Super Science Fellowships In Coral Reef Research

I bet you thought Reed Richards was the only Super Scientist. Well think again! A new research fellowship opportunity at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies is changing that (although it remains unclear whether you get a cape, a costume, or get to mix it up with Dr Doom).

The ARC Centre (an internationally renowned research center of 200 researchers and graduate students) has been awarded five Super Science Fellowship positions at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia of which up to three positions will be filled in this round. ARC is seeking to recruit outstanding early career researchers in the following areas into their successful program addressing the Resilience of Coral Reef Ecosystems to Climate Change:

* Marine mega-fauna
* Quantitative Marine Ecologist
* Coral reef fish adaptation
* Coral adaptation and acclimation
* Coral Genome

Candidates with a PhD and an exceptional early career publication record are encouraged to apply. Appointees will have substantial freedom to forge a research program within the study area and to collaborate with leading coral reef researchers.

Appointments will be full-time for a fixed-term of 3 years subject to a probationary period. Anticipated salary is $72,500 per year. Benefits include a generous employer
superannuation contribution and attractive options for salary packaging.

Applications close on 31 May 2010.

Full fellowship descriptions here.

If I wasn't happily employed (or so damn old) I'd be emailing my CV at this moment.

You Live Here

It's Earth Day, so at some point today I hope you reflect on the fact that most of planet Earth is covered by this:

An ocean that moderates our climate like this:

An ocean which is full of a lot of these:

That support a whole bunch of these:

That feed these:

And these:

And these:

And that healthy oceans also support these:

And that healthy reefs and mangroves in turn protect coastal communities from the worst effects of these:

Or that research into chemicals found in reef life can help save lives through the development of these:

And that healthy reefs create financial security of nations through this:

And that healthy reefs are the primary protein source for more than 1 billion people like this:

So Happy Earth Day, and remember that our oceans are an important part of Earth too. And if you care about ocean health, you might want to contribute to a group like this:

Planes Or Volcano?

Tip of the hat to a stranded Karen James for pointing me towards this infographic, courtesy of Information is Beautiful.

UPDATE: 4/23/10
The producers of this infographic issued a retraction of their original diagram. Seems as though they grossly underestimated the CO2 output of Eyjafjallajökull. The volcano seems to be spewing nearly half as much carbon as Europe's airlines. A revised chart is below:

HT to Angelo for the update.

Sharktopus: Real Or Urban Legend?

There are rumors coursing through the intertubes that those rascals at SyFy Channel, the same folks who brought you Megashark vs Giant Octopus, Mega Piranha, and Mansquito, are in development of a movie that will be the heavyweight champ of all made-for-TV schlock: Sharktopus!

Somebody pinch me!

Allegedly to be directed by Roger "King of the B-movies" Corman, Sharktopus will no doubt be a gripping, edge of your sofa blood/laugh-fest. Get your TiVo's warmed up!

There's been an almost Cloverfield-esque frenzy of guesswork as to what the Sharktopus will look like. I thought I'd share just a few candidate depictions culled from just a few minutes of Google-ing. Enjoy!

Smarty Pants In Da Hizzle!

We here at MBSL&S are incredibly proud of our fantabulous ocean blogging scientist pal Miriam Goldstein on successfully passing her quals at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography! Make way... make way for the Ph.D. CANDIDATE!

serious-fucking-w00t!

In honor of this event, I have given the MBSL&S troops the rest of the day off and $25 out of the register for beer. Congrats, Miriam, and we toast to you!

Snorkel Snax®? Really?!

UPDATE: 5/3/2010: It seems that the folks over at Sea Dine are ashamed of the light being cast upon their Snorkel Snax product in action. And justifiably so. I posted images from their own site showing unsustainable wildlife interactions while using Snorkel Snax®. That's a bit too much sunshine for a self proclaimed "Eco-Smart" company. Sea Dine representative Sonia Hillios demanded the images be removed. I've capitulated, even though fair use says my post is not an infringement of copyright when images are used ”for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research. I would call my use of Sea Dine's images "criticism". But do check-out the Sea Dine site for all the images the folks at Sea Dine are too ashamed to share. And feel free to let Sonia Hillios know what you think.

Really, SeaDine Snorkel Snax®? A coral reef just wasn't spectacular enough for you? Really?! Even with all those fish? And coral? And sea fans? And jellies? And whale sharks? And cephalopods? And sea stars? And sea cukes? And sponges? And sharks? And stingrays? And occasional mammals? Really? Just not enough going on?

You simply had to crank that reef up to 11 with some artificial fish food? But not just any old fishfood, your "proprietary blend of marine grade fish food"? Really?

