If you ever played Sharks & Minnows in your middle school pool party days, you’ve mimicked recent research from the University of Hawaii and University of Tokyo: seeing the world from the perspective of a shark. But whereas your swimming pool shark was single-mindedly trying to “catch fish,” it turns out that actual sharks’ schedules … Continue reading
When you were little, did you ever do that thing where you cut a worm in half because someone told you two new worms would grow from the parts? I did that thing. And it was the first of many somewhat morbid scientific disappointments in my childhood. It’s half true – the head half might … Continue reading
If you follow us on Twitter, you have probably seen lots of content about #SciREN. If you weren’t at the workshop, let me tell you how it works. Marine scientists from North Carolina submitted lesson plans to the workshop and then met up at North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (a great venue, by … Continue reading
Did any of you, when visiting National Parks as a kid, complete those Junior Ranger workbooks? I did. I completed one at every park we lingered in for longer than a bathroom break and a photo-op. You got these activity booklets from the Visitor Center, and when you finished the whole thing you took it … Continue reading
For this week’s photography Friday, we at UndertheC thought we’d indulge our love of GIFs–also known as the perfect marriage between photographs and film–with a collection of some of the best marine science-themed gifs. As our own Megan Schutt stated, “They’re like Harry Potter paintings, but in real life.” … Continue reading
Let’s open with a game. The following quote recommends appropriate attire for seaweed collecting. (Stay with me, people.) Who do you think wrote it, and when? “Feel all the luxury of not having to be afraid of your boots; neither of wetting nor destroying them. Feel all the comfort of walking steadily forward, the very … Continue reading
Largest: Blue Whale These marine mammals can grow up to 100 ft long and weigh up to 200 tons. They maintain this huge size on a diet of small shrimp-like animals called krill which they filter out of the water with plates called baleen instead of teeth. Fastest: Sailfish Although this is still debated, the … Continue reading
Wave energy may be very important to the renewable energy industry as more traditional green energy sources meet more and more opposition in the political and economic arena. In this post, I’ll show you how ocean waves work, and some of the ways people have been attempting to harness wave energy for use by humans … Continue reading
Happy Valentine’s Day! Can you spot all three marine organisms in this picture? Vase Sponge The heart in our Valentine’s Day photo is actually a uniquely-shaped vase sponge. These sponges are usually found on coral reefs and can be pink, purple, or even fluorescent blue. As members of the Porifera phylum, these organisms lack true … Continue reading
The following is a guest post from an undergraduate student in the Marine Ecology class that I was a TA for last semester. See the entire student blog at http://marineecologyblog.web.unc.edu/ A discussion of Marko et al’s “Fisheries: Mislabelling of a depleted reef fish”, 2004 By Michael Auriemma So men, picture you are on a date with a … Continue reading
UNder the C 