human impacts
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? Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and evolution of the respiratory and metabolic responses […]
Eavesdropping prawns get more than they bargained for
Marine animals living below the surface have to put up with noise generated by human activity. Heavy shipping traffic can bring a lot of noise. How does the common prawn respond? Sarah GiltzI am a doctoral candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. My research focuses on the larval dispersal and development of […]
To I.D. Debris: LIDAR as a tool to identify trash on the beach
Scientists may have a new option for figuring out how much debris litters our beaches and what it all is! Find out more in today’s World Oceans Day post on marine debris! Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island (M.S.). I now work in […]
Aliens attack: Predicting the spread of marine invasive species
Species invasions have become serious issues in the marine environment, mostly as a result of increased ship traffic. Once a new species invades an area, it is next to impossible to draw it out. What if there was a way to predict the arrival of alien species to new locations in the ocean? Would this […]
Go Green for Earth Day!
Do Mother Nature a solid with these helpful tips & tricks to go green today! Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and evolution of the respiratory and metabolic responses of Fundulus killifish to intermittent […]
A Million Little Pieces….of plastic
Trillions of tiny plastic fragments are floating in the Earth’s ocean. These microplastics can attract organic pollutants, be ingested by marine organisms, and even end up in table salt. This Earth Week post gives a broad introduction to microplastics and examples of how we can all help to reduce this problem! Kari St.LaurentI received a […]
Stellar’s Sea Cow and Their Not So Stellar Demise
Steller’s Sea Cow provides an example of how many large animals in the Pleistocene may have gone extinct. Austen BlairAusten Blair is a MS candidate at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. While his current research focuses on the influences of wave fields in a hurricane-wave-ocean model, he enjoys the many interdisciplinary […]
Seagrass, Disturbance, and the Blue Carbon Cycle
Seagrass beds bury carbon incredibly well! What happens to that carbon when you uproot, plow through, or otherwise disturb seagrasses? Does that carbon get released again? And how long does it take to capture that much carbon again once the seagrass grows back? All great questions with answers in today’s oceanbites! Rebecca FlynnI am a […]
Ocean acidification may make “peekaboo” harder for shrimp
What happens to a shrimp’s shell when exposed to more acidic conditions? Read more to find out! Megan ChenI graduated with a Masters of Coastal & Marine Management from the University of Akureyri in Iceland, and am currently working at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Ocean Education. I am interested in […]
Long live the seagrass! The relationship between human disturbance and genetic diversity
The Mediterranean seagrass plays very important ecological functions but human disturbances are thought to be one of the main causes for its population decline. In this study, Jahnke et al (2015) try to understand how genetic diversity correlates with human disturbances and the results are surprising. Catarina SilvaHi! I am a PhD candidate at Victoria […]
Baleen whales have a bone to pick with noise pollution
CT scans of the skull of a beached whale has helped a pair of researchers figure out how baleen whales hear. Through computer modeling, they found that baleen whales, in addition to using soft tissue in their head like antennas, also use the bones in their skull to pick up sounds from their environment. Irvin […]
Environmental Blow from Wind Farms
Wind farms are an ideal source of electrical power because of their ability to provide an environmentally low-impact fuel source at a low cost. Over the past few decades, global wind farm production has grown exponentially and will continue to rise into the future. Unfortunately, reported cases of environmental impacts continue to arise; what was […]
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