Is it ethical to eat fish?
Today, we are answering a very important question: Can it be ethical to eat fish? The answer is not as clear-cut as I’d like it to be, so let’s get into this mess.
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Mollusks: Mussels, Snails, Clams, and Co
Today, we talk mollusks. From clams and oysters to snails and underwater slugs in all colors of the rainbow.
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Bilateria: When Mouths become Other Things
Today, we are continuing our precarious climb along the ever-changing tree of life. Once I survive the three weeks of full-time lectures, we’ll make things a little more diverse on here again. There are quite a few exciting things I want to talk about, but my brain is refusing to do more than chew up…
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The Unbelievable Biology of CORALS and Anemones
Today, we are going to talk about one of my favorite animals: corals. Yep, I said animal. Those plant-looking things are definitely animals. It’s even weirder than that, though. Let’s dive in. Almost every year now, we hear news about coral bleaching and entire reefs dying. Since 2016, we’ve lost half of the Great Barrier…
DetailsOn Picking and Choosing Facts: Shady Statistics and Propaganda
I hadn’t planned another detour from our biodiversity series this week, but after spending a day watching propaganda from both sides on the state of fish populations and fisheries, I couldn’t help but talk about sustainable fisheries. Next semester, I’m taking a class on population dynamics, and as the teacher agrees that three weeks of…
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The Stingy Biology of Jellies & Sea Combs
Today, things are getting more and more colorful with sea jellies of all shapes and forms, with rainbow-light sea combs, and more. Sea jellies are usually called jellyfish, though they are far from fish, and sea combs are usually called comb jellies, though they aren’t jellies. Oh, the fun naming of taxonomy. Until very recently,…
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The Ancient Biology of Sponges
Are sponges the oldest animals? What kind of sponge is that squarepanted yellow idiot with the pineapple? Are the inner skins of sponges made up of sperm? From SpongeBob to nature, we’re talking sponges today.
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Underwater Forests: Seagrasses and Seaweed
How do you offset your carbon footprint? You plant trees. Right? Well, as we established in the episode on primary production, trees are actually not the major player when it comes to carbon offsetting. For that, we need to look at underwater “forests.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we shouldn’t save the trees.…
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The Types of Plankton
Today, I will attempt to convince all of us that plankton is cool and worth our attention. We’ll talk about what plankton is and why it’s so important for our climate. Plankton is cool. There, you can quote me on that. That established, I’m also pretty fed up with plankton. I’m more than half-way through…
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