Adaptations:
A species of holothurian, Pannychia, swarms a whale fecal mound in the abyssal Pacific. When Miriam visited me last week at MBARI, we discussed over lunch my current "great" hypothesis. Every scientist has them...these are the hypotheses that are high...
Posted on April 1, 2008 4:01 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I don't study hydrothermal vents. I rather enjoy the deep muddy ooze, and its organisms, that comprise much of the earth's surface. Not that I don't like vents, I just like the soft bottoms better. I have been often...
Posted on March 30, 2008 12:00 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The battle royal is on with several bloggers choosing colors. The whole thing got started when Sheril at the Intersucktion state "No contest! Cukes would eat squid for breakfast" implying that somehow echinoderms were better than Mollusks. The whole...
Posted on March 29, 2008 6:06 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Jim has decided that he will join the darkside for the Invertebrate Battle Royale. That's fine! We wouldn't want someone with such poor cognitive processes on our team. Jim's attack centers on the idea that the Aristotle's Lantern is...
Posted on March 29, 2008 5:15 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Sometimes we just need a little help to get by in life. A nudge, some encouragement or a simple pat on the back will suffice. Being stuck to a rock is not a real good way to avoid predators, unless...
Read on »
Posted on March 29, 2008 9:33 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The recent Invertebrate Wars reminded me of spectacular, but often ignored, group of gastropods. The parasites! This is a group that I have totally geeked out on in the past. In my previous work I have focused on the Ptenoglossa...
Read on »
Posted on March 23, 2008 5:09 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In general, among Mollusks, the mouth opens into a buccal cavity. In most classes of Mollusks, the buccal cavity contains a tongue called the odontophore. The odontophore possess multiple rows of teeth called radula that chitonous and flexible. Among Mollusks...
Read on »
Posted on March 21, 2008 11:16 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
These chicas are freaky. But if you lived on a whale vertebrae and eat through bone, perhaps you'd be a little on the kinky side too, right? Osedax, the "bone-devouring" worm is weird. Now, I know long time Deep Sea...
Read on »
Posted on March 2, 2008 12:23 AM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
"Pet" Giant Pycnogonid attacking computer. This morning my email was flooded with friends, family, and colleagues notifying me of this story. What's not to love about a story that combines gigantism, the deep, and Antarctica all in one? An...
Read on »
Posted on February 19, 2008 12:54 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
How does fear drive a marine food web? That's right I said fear, as in blood-curdling-scream-I-think-I-just-wet-my-pants fear. Sharks just swim around and intimidate the hell out of other animals. What if a utopia state existed where sharks weren't invited and...
Read on »
Posted on February 5, 2008 3:43 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
