Author: John Bruno
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Super-Aggregations of Krill and Humpback Whales observed in the southern ocean
Scientists from Duke – just down the road – have published a neat report of a “super-agregation” of humback whales feeding on a swarm of krill in Wilhelmina Bay, along the coast of Antarctica. The team was working in the area in May 2009 when they stumbled into the massive feeding aggregation, certainly attracted by their…
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NOAA global ocean temperature animation
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTig9gKegQk&NR=1[/youtube] The NOAA polar-orbiting satellites (POES) have been collecting sea surface temperature (SST) data since 1985. This animation shows seasonal, annual and decadal SSTs. Notice the growing and shrinking ice sheets in the arctic and antarctic.
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Rock-eyed limpets
A simple mollusk appears to use hundreds of eye-like structures made of a calcium carbonate crystal to scope out potential predators and to protect itself against being eaten. The “eyes” of the three-inch-long mollusks, called chitons, have lenses made of aragonite, a type of rock. It’s the first time scientists have found an animal that…
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A deep-sea fish with a transparent head and tubular eyes
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9o4VnfHJU[/youtube]
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One reason I blog: no peer review
Science ain’t easy. I know being a marine biologist must sound really glamorous but it is 90% email and less than 1% swimming with dolphins (or seahorses in Helen’s case). Case in point: peer review. Here’s how it works: (1) submit manuscript to a journal, (2) wait a few months, (3) get a rejection email…
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Everything you ever wanted to know about climate change denial
John Cook, creator of the wildly popular web site Skeptical Science, published a new book today with Haydn Washington. The book is titled Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand and is available here and here at Amazon for less than $25. In John’s words: “In late 2009, I was approached by environmental scientist Haydn…
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Are farm-raised salmon “good” to eat?
While working on a response to Ray Hilborn’s silly and misleading op-ed in the NYT urging American’s to eat more fish, I ran across a great article about the complex issue of choosing farmed versus wild-caught salmon (and other fish). The article “The Wild Salmon Debate” is superbly written and the author, David Dobbs, is…
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Marshes, Sills, and Fish
A nice article by Mark Derewicz (excerpted below) about UNC PhD student Rachel Gitman and her work to understand the implications of “armoring” our shorelines to reduce coastal erosion. Sea level is rising in North Carolina at a rate of about 2-3 mm per year. Combined in some locations with boat traffic, sea level rise is…
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Parko wins Bells!
Aussie Joel Parkinson has won the 50th edition of the Bells Beach surf competition. The video below highlights the best heats from the final day. The final heat between Parko and Mick Fanning is at the end. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO0LrAZusMY&[/youtube]
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Toxic Algae on the Loose