Shifting Baselines: Putting the World’s Oceans in Perspective
At day’s end, groups of divers gathered on the back deck to watch the sunset and share the adventures of the day. On one…
Ocean Science
Invaders from Inner Space: Revealing Nemo’s True Colors
If you know a kid younger than 10, then you also know the names Nemo and Dory. And just in case you’re one of…
The Census of Marine Life: How Scientists Intend to Count All the Fishes in the Sea
There are things you know, things you don’t know, and things you’ll never know. That’s one of the immutable laws of science. But occasionally,…
Did You Hear That? The Not-So-Silent Undersea World
Want to get away from it all? Enjoy a little peace and tranquility? No ringing telephones, doorbells, ranting bosses, radios or stereos turned up…
What Makes A Fish A Fish? Common Characteristics of Fishes
Here’s a question for you: In addition to living in water, whale sharks, manta rays, moray eels, groupers, gobies, rainbow trout and sea horses…
New Kids on the Block: How Scientists Identify New Species
The picture didn’t match the name. The small red sea horse didn’t look like a juvenile pygmy sea horse even if that’s what the…
No Oxygen, No Life: The Gulf of Mexico’s ‘Dead Zone’
The words “dead zone” evoke sci-fi movie scenes of a Martian landscape or the aftermath of a nuclear blast. Bleak places where life is…
Coral Reefs: Fall of the Cities Beneath the Sea
“Coral reefs of the world have continued to decline since the previous GCRMN report in 1998. Assessments to late 2000 are that 27% of…
The Alien Invasion: Non-native Species Invade the U.S.
What has the power to shut down electrical utilities, disrupt drinking water facilities and cause upwards of $5 billion in damage? An earthquake, hurricane…
AFRICA’S REVENGE: IS AN ILL WIND A BLOWIN’?
It is a sultry August evening in the Florida Keys as the setting sun fires the western sky with colors so stunning that they…