Hatteras to Sargasso

Posted on By Amy Freitag 2 Comments on Hatteras to Sargasso
Science

the R/V Cape Hatteras leaving port

I have absolutely no reason to be at sea. I don’t do oceanographic research, don’t work in any way, shape, or form with phytoplankton, and I barely have the time to set up my own research trips let alone take two weeks to help on someone else’s. Yet here I am, my first day aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras on a cruise to the Sargasso to study phytoplankton energetics.

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Update from Antarctica – What is MISHAP?

Posted on By Guest Writer 1 Comment on Update from Antarctica – What is MISHAP?
Science

A pod of killer whales in Flandres Bay

Fresh from Antarctica, this update comes to us from Dr. Douglas Nowacek, one of the Principal Investigators for the MISHAP project, by way of our field correspondent, Reny Tyson. Follow along with their adventures at Tagging Whales in the Antarctic Seas.

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Oil Spill vs. Hypoxic Zone

Posted on By Amy Freitag 4 Comments on Oil Spill vs. Hypoxic Zone
Conservation

There’s an elephant in the room as summer arrives on the Gulf Coast: hypoxia season.

This year, it’s a different Gulf, one covered in the largest oil slick in our country’s history.  No one is quite sure what the interaction between the oil and hypoxia will be.  Best guess is that both stresses will mean the end for most organisms living in the area and that hypoxia will exacerbate problems associated with the spill and hinder recovery by limiting oxygen availability for detoxifying bacteria.  However, step back for a minute and speculate on other possibilities: could the oil spill actually be helpful if it prevents or slows the eutrophication process? Could the damages associated with the oil spill be less than those associated with a large hypoxic zone?

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Crowdsourcing ConGen – A Reading List

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Crowdsourcing ConGen – A Reading List
Conservation, Science

This is a little different from my usual Crowdsourcing ConGen posts. I recently completed my qualifying exams for PhD candidacy, so have a very large reading list compiled for population and conservation genetics. So, if you’re interested in the field, you should check out some of these papers, and if you know of any others that should be included, please let me know in the comments.

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