mouthporn.net
#marine biology – @smithsonian-environment on Tumblr
Avatar

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

@smithsonian-environment / smithsonian-environment.tumblr.com

The Smithsonian's home for science of the coastal zone, on Chesapeake Bay and anywhere the land meets the sea. Legal: http://s.si.edu/legal
Avatar

Here’s A Sampling of How the Ocean Sounds at Night

Ever wondered what life underwater sounds like? This Bocon toadfish is hardly ever seen by day, since it spends most its time hiding in burrows in the sand near coral reefs or seagrass beds. But after sunset, its humming calls are so loud, they can drown out everything else on tropical reefs. Male toadfish do most of the singing, after they’ve staked out their burrows and are seeking to win over a mate. More than half the fish species on coral reefs are rarely spotted, because they’re small, hidden or nocturnal (sometimes all three). To tap into the “hidden half,” biologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Smithsonian’s MarineGEO network put recorders on the ocean floor around corals, mangroves and seagrass beds. Some of the loudest species they picked up, like toadfish and snapping shrimp, didn’t appear once to divers! (Photo: Erica Staaterman/SERC) Read more on our blog: https://sercblog.si.edu/?p=8439

Avatar

Summer Intern Spotlight

Elena Huynh is a #summerintern at SERC-West in San Francisco Bay, and she's setting up duels between marine invertebrates to see who's best at claiming space! 

For more info, check out our intern spotlights here: http://s.si.edu/2uu2jQY

To learn more about internships at SERC, visit the internships page on our website at: https://serc.si.edu/pro_traini…/internships/projectmenu.aspx

Credit: Ryan Greene/SERC

Avatar

Summer Intern Spotlight

Ryan Greene is a #summerintern at SERC-West in San Francisco Bay, and he's creating science-related media that people can read, watch, hear and even touch! 

For more info, check out our intern spotlights here: http://s.si.edu/2uu2jQY 

To learn more about internships at SERC, visit the internships page on our website at: https://serc.si.edu/pro_traini…/internships/projectmenu.aspx

Credit: Elena Huynh/SERC

Avatar

Summer Intern Spotlight

Ana Sofia Remis is a #summerintern at SERC-West in San Francisco Bay, and she's putting invasive clams to the test to see how well they can survive in freshwater conditions! 

For more info, check out our intern spotlights here: http://s.si.edu/2uu2jQY 

To learn more about internships at SERC, visit the internships page on our website at: https://serc.si.edu/pro_traini…/internships/projectmenu.aspx

Credit: Ryan Greene/SERC

Avatar

Summer Intern Spotlight

Jamie Bucholz is a #summerintern at SERC-West in San Francisco Bay, and she's using a system of suspended cages to study how predators shape the face of the "fouling community" (a.k.a. the creatures that grow on docks and boat hulls). 

For more info, check out our intern spotlights here: http://s.si.edu/2uu2jQY 

To learn more about internships at SERC, visit the internships page on our website at: https://serc.si.edu/pro_traini…/internships/projectmenu.aspx

Credit: Ryan Greene/SERC

Avatar

Long-term monitoring "doesn’t look sexy until something like this happens,” says SERC ecologist Andy Chang. Check out the first story in “Tidings of the Sunset Coast,” our new summer series about SERC-West, our marine biology outpost at Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University. Our first post dives into California's wet winter and the impacts it’s had on the plants and animals living in San Francisco Bay. http://s.si.edu/2sMpzaZ

Avatar

Marine Biologists in Action: Sea Wall Sampling

Today, SERC researcher Gail Ashton collected experimental panels from the sea wall at SERC-West for the World Harbour Project​. As part of this project, scientists at sites around the globe are testing ways to boost the biodiversity of artificial structures. For more info, check out the WHP website: http://www.worldharbourproject.org/  Photos: Ryan Greene/SERC

Avatar

SERC technician Ruth DiMaria just finished a round of zooplankton sampling here on California’s coast. She spent last week leading SERC’s annual zooplankton survey in San Francisco Bay, and then early this week spent a couple days collecting these teeny marine critters in Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay. Monitoring like this helps SERC scientists keep an eye on the spread of invasive species in our coastal waters! 

