Why does it matter how many species are out there? Are corals upside down sea jellies? Who is causing the climate crisis? I am a professional marine ecologist and conservationist talking about biodiversity, sustainability, and the wonders of the ocean.
The ocean is huge. The open ocean is a pretty vast space with a whole lot of what feels like nothing. But there’s a lot more life there than you think–and, don’t worry, I’m not talking about plankton. 70% of Earth’s surface is open ocean. Pelagic ecosystems really are the most common ecosystems out there!…
DetailsWhat’s a fish? Sounds like a simple question, right? Unless we are talking about your dinner, figuring out what a fish actually is, might be a lot harder than you think. After all, a seahorse is a fish but a whale isn’t. So, what the duck is a fish? We’ve been climbing this tree of…
DetailsUnless you live near the coast, you probably think about the ocean more as a destination for a nice beach vacation as anything that directly affects you. To put it bluntly: even if you don’t eat fish, hate swimming, and the idea of the beach disgusts you: the ocean affects you, too. Every single person…
DetailsIntroduction Sea urchins are essentially folded-up sea stars. Very poky folded-up sea stars with spikes poky enough that even I might consider putting some shoes on my feet. Maybe. Today, we’re finishing our exploration of the hedgehog-skinned echinoderms. Climbing up the Tree of Life one group at a time. Most sea urchins look exactly like…
DetailsUnreachable to most humans, the deepest depths of the ocean hold endless wonders from the totally adorable to really creepy, from the hot to the cold, from the dark to the—no, all dark. Unless you meet one of those creatures that can make their own light. Chapter 1: The deep-sea benthos The deep-sea benthos is…
DetailsYou know that cartoon with the dog drinking coffee while his house in on fire. “This is fine,” says the title. Greta Thunberg used the same idea when she said that our house is on fire. While this is true almost literally in some parts of the worlds with fires spreading destruction all over the…
DetailsThere is a photo from one of our dive trips that confused the shit out of me. A fuzzy structure that looked somewhat coral-like but wasn’t. When my husband said it was a cucumber, I was sure he was joking. Months later, I found a similar photo online and realized he’d not only meant it…
DetailsTo most people, the ocean is a more or less flat-surface, just like the ground beneath our feet. But there is so much more under the waves. From the surface to the deepest depths, from the shore to the open ocean, we’ll take it apart—and even get into some special zones. What to expect from…
DetailsWhen I learned how to dive, a whole new world opened up—but it soon felt like this world was dying! Sargassum seaweed was taking over where kelp forests had been, and bristle stars took over entire reefs. It was at the height of the mysterious sea star wasting syndrome, and many thought one of the…
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