Author: Emmett Duffy

  • Smithsonian chooses Duffy to lead Tennenbaum Marine Observatories

    [Hot off the presses, from the VIMS announcement] Professor Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, has been appointed director of the Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories, effective September 16. He will be the first to lead this new initiative, a major long-term project to study coastal marine biodiversity…

  • Taking the pulse of ocean life

    We tend to keep track of things we think are important—blood pressure, how many calories are in that muffin, hurricane tracks, stock prices, celebrity rehab details. But sometime we don’t know what’s important until it’s too late, and that ignorance can come back to bite us. Hence the annual physical exams that are standard in…

  • I’m a grazer, baby

    Our intrepid colleagues at DSN were, as ever, out in front on this. Thanks for the shout-out y’all! And, just as a teaser, we are in final stages of analysis of the ZEN 2011 global seagrass experiment. Stay tuned for actual scientific results! Soon . . .

  • Coolification of scientists – live!

    [Editor’s note: This is the second guest post from our intrepid graduate student teachers and heroes of scientific awesomeness Lindsey Kraatz, Sam Lake, Daniel Maxey, and Stephanie Salisbury. This post is a companion to their interview on NPR, which you can listen to here:  With Good Reason. Thanks for making us all seem cooler. Y’all rock!]…

  • The ZEN of seagrass

    David Williard of The College of William and Mary has done a nice video featuring our work in the Zostera Experimental Network (ZEN): NOTE: The dude abides.

  • Demise of reefs in Belize? Coda

    [I was happy to receive a lot of comments on our most recent blog post from the field in the New York Times. Since the space available to respond to those comments on the NYT site is limited, I’ve elected to do so here.] Thanks to all for your comments. I have always considered myself…

  • Reef Reminiscences: The way coral reefs were

    What was the world like back in the day? Are the fantastic stories all just legends? With the notable exception of Jacques Cousteau, few people were taking pictures of the undersea world a few decades ago, not only because the technology was more difficult and expensive and less available, but also because we tend to…

  • Belize field log 2012: Witness to a murder

    [The fourth installment, and I’ll confess my favorite, in our New York Times “Scientist at Work” field log.] Sunday, July 8 As the sun breaks the horizon, I sit in a wooden chair at the edge of the backreef, an eye on the weather horizon, gratefully sipping the first strong coffee and gauging what the…

  • Oceans of Garbage

    Great infographic from the folks over at mastersdegree.net. Created by: MastersDegree.net

  • Belize field log 2: Social breakdown on the reef

    [The second installment in our New York Times “Scientist at Work” field log.] Wednesday, July 4 Our hunt yesterday produced a good haul of shrimp species, but, alas, none of the social ones we’re searching for. I worked with my former Ph.D. student, Tripp McDonald, long into the night identifying the shrimp. Though little known…