management
VaquitaCPR: Trying to save the world’s most endangered marine mammal
What do you do when the species you’ve been working to save from extinction is down to fewer than 30 individuals? With only thirty vaquita porpoises left in the entire world, despite years of conservation efforts, emergency action needed to be taken in an effort to save the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise. Julia […]
Ensuring that coral reefs sound like home
What does a coral reef sound like? The answer is more important than you might think. By playing the sounds of a healthy reef over a loudspeaker, scientists were able to attract a variety of baby fish to settle on a degraded reef, results which show how acoustic interventions are a tool that can be […]
From Animal Tracking to Conservation
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride on the back of a whale? Scientists now use a variety of tag technologies and tracking methods to understand the movement of marine animals from whales to sharks to birds to turtles. But how can tracking data be effectively translated into conservation policy that […]
Studying Sea Turtles: The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears and More
For this Turtle Tuesday, I’m reflecting on time I have spent studying and working for sea turtle conservation. 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 southwest Florida, contributing to the management of an estuary. I am fascinated by the […]
Smart sampling of the world’s oceans
The ocean is a big, dynamic environment – a combination that makes it incredibly challenging to efficiently study. In a new paper, Mark Costello proposes dividing the ocean into Ecological Management Units to help dictate what gets measured and when. The method could help scientists more effectively deploy their resource to explore our world’s seas. […]
Futurama: Building scenarios to sustain oceanic ecosystems and fisheries
Can we envision and safeguard the future of oceans and fisheries? Read on to learn about how experts are coming up with ways to think about the future, and our need to be prepared for all possibilities! Prabarna GangulyI’m a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University. My research focuses […]
Minimizing bycatch by maximizing incentives
What’s the best way for fishermen to avoid catching the wrong type of animal in their nets? According to this paper, there’s the way we’re doing it now, and there’s a way that allows for more flexibility and more compliance. Read on to find out more about preventing bycatch through incentives! Erin McLeanHi and welcome […]
Does long term SCUBA diving affect shark behaviour?
What happens when SCUBA divers and sharks mix? Do divers scare off sharks or attract them? 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. […]
Sea lampreys: grow faster = grow male
A new study suggests that growth rate may determine if lampreys, an invasive fish in the Great Lakes becomes male or female. Read to find out more! 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 […]
Whale earwax: a hearing aid & time capsule
How is whale earwax essential to whales, and how can it help whale conservation? 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 […]
Lethal Injection: Crown of Thorns Edition
Predation by crown of thorns sea stars (COTS) is one of the main causes of coral reef decline in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Death by injection of sodium bisulfate is the most commonly used method, but this requires COTS to be removed from the reef and injected many times. Is there a better way? Read […]
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 urchins create what are called urchin barrens, devoid of the habitat forming kelps and lacking overall community diversity. Controlling the sea urchin population is vital to kelp recovery and this can happen through natural predation. […]
by oceanbites 3 weeks ago
Not all outdoor science is fieldwork. Some of the best days in the lab can be setting up experiments, especially when you get to do it outdoors. It’s an exciting mix of problem solving, precision, preparation, and teamwork. Here is- by oceanbites 2 months ago
Being on a research cruise is a unique experience with the open water, 12-hour working shifts, and close quarters, but there are some familiar practices too. Here Diana is filtering seawater to gather chlorophyll for analysis, the same process on - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #oceanbites we are featuring Hannah Collins @hannahh_irene Hannah works with marine suspension feeding bivalves and microplastics, investigating whether ingesting microplastics causes changes to the gut microbial community or gut tissues. She hopes to keep working - by oceanbites 3 months ago
Leveling up - did you know that crabs have a larval phase? These are both porcelain crabs, but the one on the right is the earlier stage. It’s massive spine makes it both difficult to eat and quite conspicuous in - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #Oceanbites we are featuring Cierra Braga. Cierra works ultraviolet c (UVC) to discover how this light can be used to combat biofouling, or the growth of living things, on the hulls of ships. Here, you - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Elena Gadoutsis @haysailor These photos feature her “favorite marine research so far: From surveying tropical coral reefs, photographing dolphins and whales, and growing my own algae to expose it to different - by oceanbites 4 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on Oceanbites we are featuring Eliza Oldach. According to Ellie, “I study coastal communities, and try to understand the policies and decisions and interactions and adaptations that communities use to navigate an ever-changing world. Most of - by oceanbites 4 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Jiwoon Park with a little photographic help from Ryan Tabata at the University of Hawaii. When asked about her research, Jiwoon wrote “Just like we need vitamins and minerals to stay - by oceanbites 5 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #Oceanbites we are featuring @riley_henning According to Riley, ”I am interested in studying small things that make a big impact in the ocean. Right now for my master's research at the University of San Diego, - by oceanbites 5 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Gabby Stedman. Gabby is interested in interested in understanding how many species of small-bodied animals there are in the deep-sea and where they live so we can better protect them from - by oceanbites 5 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Shawn Wang! Shawn is “an oceanographer that studies ocean conditions of the past. I use everything from microfossils to complex computer models to understand how climate has changed in the past - by oceanbites 5 months ago
Today we are highlighting some of our awesome new authors for #WriterWednesday Today we have Daniel Speer! He says, “I am driven to investigate the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics, asking questions about how organisms or biological systems respond - by oceanbites 6 months ago
Here at Oceanbites we love long-term datasets. So much happens in the ocean that sometimes it can be hard to tell if a trend is a part of a natural cycle or actually an anomaly, but as we gather more - by oceanbites 6 months ago
Have you ever seen a lobster molt? Because lobsters have exoskeletons, every time they grow they have to climb out of their old shell, leaving them soft and vulnerable for a few days until their new shell hardens. Young, small - by oceanbites 7 months ago
A lot of zooplankton are translucent, making it much easier to hide from predators. This juvenile mantis shrimp was almost impossible to spot floating in the water, but under a dissecting scope it’s features really come into view. See the - by oceanbites 7 months ago
This is a clump of Dead Man’s Fingers, scientific name Codium fragile. It’s native to the Pacific Ocean and is invasive where I found it on the east coast of the US. It’s a bit velvety, and the coolest thing - by oceanbites 8 months ago
You’ve probably heard of jellyfish, but have you heard of salps? These gelatinous sea creatures band together to form long chains, but they can also fall apart and will wash up onshore like tiny gemstones that squish. Have you seen - by oceanbites 9 months ago
Check out what’s happening on a cool summer research cruise! On the #neslter summer transect cruise, we deployed a tow sled called the In Situ Icthyoplankton Imaging System. This can take pictures of gelatinous zooplankton (like jellyfish) that would be - by oceanbites 9 months ago
Did you know horseshoe crabs have more than just two eyes? In these juveniles you can see another set in the middle of the shell. Check out our website to learn about some awesome horseshoe crab research. #oceanbites #plankton #horseshoecrabs - by oceanbites 9 months ago
Feeling a bit flattened by the week? So are these summer flounder larvae. Fun fact: flounder larvae start out with their eyes set like normal fish, but as they grow one of their eyes migrates to meet the other and
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