By Olivia Schuitema, SRC intern Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are Arctic marine mammals that have traditionally been relatively isolated from anthropogenic contact, making them particularly vulnerable to disturbance (Williams, 2017). The lack of ecological interference also makes narwhals adequate study organisms regarding anthropogenic effects. With larger declines in Arctic sea ice, narwhals have been increasingly exposed […]
By Jessica Daly, SRC intern Sometimes, predators have the ability to choose what size prey to consume when feeding, but little is known about how this decision is made. Several previous research experiments have examined the relationship between prey size and “predator gape size,” or how long it takes to chase, capture, and consume the […]
By Molly Rickles, SRC intern Lanternfish are small mesopelagic fish that make up the most important component of the daily vertical migrating fish community. During the day, they occupy the mesopelagic layers, and at night they travel to the surface for feeding. These fish are important because they play a vital role in the carbon […]
By Elana Rusnak, SRC masters student The global aquarium trade is a multimillion dollar business, moving over one billion freshwater and marine organisms annually. In many countries, regulations are put in place in order to manage both the type of species, as well as the number of individuals that cross each border. However, there are […]
By Luisa Gil Diaz, SRC intern In a vast and endless ocean where regulation and enforcement can be difficult, marine protected areas represent oases where vulnerable species can have a reprieve from over fishing and other human activities. Of course, these protected areas are also created for the enjoyment of people too. The ocean can […]
By Olivia Schuitema, SRC intern Climate change is the phenomenon in which global temperatures are rising due to an increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, largely resulting from burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The Earth’s ozone layer acts as a protective “blanket,” trapping warming greenhouse gases, such as CO2, in the Earth’s […]
By Haley Kilgour, SRC MPS student Manatees are an iconic species of Florida and for many years they have been one of the main focuses of conservation. Placed on the endangered species list in 1967, manatees have managed to make a comeback from their population containing only a few hundred individuals to over 6,000 (2016 […]
By Nicole Suren, SRC intern Conservation efforts often focus on language to rally support for an ecological cause, and the names of what they are rallying support for are an integral part of that language. Both scientific and common names can have huge impacts on the success of conservation efforts, either by influencing the way […]
By Patricia Albano, SRC intern Spanning an area from Karimata and the Malacca Straits to the Straits of Taiwan, the South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean and contains 3,500,000 square kilometers of some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. Bordering this important expanse of water […]
By Elana Rusnak, SRC masters student Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs, are the global “National Park System” of the ocean. There are a variety of protection levels, ranging from multi-use zones where certain activities may only be restricted seasonally, to no take-zones where only non-extractive activities are permitted (i.e. SCUBA diving and mooring a boat), […]