Category: Ocean Critters
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Underwater robots listen out for whales
Whales are tough crowd to study. They swim all over the place and hold their breath for ages – those poor cetacean biologists must have a heck of a time keeping up with them. Well, one way of tracking them is to listen for their songs – but don’t just stick your head underwater and…
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Your chance to name an ocean critter
Ever fancied choosing a name for a new species? Well, now’s your chance. To celebrate the upcoming World Oceans Day, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography want some help naming an awesome deep sea worm found 1km beneath the waves on a whale fall (the body of a dead whale that’s drifted down to the…
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Whales converge on the Big Apple
At least seven species of whales — including the rare and endangered Atlantic Right Whale and the world’s largest animal, the Blue Whale — have been recorded singing at an “open mike night” (actually many days and nights) in the waters of New York harbor and Long Island Sound by researchers from Cornell University’s Bioacoustics…
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Who’s the daddy?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAU-E7KLoaY&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] 20 leopard sharks born in April at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, after their mother went through a 12-month pregnancy. But the question is – Who’s the Daddy? PhD student Andy Nosal is doing a paternity test on the little sharks to work out how many males were involved in their conception (chances are, it’s more…
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Sea squirts and the secret to eternal life
[A guest post written primarily by my PhD student Jonathan Lefcheck] Have you ever dreamed of living forever? Since the dawn of time people have sought in vain for the fountain of youth. The latest clue to its whereabouts comes from an unlikely source – our closest relative among the invertebrates, the sea squirt. A…
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How to get a horseshoe crab in the mood
Persuading prehistoric-looking horseshoe crabs to mate in captivity may not be on most of our minds, but Carmela Cuomo from the University of New Haven spent 10 years figuring out how to get them in the mood. And it turns out all you need is some sand from home. Horseshoe crabs look like a weird type…
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Causing explosions crustaceanologically
Marine biologists generally aim to publish research in fancy-pants journals read by other science geeks. And that’s all good. But what a thrill to see our favorite critters — from bone-eating worms to eviscerating sea cucumbers to narwhals — in a book of poetry! I’ve just received this wonderful new book of poems for all…
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When one set of sex organs just isn’t enough
Chimeras are weird-looking cousins of sharks that get up to some strange things in the deep sea – the group includes rat fish, rabbit fish, and elephant fish. Here’s Matt Gollock from The Zoological Society of London, on the Naked Oceans podcast (part of our 12 Critters of Christmas special), introducing these peculiar creatures, including…
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Whale shark aggregations!
Speaking of whale aggregations, check out this cool article at Deep Sea News about whale shark aggregations.
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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…