Sea Monster

Category: Uncategorized

  • Fragile Legacy – Tedx talk about the oceans with Dr Drew Harvell

    This is a new TedX talk by famed marine biologist, Dr Drew Harvell of Cornell University.  Drew is a leader in coral reef science, disease ecology, invertebrate development and evolutionary ecology and an expert on coral reef gorgonians (among other things). Science, art and history merge seamlessly in the fragile works of Leopold and Rudolph…

  • Jane Lubchenco leaving NOAA

    NOAA director Dr Jane Lubchenco has formally announced she is stepping down as director of NOAA to return to Oregon and presumably to her position as a Professor at Oregon State.  As far as I know, this is entirely for family reasons; Jane has been geographically separated from her husband, famed marine ecologist Bruce Menge,…

  • From lionfish hunter to little miss marine biologist

    Below is a guest post from Serena Hackerott, an undergraduate in my lab. After 103 lionfish, 186 otoliths, 5 weeks of field work, and 3 weeks of lab work, I feel like I have become a “real Marine Biologist.” As the girl who has always loved the ocean and wanted to be a marine biologist…

  • Lionfish: from the spear, to supper, to science

    Below is a guest post by Serena Hackerott, an undergraduate in my lab. This summer has been such an exciting adventure! I have gained invaluable research experience and have learned a lot about working in marine science. My project has been filled with surprises, adventures, challenges, and many important lessons. One of my favorite experiences…

  • Evolution in the changing oceans

    I teach evolution. Yes, in Georgia. Here at the University of Georgia, we have 300-400 students a year taking undergraduate evolutionary biology, and some of the Honors students at UGA take an extra discussion section for credit. This year I picked up the Honors section as well as the lecture class, and decided to have…

  • New species of carnivorous sponge

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3tAtXdaik&[/youtube] Meet Chondrocladia lyra, the harp sponge.  A new species of carnivorous sponge from the deep-sea off California. C. lyra is called the harp sponge because its basic structure, called a vane, is shaped like a harp or lyre. Each vane consists of a horizontal branch supporting several parallel, vertical branches. Source: mbari.org

  • We know a lot about the climate

    As part of a great piece debunking climate change denier strategy #2 “exaggerate the uncertainty” Dana Nuccitelli has a nice brief on the key facts that we do know about climate change (with supporting links): First of all it’s important to note that while there will always be uncertainties associated with any area of scientific…

  • Deep-sea angler fish

    This video from MBARI shows never-before seen footage of a deep-sea angler fish,Chaunacops coloratus. In it, we summarize recent work by scientists at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The video seen here was recorded by MBARI’s ROV Doc Ricketts at depths of 7,800 – 10,800 feet below…

  • Reversing the life cycle

    There is a great piece in the NYT today about the classic marine biology paper “Reversing the life cycle“, that describes the discovery that a small hydrozoan (a cnidarian, related to corals, jellyfishes and sea anemones) can reverse it’s life cycle, something unheard of until the mid 1980s. After more than 4,000 years — almost since…

  • Over the falls

    I know this feeling. It is not a good feeling. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTrzAjZHTBQ&[/youtube]