The Biodiverse Universe
The Biodiverse Universe avatar

Last thursday I was a guest on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour talking about communicating biodiversity (interview starts at 8 minutes in). It was response to an article I wrote on EvoEcoLab, another blog I write for Scientific American, titled The (Mis)use of Messaging in Biodiversity Loss Prevention. It was a lot of fun and I’m . . . → Read More: The Biodiverse Universe

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New Innovative Estimate of Total Marine Species
New Innovative Estimate of Total Marine Species avatar

Mark Gibson is a divemaster, social scientist, and independent writer living in Washington, DC. He can be found blogging at Breaching the Blue. You can find Mark on twitter @breachingblue. The following post is cross-posted at his blog here. —————————————— How many marine species are there?  It is a question that stumped even the . . . → Read More: New Innovative Estimate of Total Marine Species

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From the Editor’s Desk: The Environmental Impacts of Tsunamis
From the Editor’s Desk: The Environmental Impacts of Tsunamis avatar

Figure from UNEP: These images show a combination of a rocky, hilly headland along with a small river delta and swampy coastal strip. A low-lying wetland area connects the northern and western ocean fronts. An integration of natural and agricultural ecosystems operating prior to the tsunami combined rice cultivation, and fish/shrimp ponds, alongside natural delta . . . → Read More: From the Editor’s Desk: The Environmental Impacts of Tsunamis

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Climate Change and the Deep Sea
Climate Change and the Deep Sea avatar

Over at Uncharted Atolls there is nice primer on the biodiversity of the deep and climate change.  Add it to you “to do” list for today. Despite the isolation experienced by the deep-sea, the climate does have an effect in this seemingly remote environment. via Frontiers: The deep sea and climate | Uncharted Atolls. Over at Uncharted Atolls there is nice primer on the biodiversity of the deep and climate change.  Add it to you "to do" list for today.
Despite the isolation experienced by the deep-sea, the climate does have an effect in this seemingly remote environment.
via Frontiers: The deep sea and climate | Uncharted Atolls.

A 21st century view of Marine Biology
A 21st century view of Marine Biology avatar

So you wanna be a marine biologist in the 21st century? Better crack open that MacBook and start writing perl scripts. As part of our NSF RAPID grant studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill, our group is busy organizing an outreach workshop for undergrads entitled the “Bioinformatics of Biodiversity”. We’ll be giving a . . . → Read More: A 21st century view of Marine Biology

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Deep-sea additions to the Nematode Tree of Life
Deep-sea additions to the Nematode Tree of Life avatar

Sometimes I am stunned by the vastness of the internet, as well as the brief 15-nanoseconds of fame that go along with most of its content. The other day I discovered the ‘Charlie the Unicorn’ videos on YouTube, after (ironically?) having a conversation with a real three-dimensional human. I was excited by this hilarity and . . . → Read More: Deep-sea additions to the Nematode Tree of Life

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Tide Pool: Cephalopods, Ash, and Sulphur Are to Blame
Tide Pool: Cephalopods, Ash, and Sulphur Are to Blame avatar

An occasional series where we briefly report 3 new studies and tell you why they are cool! Heightened biodiversity may make an ecosystem more stabile and robust.  One of the reasons for this is that high biodiversity may create redundant species, i.e. species that serve a similar ecological role in the ecosystem.  A loss of one species may not . . . → Read More: Tide Pool: Cephalopods, Ash, and Sulphur Are to Blame

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Curiouser Podcast: Life Under Constant Pressure
Curiouser Podcast: Life Under Constant Pressure avatar

Jai Ranganathan speaks to me about the biodiversity of the deep sea and my paper from last year. More than 70 percent of the earth is ocean floor, an environment as lethal to human life as outer space. With pressures hundreds of times stronger than on the surface, no sunlight, and near freezing temperatures, it . . . → Read More: Curiouser Podcast: Life Under Constant Pressure

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“Gooey” New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea
“Gooey” New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea avatar

via “Gooey” New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea There’s a new island in the azure waters off Pakistan, but you might want to hold off on vacation planning: The tiny dot is a mud volcano that will likely disappear before it sees 1,001 Arabian nights. Pakistani fishers reported the new mud volcano in the Arabian . . . → Read More: “Gooey” New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea

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Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists?
Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists? avatar

Dr. M’s article in Wired truly stirred something in me this morning. We need to put names on things. I’m a scientist who has always strived to be integrative—I believe you need to understand all sides of a debate in order to fix the root of the problem.  I’ve tried everything from traditional nematode taxonomy, . . . → Read More: Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists?

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