This article is in follow-up to Serena’s earlier post about NOAA’s emerging guidelines in marine mammal acoustic protection. As Serena noted, marine mammals, including cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), are constantly communicating underwater using sound waves. Humans have also begun to use sound waves underwater to make processes of mapping the ocean floor easier and … Continue reading
A study was published on Jan 21, 2014, the 50th anniversary of the IUCN Red List, that found a quarter of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction (more information here). Only 23% of these species are considered “safe” with the IUCN listing of “Least Concern.” You may think of sharks as threats to … Continue reading
Twitter and world media have been abuzz this week about the Taiji Cove dolphin drive. A practice in a small Japanese town that leads to the death or capture of hundreds of dolphins each year. You may have heard of this before if you are a fan of documentaries. “The Cove” is a documentary by … Continue reading
Second smartest only to our trans-dimensional mouse overlords, that is. If you don’t know what I am talking about please catch up on your classic sci-fi literature here. It has long been a popular opinion that dolphins are some of the smartest creatures on the planet. They have brains larger than those of humans, they … Continue reading
As a fun wrap-up to this semester (my first semester of graduate school!) I thought I’d create my own version of the 12 Days of Christmas, one that represents a little of the life of a marine science grad student. PS: All of us at UndertheC will be taking a hiatus from blogging over the … Continue reading
There has been a recent debate in the scientific literature about the effect of predators on invasive lionfish. Are Caribbean predators controlling the lionfish invasion? Two studies seem to have conflicting results. Is someone “lyin’” about lionfish? See previous post, The Great Debate: Predators vs Lionfish, for background on the lionfish invasion and more info on the … Continue reading
There has been a recent debate in the scientific literature about the effect of predators on invasive lionfish. Are Caribbean predators controlling the lionfish invasion? Two studies seem to have conflicting results: Also, stay tuned to find out if someone is “lyin’” about lionfish! Background: See previous posts about lionfish featured in Marine Monster Mash and Photography Friday. … Continue reading
Lionfish are beautiful fish, but they are invasive in Atlantic and Caribbean waters. They are harming invaded ecosystems by eating too many juvenile fish which leads to smaller adult fish populations, less food for native predators, and changes in important ecosystem processes upon which both marine animals and humans depend. So what can we do about … Continue reading
The following are guest posts from undergraduate students in the Marine Ecology class that I am a TA for this semester. See the entire student blog at http://marineecologyblog.web.unc.edu/ By Courtney Grigsby If you’re a Disney fan, you’ve probably seen the movie Finding Nemo. Besides the memorable catch phrases in the movie such as “Fish are … Continue reading
The following are guest posts from undergraduate students in the Marine Ecology class that I am a TA for this semester. See the entire student blog at http://marineecologyblog.web.unc.edu/ By Tyler Hodges, Abigail Brewer, and Cathy Wood People have always said, “There are other fish in the sea.” What they don’t tell you is that those … Continue reading
UNder the C 