Avatar

How do we thank our citizen science volunteers for analyzing 1 year’s worth of crabs for our Chesapeake Bay Parasite Project? With parasitized crab cookies, of course.

The Chesapeake Bay Parasite Project is tracking the invasion of a parasite that can turn mud crabs into “zombie nursemaids.” The parasite is an invasive species called Loxo (short for Loxothylacus panopaei). When it infects a tiny mud crab, it hijacks the crab’s reproductive system, making it unable to produce its own young. Instead, Loxo forms an orange sac of parasite larvae on the crab’s abdomen (see the orange blobs on the crab cookies) and forces the mud crab to nurse those larvae. Even if the crab is male, the parasite makes it act like a mother crab, caring for, protecting, and eventually giving birth to the young Loxos!

Want to help us search for the parasite this year? Visit https://serc.si.edu/citizen-science/projects/chesapeake-bay-parasite-project to see how you can sign up!

(Photo by Maria Sharova. Cookies by Monaca Noble)

Avatar

 Microscope Monday: Diatoms of Belize

Ecologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center spotted this diatom, called Navicula, drifting in the waters of Belize. Diatoms are microscopic algae, or phytoplankton, roughly the width of a human hair or smaller. But though they're called algae and use photosynthesis to get their energy, diatoms aren't plants. They belong to a completely different group, known as Chromista.

(Photo: SERC Phytoplankton Lab. Artistically arranged)

Avatar

The Microscopic Creature That Lives in a Glass House

Ever wonder what it's like to live in a glass house? Striatella unipunctata, a tropical diatom often found on coral reefs, spends its entire life like this. Because their cell walls are made of silica, the main component of glass, diatoms are often called "algae that live in glass houses." Though since the silica also contains water, "algae that live in opal houses" might be closer to the truth! (Photo: SERC Phytoplankton Lab) 

Avatar

Happy Microscope Monday! SERC marine biologists found this beautiful tunicate, known as Botrylloides violaceus, on the shores of Rehoboth, Delaware. Colonial tunicates are made of dozens of bottle-shaped individuals called zooids that together act as a single animal. Though attractive, Botrylloides violaceous is also an invasive species: It's already been spotted on both coasts of North America and Europe, and has a reputation for displacing mussels and other native species. (Photo: Brianna Tracy-Sawdey)

Avatar

Microscope Monday

It's January, which means winter is in full swing! These white flower (or snowflake) patterns belong to the underwater tunicate Botryllus schlosseri, also known as the Golden Star Tunicate, for the star-shaped colonies it forms. No one knows where the Golden Star Tunicate came from, but it's been spotted on all seven continents. It often grows on piers, dock floats, boat hulls and other manmade structures—though it's also taken a toll on some seagrasses, by blocking off the light. It's garnered a reputation in the #Chesapeake as a "fast-growing pernicious pest" for fouling oyster trays. (Photo: Brianna Tracy-Sawdey)

Avatar

Wildlife Wednesday: An Exasperating Species

This tropical tunicate goes by the name Microcosmus exasperatus. The name Microcosmus means "little world," possibly for the vast array of life that can settle on its tunic. We're not sure how it got stuck with "exasperatus" as its species name, but its ability to grow over all kinds of structures may have exasperated some of the people in the places it's invaded. This tunicate is found in tropical waters all over the world. SERC marine biologist Brianna Tracy-Sawdey spotted this one off the coast of Panama, at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Avatar

Microscope Monday: A Snowman Under the Scope

It's official: We've reached the first full week of #winter, so we're celebrating with this snowman-shaped group of diatoms, called Detonula pumila. Diatoms are a kind of single-celled algae, though Detonula often forms long chains connected by a set of zigzag-shaped spines and a single spine down the center (look closely and see if you can spot it). Despite these diatoms' wintry appearance, Detonula are thought to do best in warmer, saltier waters, and they've been found on all seven continents! 

You are using an unsupported browser and things might not work as intended. Please make sure you're using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.
mouthporn.net