Check out our previous related posts this week about Poseidon’s Steed and seahorses as stealth predators! More fun facts about seahorses: Seahorses are monogamous and the males bear the young. They are poor swimmers and can die of exhaustion during storms. They have no teeth or stomach so food passes extremely quickly through their digestive systems. Seahorses … Continue reading
Have you ever seen a seahorse swim? Maybe you haven’t, because they are always doing this: Anyway, they are not very fast swimmers because they have tiny fins that they must rapidly flutter in order to move. As a result they often attach to a substrate or just float in the water column. These guys have … Continue reading
The following is a guest post from a graduate student 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 Geoffrey Neal Let me speak to a most improbable little book that I am currently reading: Poseidon’s Steed (The Story of Seahorses, from Myth … Continue reading
What is that yellow-spined thing? This is a species of sea slug, one of the strangest groups of organisms present on reefs worldwide. Sea slug is a pretty all encompassing term that includes groups such as Nudibranchs and Cephalaspidea. They are part of the “cryptic” fauna present on coral reefs. These interesting and strange creatures … 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 Katie Myrick and Olivia Wilson Cue Jaws theme song…but instead of it being an unrealistically huge shark that you have to worry about, it’s jellyfish. Swarms … Continue reading
So my research involves examining diatoms, which are free-floating aquatic phytoplankton with silicified cell walls (a substance similar to glass!). A lot of my time in the lab is spent culturing different species of diatoms, which is interesting but sometimes dissatisfying–since diatoms are microscopic, most of my cultures look like vials of clear or brownish … Continue reading
Can you spot the hidden predator in this week’s Halloween-themed Photography Friday? Scorpionfish are ambush predators. They are usually found near the bottom, remaining very still. Their cryptic coloration allows them to attack unsuspecting prey including crustaceans and other fish. This also allows them to hide from snorkelers or divers, so be careful! Scorpionfish are known for the … Continue reading
I’ve grown tired of watching the same “true crime” plotlines over and over again on TV. I want the bad guys to be caught, but what I really want is more variation, more novelty, more…science. I would therefore like to pitch an idea for a new episode of a detective drama, an idea that is … Continue reading
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