And what's in Snorkel Snax®? Why, shrimp (a globally depleted commercial seafood) and Spirulina, a microscopic cyanobacterium. From your website:

Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It is a simple, one-celled form of algae that thrives in warm, alkaline fresh-water bodies. Spirulina contains unusually high amounts of protein, between 55 and 77% by dry weight, depending upon the source. It is a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids. The spirulina used in our product is high quality, human grade. Spirulina helps to improve the intestinal flora of fish thereby making them more resistant to bacterial infection.

Really, SeaDine? So what exactly were reef fish using to improve their intestinal flora before you guys came along?

It has natural pigments (Carotenoids, Chlorophyll and Phuycocyanin) to make sure that all the colors of fish stay bright and vibrant. Spirulina also stimulates production of enzymes that transport fats within the body. This allows the fish to convert fat into PFV (physiological fuel value) or growth rather than flab. Quality spirulina is a natural attractant, one of the best natural colorants, and it also stimulates breeding and reproduction.

SeaDine's Snorkel Snax® contains natural color enhancers and immunity builders such as shrimp and spirulina for brilliant color enhancement and exceptionally healthy fish.

Flabby fish, SeaDine? Really? Color enhancers? Physiological food value? Really?!

I mean, I know that to you guys reef fish seem to be chubby moochers looking for a handout, but really? They're doing just fine without the "immunity-builders," "color-enhancers," or the "physiological food value." I realize you're probably not regular blog readers over at SeaDine, but as I've talked about before, the practice of feeding fish while snorkeling or diving can have disastrous effects on coral reefs by altering predator-prey relationships and pushing delicate ecosystems out of balance. When people feed algae grazers like surgeonfish, the fish can eat less reef algae, causing the algae to flourish and potentially smother coral colonies. Not to mention that fish feeding makes for overly aggressive fish and presents visitors with a contrived impression of what healthy reefs look like.

Fish are really at their best when we are passive observers, leave no trace, and add nothing to the ecosystem.

Do you really think that these images on your website illustrate environmental sustainability? Really?

Just a tip. If you're trying to convince people that you care about something other than money, may I suggest taking to heart your own words and be the "Caring, Eco-Smart, Friends that will help Our Seas and Our Planet Survive."

Otherwise, all you're really doing is greenwashing.

Really!

The Squid's Fist

Bottle of 2008 The Squid's Fist Sangiovese Shiraz by Australian vintners Some Young Punks: $18.00

Look of envy on the DSN Team's face: Priceless

The Squid's Fist: 70% Sangiovese from Kalimna (Barossa); 30% Shiraz from the McLaren Vale; 1500 cases made.

It's Post-A-Jelly-Sighting Time!

How many times has this happened to you? You're diving along a beautiful coral reef or chilling-out at 40 feet in a spectacular kelp forest. Suddenly you notice the delicate, translucent beauty of a jelly drift past your dive mask. Perhaps you know the species, perhaps not. Either way you want to share the sighting with others. But how?

Look no further. Jellywatch has arrived.

Ken over at Sea Notes first featured this new online resource last week. Jellywatch is a collaboration between the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The brainchild of MBARI researcher Dr. Steve Haddock, Jellywatch is hoped to be your one-stop-shop for tracking and identifying all things gelatinous in the ocean.

Take for instance the tiny, pale-pink goober in the photo above. It has a distinct bell. Trailing tentacles. Yep, definitely a jelly. But which jelly? The photo was recently sent to me by a colleague who was diving in Grand Cayman. A diver managed to capture a few images for later identification. When I received the image, I was stumped, so I reached out to a pal at the Bonaire Marine Park for ideas. He in turn had to contact someone at the Smithsonian. The conclusion? The jelly appears to be a juvenile Rhizostoma Genus (also called Barrel jellies). One key character is the presence of eight trailing bell "extensions" (not tentacles). Genus-level ID was as far as anyone would commit without seeing it in vivo.

But now with Jellywatch, this jelly sighting can not just get logged and mapped into a global GIS database, but the photo can be uploaded for a wider jelly-o-phile community to potentially help in identification. How cool!

And Jellywatch doesn't just stop with jellies. Users can also log sightings of red tide, plastics, squid, and charismatic vertebrates. Even observation of clean beaches or sea state can help benchmark conditions to better detect sudden changes.

I've already bookmarked Jellywatch and created an account. I can't wait to get started. Happy jelly watching!

Tipping Points

During a US House Armed Services Committee hearing last Thursday, March 25, 2010, Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) was questioning Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific fleet, about the stationing of 8,000 additional U.S. Marines and their families on the Micronesian island of Guam, a 212-square-mile American territory that is 30 miles long and from 4 to 12 miles wide.

After struggling for over a minute to articulate the concept of length and width in an effort to illustrate that Guam is, indeed, a small island, Representative Johnson succinctly summarized his fears of the imminent military build-up on Guam with the following mot juste (see video above): “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”

Admiral Willard, with just a slight pause responded, “We don’t anticipate that."

