SeaMonster blog

  • All Reef Creatures Great and Small

    In a follow up to our interview with Prof. Charles Sheppard about his latest expedition to the Chagos Archipelago, here is PhD researcher Catherine Head in an exclusive Seamonster guest post giving us a glimpse of the incredible hidden word of coral reef cryptofauna. Chagos for me is what it’s all about, it represents why…

  • Visualizing Arctic sea ice loss

    For a book chapter I’m working on with Chris Harley and Mike Burrows, Iv’e been looking for the best graphics science has to offer that visualize Arctic sea ice loss.  Here are a few contenders.  Advice and other suggestions welcome.

  • Seal pup slip and slide

    By popular demand, the video seen by 1.5 million people:

  • The Feelies

  • Chagos expedition 2013

    A year ago here on Seamonster, we heard from a team of scientists who were studying the coral islands of the remote Chagos archipelago (go back and check out parts one and two of our interview to find out just how dangerous ‘Danger Island’ is and to see more photographs from that expedition). I’m delighted…

  • Galapagos Tubastrea

    I took this image last week on an amazing wall on the northern side of Santiago island in the Galapagos.  Such clear water and so many fish!

  • New worries about slumping thermokarst

    That’s right.  Slumping thermokarst. Essentially thawing coastal permafrost in the arctic: A new paper in PNAS describing work by my UNC colleague Dr Rose Cory in Alaska on thermokarst slumping is shaking up the world of thermokarst experts and alarming thermokarst conservationists and collectors.  But seriously, this is just one more sign of a positive feedback of global warming; the more…

  • Penguin bloopers

  • Sharks on CITES

      It’s a big week for sharks. The latest round of talks on international wildlife trade are being held in Bangkok right now. In the coming days delegates will consider proposals to protect hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, and porbeagles. Manta rays and some freshwater stingrays are also on the list. The proposals are to…

  • Glowing sharks caught on camera for first time

    One in ten shark species are bioluminescent and now for the first time glowing sharks have been caught on camera. Check out this video from Jérôme Mallefet at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. I’ve written several stories for National Geographic News about Jérôme’s work, together with Julien Claes. They’re uncovering fascinating things about these illusive…

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