Sea Monster

Author: John Bruno

  • Diversity: It Matters! (for plants & algae)

      I recently blogged about a new paper (a meta-analysis of hundreds of published experiments) on the influence of plant species richness on ecosystem functions, namely primary production. One of the co-authors – Dr. Jarrett Byrnes, a marine biodiversity expert – wrote a great post about the paper, explaining what they found and why diversity matters.  You…

  • More wind, bigger waves, changing marine ecosystems

    Two recent papers find that ocean winds and waves are increasing and that such an increase in storminess would have big effects on kelp forest food webs. Intrigued? Then scoot over to SkepticalScience to read the whole post I wrote on it here. From one of the two studies (Byrnes et al 2011): If large storms…

  • Insane Indo barreling tidal bore

    Crocodiles, half hour + rides, chocolate brown water, secret spot; sounds like an adventure. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22248520[/vimeo] See more footage here

  • CreatureCast – Antarctic Krill Love Dance

    [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20754796[/vimeo]

  • Can marine reserves limit coral loss?

    My former PhD student (now at Conservation International) Dr. Elizabeth Selig and I recently published a paper in PLoS One (Selig and Bruno 2010) on the effectiveness of marine protected areas in preventing coral loss. The study indicates that MPAs can, on average, reduce coral losses and in some cases promote coral growth. This is…

  • A Plastic Future: the Midway Story

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PiNaJjAX8A[/youtube] An amazing video about plastics on Midway Island by Clare Fieseler.

  • Microdocs: Diversity

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuSJBYsku_8[/youtube] See more microdocs here

  • World’s ocean winds and waves are growing

    Bad news for ship captains and other mariners, good news for surfers and kitesurfers. Hat tip to Carrie Wind speeds and wave heights over the world’s oceans have been rising for the past quarter-century. It’s unclear if this is a short-term trend, or a symptom of longer-term climatic change. Either way, more frequent hurricanes and…

  • It’s not climate change, it’s ocean change!

      Redrawn by John Cook with data from Murphy et al 2009. The oceans are choking on greenhouse gases. Our emissions are changing ocean temperature, pH and circulation with wide-ranging effects on biological productivity and ecosystem health. These are among the conclusions of five review articles published in a special feature on the oceans in…

  • The Dirty South: Ben Wilson in Oz

    This is one of my favorite kiting movies. Filmed largely by Ben’s father, Ben and Ian explore some of Australia’s killer kitesurf spots. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/15655596[/vimeo]