research published by a team of scientists…
May 27, 2021June 1, 2021 Tricia Thibodeau
Cone snails use the illusion of sex to catch their next meal
Biodiversity

Cone snails use the illusion of sex to catch their next meal

With the promise of sex, cone snails lure their prey out of hiding and deliver a deadly strike. The results…
April 28, 2021April 28, 2021 Pablo Brenes Coto
Catch prey while the sun shines – Herring grow bigger when they can see their food
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…
March 2, 2020April 29, 2021 Kristin Huizenga
Lionfish, Counting, and Errors, Oh My: Challenges in Measuring Biomass of an Invasive Nuisance 
Conservation Ecology

Lionfish, Counting, and Errors, Oh My: Challenges in Measuring Biomass of an Invasive Nuisance 

Invasive lionfish in the Caribbean have been called “ravenous,” “destructive,” and “a living, breathing, devastating oil spill.” The hungry predators…
February 4, 2020November 12, 2021 Sierra Garcia
Feces as Food
deep sea Ecology Trophic Ecology

Feces as Food

Urchins and bacteria, working together to link pelagic and benthic ecosystems.
August 27, 2019August 26, 2019 Rebecca Shell
Stuck in the middle with you: The trophic ecology of Caribbean reef sharks and large teleost coral reef predators
Book Review Sharkbites Saturday

Stuck in the middle with you: The trophic ecology of Caribbean reef sharks and large teleost coral reef predators

We often think of sharks as the top of the ocean food web, chowing down on seals and big fish…
July 14, 2018July 13, 2018 Grace Casselberry
Restoring the links between land and sea
Restoration

Restoring the links between land and sea

On February 2, we celebrated World Wetlands Day. Wetlands, some of the most productive ecosystems on earth, are threatened. Read…
February 8, 2018February 7, 2018 Katherine Barrett
It’s getting cold in here!
Microbiology

It’s getting cold in here!

As we here into winter, we notice changes taking place in nature all around us. But what do microbes in…
December 20, 2017December 12, 2017 Laura Zinke
How to model climate change in an Arctic food web
Fisheries

How to model climate change in an Arctic food web

The climate is changing, and so are Arctic food webs. But our knowledge of how food webs respond to warmer…
October 19, 2017October 18, 2017 Katherine Barrett
Behavior Biology Climate Change Ecology Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification makes predators dumb

Chemistry is important for a lot of things, but can it change the behavior of animals? Read on to find…
February 24, 2017February 23, 2017 Erin McLean
Biology Conservation Human impacts

Big animals face big trouble in our oceans

Many believe we are in the midst of another mass extinction both on land and in the ocean. What marine…
October 7, 2016 Sean Anderson
Biology

Why don’t sharks go deep?

Happy Shark Week! Today we examine a persistent and interesting biogeographical puzzle: why are there so few deep sea sharks?
June 29, 2016August 15, 2016 Brittney G. Borowiec
Behavior Ecology

Scaredy-crab behavior can alter food webs

Being small crab can be tough. Dodging predators from the land, sea, and air is no small task. A new…
March 29, 2016 Derrick Alcott
Behavior Ecology

Killer food: the harmful effects of a diatom diet

What if a single bite out of your favorite cheeseburger was toxic to your health? In the ocean, copepods are…
January 28, 2016January 28, 2016 Sean Anderson
Biology Book Review Ecology Evolution

Cuttlefish “freeze-out” their predators

Cephalopods such as cuttlefish are known to use camouflage behavior to avoid being eaten. Sharks are able to find disguised…
December 28, 2015 Sean Anderson
Biology Human impacts Plastic Pollution

Plankton are eating plastic!

Zooplankton, the tiny animals that make up the base of marine food webs, are ingesting microplastics. Given the widespread abundance…
November 28, 2015 Sean Anderson
Climate Change Ecology Fisheries

Always follow your gut, or in this case, follow the fish guts

Following the guts of fish species is sometimes the best way to track small, mobile crustacean prey.
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 Valeska Upham

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