The Guilt of One Shark: The History of the “Rogue Shark” Theory
Image Credit: Sharkcrew, CC BY-SA 4.0, Image Cropped
Tag Archives: marine
Through The Lens Of A Biologist: A Wildlife Photographer Shares His Story
Over the last two years, I had the chance to spend over 100 days at sea on board the German research vessel Sonne, transversing the Atlantic and examining all sorts of fascinating deep-sea animals. On these trips, the scientists were joined by someone whose goal it is to bring the science to the people: Solvin Zankl, who has been a professional wildlife photographer for over 20 years.
When the deep-sea nets reach the surface, the biologists start stressing, frantically ensuring the catch is properly documented and preserved. This is when Solvin’s smorgasbord starts, as he calmly looks through the catch and picks out the more interesting specimens, some of which he knows and some of which he has never seen before. Then he slowly maneuvers his small canisters of cold water into the cold room to spend the next hours meticulously portraying each animal.
Since I believe his job is an absolute dream job for many biologists, I asked him a few questions on how he got into this profession and what some of the challenges are.
Read moreBLUBBERBATH
Fun Fact #1: Elephant seal blood has a high haemoglobin content (to help them make long, oxygen deprived, dives) which makes their blood BRIGHT red.
Fun Fact #2: This results in some pretty striking colours when blood is spilled. We tried to replicate it in the comic, but nothing matches the original (see below).
Tanya Strydom is a PhD student at the Université de Montréal, mostly focusing on how we can use machine learning and artificial intelligence in ecology. Current research interests include (but are not limited to) predicting ecological networks, the role species traits and scale in ecological networks, general computer (and maths) geekiness, and a (seemingly) ever growing list of side projects. Tweets (sometimes related to actual science) can be found @TanyaS_08.
Giving A Voice To The High Seas
A hydrozoan jellyfish (Crossoto sp.) observed during the NOAA Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition in 2016 and filmed at a depth of around 3700m. (Image Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration & Research, CC BY-SA 2.0, Image cropped)
With the publication of the new IPCC climate report, I am once again asking myself: What can I do to mitigate the problems that our world is facing? Climate breakdown, pollution, loss of wildlife… our planet suffers from humans’ greed, selfishness and destructive exploitation. It seems almost impossible for one to have any influence or power for change. Global and political action is the only way to tackle the drastic and life-defining challenges that we and future generations will be confronted with.
Read moreDo Disturbances Promote Biodiversity in the Presence of an Invasive Species?
Image Credit: Paresh Poriya, CC BY 4.0, Image Cropped (also not featuring tunicates)
Testing ecological theories in the Anthropocene: alteration of succession by an invasive marine species (2021) Christianson et al., Ecosphere, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3471
The Crux
Ecological disturbances, such as fire, floods, or storms, might seem like a catastrophe at first glance, but often they open up space for new species to take the place of dominant ones, creating a more diverse ecosystem. When a disturbance occurs matters as well – if a storm hits right before a particular species starts to reproduce, that species could take advantage of the extra space and become dominant in a short time.
In the 1970s, John Sutherland and Ronald Karlson tested this theory, looking at the invertebrate community of a coastal dock in North Carolina, USA. They found that which species dominated depended on when the community began to grow (a proxy for when disturbance opened up new space).
The area has since seen the introduction of an invasive species of tunicate, Clavelina oblonga. This week’s authors wanted to test whether the original patterns seen in the 1970s still showed up in the presence of the invader.
Read moreViruses and Their Influence on Marine Life
I know what you’re thinking: not another virus article! But I want to show you the positive side, the one we all need so badly right now. I want to take you on a journey through the ocean, and show you what good viruses can do for the health of marine environments, as well as how they’ve shaped life as we see it today.
Read moreA Story About Mortality: The Evolution of Aging and Death
A flatworm (Pseudocerus liparus) crawling on a sponge – passing through a forest of hydroids and tunicates. (Image credit: Christa Rohrbach, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Last week I posted an article about fascinating creatures that escape death almost completely, including the famous “immortal jellyfish” (link below). Yet while the jellyfish’s attitude to aging is awe-inspiring, its existence poses a more obvious, yet perplexing question: why do we age?
Read moreA Story About Mortality: What Jellyfish Can Teach Us
The hydromedusa of Podocoryna borealis. (Image credit: Lara Beckmann, NorHydro, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Our existences are often centered around the hope that we will live a long and fulfilled life. At the same time, while we aim to grow old, many of us abhor the aging process, dreaming of remaining young and healthy for as long as possible. It explains why we are so fascinated by the concept of immortality. Think of vampire stories, constant quests for the fountain of youth, or even the newest anti-aging products in the drugstore next door. But apart from the few extra years we gain nowadays through modern medicine and improved life circumstances, many of us can’t extend our lives much further.
We share this fate with many other animals that go through the stages of birth, growth, reproduction and death. But despite that, we don’t need to rely on science-fiction to get a glimpse of everlasting life: some organisms on our planet don’t follow these stages and some cheat it altogether – escaping death almost completely.
Read moreHow Dead Whales Form Unique Ecosystems
A young octopus (Graneledone verrucosa) moves across the seafloor. Observed during the Okeanos Explorer Northeast U.S. Canyons 2013 expedition. (Image Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration & Research, CC BY-SA 2.0, Image cropped)
In nature every death brings new life. A fascinating example are whale-falls: when a whale dies, its carcass will sink down to the ocean floor where it creates a unique ecosystem for bottom-dwelling organisms. Whales’ bodies can weigh up to 200 tons and contain massive amounts of fat and proteins. When a dead whale reaches the ocean floor it brings a lot of resources to an environment which is usually limited by food availability. The fortunate creatures experiencing the whale-fall welcome such a great source of nutrition, and use up everything they can, until the last vertebra is decomposed.
Read moreConsider the Copepod: Researching the Base of the Food Web (with Dr. Nancy Mercado-Salas)
Image Credit: Andrei Savitsky (left and right), CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Uwe Kils (centre), CC BY-SA 3.0
Ecology for the Masses 