Envisioning a better world through climate impact modeling

Article: Martinich, J. and A. Crimmins. Climate damages and adaptation potential across diverse sectors of the United States. 2019. Nature Climate Change, 9, 397-404. http://bit.ly/2KfKBu7.   After October 2018, the global perspective on climate change started to shift. It was at this time that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – a body of […]

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One turtle, two turtle, red turtle, green turtle? Influence of multiple marine turtle species on behavior and foraging in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of studies on sea turtles. Most of the research on sea turtles, however, focuses on a single species at a time. There are few studies available that describe how sea turtle species interact with each other in the wild. There is quite a bit of overlap in habitat […]

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Shipping traffic increases risk of alien invasion

With the global population increasing exponentially, the global shipping network must also expand in order to accommodate the need for imported goods. But cargo isn’t the only thing be transported on these ships, and some of the hitchhikers are all too happy to build a new home – and displace the natives while they’re doing […]

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Aquatic predators: Our heroes for climate changing

Article Ecosystem Function and Services of Aquatic Predators in the Anthropocene. Trends in ecology and evolution (2019). http://bit.ly/2HUYKu9 Background Aquatic predators are animals at the top of a food chain, including oceans, bays, estuaries, rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. Sharks, crocodiles, orca whales and other marine megafauna are good examples of those APs, which are […]

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What can Yogurt Teach us about Coral Bleaching?

Rosado PM, Leite DCA, Duarte GAS, Chaloub RM, Jospin G, da Rocha UN, Saraiva JP, Dini-Andreote F, Eisen JA, Bourne DG, Peixoto RS. (2019) Marine probiotics: increasing coral resilience to bleaching through microbiome manipulation. ISME, 13:921-936. doi: http://bit.ly/2Qky4H4   Have you ever heard that a health benefit of yogurt is the probiotics, or beneficial bacteria? Research […]

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Making Animals Comfortable In Their (Marine) Skin

Standard tagging methods for marine animals involve heavy, bulky sensors and painful attachment methods. A new “Marine Skin” shows promise as a gentler way to tag animals.

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

Since the first invasive lionfish was spotted off the coast of Florida three decades ago, the popular tropical aquarium fish have overrun coral reefs throughout the Caribbean. They have been called “ravenous,” “destructive,” and “a living, breathing, devastating oil spill.” Lionfish have venomous spines, are notoriously quick breeding, and can decimate native fish populations within […]

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Life in the Abyss: the ecological impacts of deep-sea mining

Did you know that about 95% of the ocean is unexplored? The deep ocean is logistically very difficult to access, so how do scientists study organisms that live at 400 meters below the sea surface? The landscape of the deep-sea is diverse and certain structures such as polymetallic nodules, supports a vast array of marine […]

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Just skating by: Flat sharks deplete as seals return to the North

The recovery of marine mammals in North America is a shining conservation success story, but what happens when that success spells doom for at-risk species further down the food chain? This week we’ll dive into how grey seals are impacting winter skates, a northern relative of sharks and rays, in the southern Gulf of St. […]

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Under pressure: amphipod uses aluminum to survive in the deep sea

Life is difficult in the harsh environment of the deep ocean. Crushing pressures and freezing temperatures prevent many animals from surviving in the deepest depths of our oceans. Yet, somehow, a deep-sea amphipod beats all odds and is able to survive and flourish in the deepest parts of the ocean. Scientists have now discovered how […]

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All aboard the cnidaria bus! Moon jellies transport hitchhiking bacteria across the ocean

Kos Kramar M, Tinta T, Lučić D, Malej A, Turk V (2019) Bacteria associated with moon jellyfish during bloom and post-bloom periods in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic). PLoS ONE 14(1): e0198056. http://bit.ly/2VxM3tO Bacteria are ancient single-celled organisms that live on just about every surface on Earth; every patch of soil, every raindrop, doorknob, […]

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Genetics aren’t the only factor in determining the sex of certain marine organisms

There are many environmental factors which affect the way marine organisms behave, and temperature is one of those very factors. Yes, temperature can permanently determine whether an organism is male or female.

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Do heavy metals like mercury and arsenic impact the health of great white sharks?

Great white sharks are at the top of the food web and therefore build up large amounts of toxins like heavy metals in their systems. But does this impact their overall health? Find out in the most recent Sharkbites Saturday post!

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A Communicating Science workshop just for physical sciences grad students: ComSciCon’19

Are you a student in the Physical Sciences? Check out a great opportunity to improve your science communication skills via a ComSciCon workshop tailored to physical scientists!

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Ocean acidification and baby “squidlife” crises?

Ocean acidification has been known to cause problems for marine mollusks (like oysters and pteropods), because these animals have shells or hard parts that can weaken as acidity increases. There’s another mollusk though with eight arms and two tentacles that may have a larger bag of tricks with which to cope with acidity, but teasing […]

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Water temperatures drive phytoplankton blooms in coastal zones

What is so important about those seasonal green swirls in the ocean? In addition from being seen from space, those swirls are phytoplankton blooms that provide food resources for marine ecosystems. Read on to find out what causes these blooms, and how climate warming may alter them.

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Maui: The Tiger Shark’s Paradise

Article Habitat geography around Hawaii’s oceanic islands influences tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) spatial behavior and shark bite risk at ocean recreation sites. (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23006-0 Background The U.S. state of Hawaii is an archipelago of eight major islands, of which Maui is one of the major islands, also considered the second most populated. The island […]

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Motion of the ocean: How ocean circulation can trigger an intense red tide

An intense red tide overtook both the east and west coasts of the Sunshine State in 2018, killing fish, manatees, whale sharks, and choking beach tourism in the process. Researchers at the University of south Florida and the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, led by Dr. Robert Weisberg, set out to discover the origin of […]

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Hurricanes and Rising Tides – Can Living Shorelines Protect Us?

Bulkheads and other ‘armored,’ or hardened, shorelines are cheap, easy to install, and effectively prevent erosion and protect private property…. Or do they?

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Noise Pollution Changes How Ocean Animals Grow

Humans create a lot of noises that seep into natural environments, polluting the natural soundscape. Noise pollution can be harmful for marine life by interrupting migration routes and disrupting normal communication. Now, a new study finds that the man-made noise pollution can even change the way fishes grow!

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