Author: Emmett Duffy
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Smackdown: bear meets squid
Now, I have truly seen everything. We all know the inspiring images from nature shows of majestic bears whacking big salmon out of the water as they make their grueling and intrepid homing migrations upstream (the salmon, that is). But squid? Unlike the photo of the shark in the streets of Puerto Rico (mea culpa)…
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Live blog: World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2011
The second triennial World Conference on Marine Biodiversity begins next week in Aberdeen, Scotland, and your dedicated SeaMonster reporter will be on the scene. We will be trying something new and experimental (for us, at least) — pseudo-live blogging from the Conference site, covering late-breaking news on marine research advances, marine conservation, fantastic new animals,…
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Daybreak over Antarctica
. . . at the close of this awe-inspiring video overflight of Planet Earth from the space station. Note the light from human civilizations like signal fires burning across the surface of the earth. This is your home. Take a deep breath, turn your room lights off, and switch to full-screen mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny2IU2gIq70 By James…
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The blob, deconstructed
I tell ya. You spend your days toiling away doing clever experiments, discovering new species, burning the midnight oil to prepare inspiring lectures for skeptical college students, crafting compelling grant proposals, solving the world’s environmental problems, pushing back the frontiers generally. Typical professor stuff. But what do people want to hear about? Blobs. No, not…
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Three ocean scientists receive Heinz awards
Shout-out to three of our colleagues who’ve received the prestigious Heinz award for work that benefits the environment. The Pittsburgh-based Heinz Family Foundation has presented the awards since 1994 in memory of Sen. John Heinz III. From the WaPO: “Teresa Heinz told The Associated Press that the awards recognized innovative approaches to serious topics for…
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The coolest animal in the world
As a marine biologist it’s my job to understand the complex workings of our mysterious ocean planet, and to wrestle with the great questions of our time. One that has been exercising me lately is this: What is the coolest animal on earth? After considerable deliberation, I’ve made my decision. And I don’t say this…
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How much is the ocean worth? In Australia at least $25B a year
A new report from an Australian think tank has made an attempt to estimate the value of services that the ocean surrounding the continent of Australia provides free of charge to human society, such as fishing, clean water, nursery habitats, carbon sequestration, and so on. The conclusion: Australia’s marine ecosystems are worth $25 billion a…
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Ten years
Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; The gentle overcomes the rigid Everyone knows this is true, But few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil…
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Warming-induced killer crab invasion threatens Antarctic biodiversity
[Editor’s update: One of our observant readers and experts on deep-sea crabs, Dr Thomas Shirley of Texas A&M, points out that the photo above taken from the Mail article is of the tanner crab (Chionoecetes sp.), NOT the the giant king crab Neolithodes yaldwyni that is moving onto the Antarctic shelf. This is correct –…
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Fish – a good idea on paper
During a visit to the Suma Aqualife Park in Japan a few months ago, I came across a captivating display of little origami sea creatures arrayed across an entire wall. The lighting was not right for photos at the time but I’ve since found a great collection of these online, most notably — and…