kevin z
Posts by this author
July 13, 2008
We should be decimating whales right now! They are obviously vicious killing machines, bent on doing evil and destruction.
July 13, 2008
Basking sharks are heavily exploited from the shark-finning industry. The damage is compounded by the fact we know so little about their distribution in the sea. As a copepod mass-consuming filter-feeder, they follow and seek out their preferred prey. Previously, only 11 basking sharks have been…
July 13, 2008
When global warming raises the sea levels and wipes out most of the large cities of the world. We can rest assured that our floating lilypad cities will protect us and form a utopic society where we will all wear togas and be peaceful prosperous people celebrating scientific achievements. Until…
July 12, 2008
It seems that Microsoft Excel* doesn't know how to average. Or am I missing something? I showed to the lab postdoc and we both we were wide-mouthed. How can I be confident that simple Excel commands are producing the correct results? This is pretty important since I am composing a table of mean…
July 12, 2008
Chad Widmer, an aquarist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, just released a brand spanking new book on jellyfish aquarium maintenance. I volunteered under Chad (with their penguin exhibit) many years ago and shadowed him as took care of the Aquarium's jelly collection (doubtfully he remembers me with…
July 10, 2008
Thanks to Jives, our New England correspondent, for bringing this to our attention! My favorite is below, a couple more under the fold. Click here for more.
July 9, 2008
In case you have been sleeping all day, flounders have been flopping all over the place! The maestro of science story-telling, Carl Zimmer, has produced in my opinion one of his finest posts ever at his new blog at Discover Magazine. Head over there now, don't delay!, to understand the evolution of…
July 8, 2008
RIP Bob, RAM, delicious ahi
No Tuna, Yes Cry
No Tuna Yes Cry
No Tuna Yes Cry
Hey there fisherman, don't throw in your gear
No Tuna Yes Cry
Said I remember when Fishy used to swim
In every part of every ocean
Ransom Myers studied large fish
Showed us all declining populations
Good fish we had Good…
July 8, 2008
Mr. Slybird has the latest and greatest Linneaus' Legacy carnival up at Biological Ramblings. It is an awesome blog carnival highlighting taxonomy, systematics, and biodiversity posts. They are looking for hosts for next month and beyond. Sign up and be a part of history in the making!
July 8, 2008
Darren Naish has some excellent posts up to commence Sea Monster Week at Tetrapod Zoology. Check out the tadpole-like Hook Island sea monster and the duck-billed elephant monster of Moore's Beach, Santa Cruz. Make sure you tune in all week!
July 8, 2008
Blue Economy has the latest edition of the Carnival of the Blue up! Take a look around the Blue Economy website. This is the first time I had seen it and there is a lot of quality posts their! I added them to the RSS feed and look forward to keeping up with them. (p.s.-beware of stealthy ninja…
July 7, 2008
In the department of amazing photojournalism projects we have The Whale Hunt by Jonathan Harris.
"The Whale Hunt is an experiment in human storytelling.
In May 2007, I spent nine days living with a family of Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost settlement in the United States. The…
July 6, 2008
That is the advertising campaign of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I LOVE their new ads. You can even make your own aqua faces!
Here is one I made using the aquafaces creator.
July 6, 2008
"The United States faces unprecedented environmental and economic challenges in the decades ahead.
Foremost among them will be climate change, sea-level rise, altered weather patterns, declines in freshwater availability and quality and loss of biodiversity."
So says a group composed of the heads…
July 4, 2008
From LiveLeak.com: Smugglers Chased and Rammed by Japanese Coastguard.
July 3, 2008
From National Geographic's new Translucent Creatures photo gallery:
A hydromedusa spreads its luminescent tentacles in the Weddell Sea near Antarctica.
Photograph by Ingo Arndt/Minden Pictures.
This medusa is like totally coming at me like a spider monkey with those nunchuk tentacles. Meet some of…
July 1, 2008
From CNN.com:
"Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper.
A University of Washington…
July 1, 2008
Following in the footsteps of Craig, I have a short piece published in the July/August issue of SEED Magazine for their Why I Do Science column. "On the Allure of the Ocean's Novelty" explores why I love doing the science I do. Just a hint, it doesn't have to do with the pay... Now go to your book…
June 30, 2008
Dr. Maria Pia Miglietta, a postdoc in my lab at Penn State, just published a fascinating paper on a "silent invasion" happening around the world's oceans in the journal Biological Invasions. Those may look like tentacles, but in reality they are the nunchuks of rapid expansion of a stealthy marine…
June 26, 2008
The following polychaete worm, probably a Nereid, was found in our deep sea mussel tanks. Often times we will collect a bunch of mussels in a scoop which results in gathering some other rare deep sea creatures and their larvae. Our last collection of the mussel Bathymodiolus childressi from the…
June 25, 2008
That is the common theme in marine biology. Clara Moskowitz has an article up at LiveScience describing how scientists are struggling to keep up with marine life discoveries. Here is a short snippet:
"Scientists figure there are at least 1 million species of marine organisms on Earth.
Of these,…
June 24, 2008
The American Museum of Natural History in NYC put up old black and white pictures in an online exhibit called Picturing the Museum. Brian at Laelaps picked out some dinosaurliscious ones. Below is one from 1937 titles "Boys examining Bathysphere, Hall of Ocean Life". I can only imagine the awe they…
June 22, 2008
No, I'm not talking sushi. I'm talking about Japan's blockbuster sports marine invertebrate films!
Check out Kani the Goalkeeper and Calamari Wrestler below and I dare you to tell me they don't have Oscar written all over them!
June 20, 2008
The July edition of free wallpapers from National Geographic offer yet another stunning visible display that overwhelms the senses and renders me in awe of our natural wonder. About the picture:
"A thicket of tentacles belonging to Heteractis magnifica, the magnificent sea anemone, provides cover…
June 20, 2008
Stop motion & Music by Ryan Smith. Rendered by Chris Mcdonald.
Disturbing, but the stop motion and haunting music.. can't keep my eyes away...
Bonus beneath the fold!
GIANT SQUID PIRATE FLIPBOOK!!!! Hat tip to Squid, go there to get the details about the book and video.
June 19, 2008
Rick MacPherson posts one of his most thoughtful essays on people and oceans.
Mission Accomplished? Read for yourself and decide.
Water ice found on Mars!! NASA says "w00t"!
June 19, 2008
The Raging Wombat of Ugly Overload brings us a tale of small fish eat bigger fish. Go there and see more pictures and get the story!
June 18, 2008
I know what to get Craig for his birthday!
From Gama-Go:
"This bag is built to last, constructed from a tough, water-resistant cordura nylon shell with a ripstop polyester interior lining and velcro closure.
Keep your gear in order with three handy front pockets under the flap and a large slip…
June 18, 2008
From CNN.com:
"President Bush asked Congress on Wednesday to permit drilling for oil in deep water off America's coasts to combat rising oil and gas prices.
"There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a Rose Garden statement.
Bush also renewed his demand that Congress allow drilling in…