Phew! What a relief!

But seriously, WTF? Does Johnson actually think islands--made of rock--float on water like rafts? It sure sounds like he did.

A formal response from Johnson on Thursday, April 1 (yes, April Fool's Day) via his spokesman tries to clear up any doubt as to what the Gentleman from Georgia thinks:

“I wasn’t suggesting that the island of Guam would literally tip over,” said Johnson. “I was using a metaphor to say that with the addition of 8,000 Marines and their dependents – an additional 80,000 people during peak construction to the port on the tiny island with a population of 180,000 – could be a tipping point which would adversely affect the island’s fragile ecosystem and over burden its already overstressed infrastructure.

“Having traveled to Guam last year, I saw firsthand how this beautiful – but vulnerable island – is already overburdened, and I was simply voicing my concerns that the addition of that many people could tip the delicate balance and do harm to Guam.”

Well, glad we got that cleared up.

Deep Sea Biologist Plays Host, Makes History

Hot on the heels of his recent celebrity earlier this week in helping MSNBC demystify pictures of a giant ocean isopod making the rounds on the internet, Dr. Craig McClain, noted marine biologist, Assistant Director of Science for the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, and creator of the popular ocean science blog Deep Sea News, made more headlines this morning during a startling press conference in Durham, North Carolina. In front of a gathering of local network media affiliates, science bloggers, and scientific colleagues from the Raleigh-Durham area, Dr. McClain announced his discovery of a previously unknown species of ceratioid (deep sea) anglerfish that he collected during a January 2010 research cruise to the Monterey Submarine Canyon off the California coast.

Collected while in a submersible at a depth of nearly 800 meters, McClain explained that the small adult male fish (seen at left), measuring no more than 9 centimeters in length, will represent the type specimen for the new-to-science species. Provisionally named the Bluto Anglerfish by McClain, formal taxonomic attribution awaits acceptance by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). If accepted, the new fish species will be known as Cryptopsaras popeyensis mcclainii. A monograph describing the Bluto Anglerfish is expected to be co-produced by McClain in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute based in Moss Landing, CA.

Attendees could not have predicted what happened next. McClain shocked the assembled news and scientific crowd when he removed his red beanie to reveal the anglerfish permanently attached to the side of his head.

Assuring the crowd that the Bluto Angerfish was indeed still alive, McClain explained that he himself was now providing the life support for the fish. "Considering the challenges of locating mates in deep sea ecosystems where populations distribution may be patchy and intraspecies encounters rare," explained McClain, "Ceratioid anglerfish evolved a fascinating reproductive system that involves their becoming obligate parasites on the much larger female of the species." McClain admitted that he could not find it within himself to preserve his precious specimen in formalin. Instead, he elected to make marine biological history by serving as the first human host to a fish.

With camera strobes still flashing, the deep sea expert dimmed the lights and launched into a 45 minute lecture on the ceratioid reproductive process. According to McClain, once a male-female ceratioid anglerfish pair meets, the male bites into the female's skin, releasing an enzyme that digests the skin of his mouth and her body, fusing the pair down to the blood-vessel level. The male then slowly atrophies, first losing its digestive organs, then its brain, heart, and eyes, and ends as nothing more than a pair of gonads, which releases sperm in response to hormone signals in the female's bloodstream that indicate egg production. Despite McClains engaging and passionate presentation, more than a few audience members admitted being distracted by the intermittant bioluminescent blue-green flashes emanating from the scientist's new appendage.

Attendees appeared mixed in their reactions to Dr. McClains bold revelation. Science blogging doyen and Online Discussion Expert for PLoS, Bora Zivkovic, admired McClains commitment to his science and immediately booked the beefy symbiont as keynote speaker for ScienceOnline 2011. However, others were not so gracious. "He already drinks the lion's share of beer during visits to the Beaufort Marine Lab," complained Duke University Ph.D candidate and science blogger Andrew Thaler, "Now he's going to be drinking for two? What the fuck?!"

Perhaps predictably, local Fox News reporter Ann Petranlio hammered McClain with questions as to the inability of the new Health Care Reform Bill to adequately cover expenses incurred from obligate fish parasite exams.

But Craig McClain remained seemingly sanguine throughout the 30 minute barrage of comments and questions. "I'm not the least bit ashamed of Bluto," as he now refers to his piscine hitch-hiker. He summarized by explaining that his rationale to permanently affix the Anglerfish to his head was in part to raise the profile of deep sea biology in public discourse. But he later admitted that he also hoped that the increased media attention might secure commercial underwriting of his blog, Deep Sea News. "I'd be delighted to see Hollywood buy the rights to my story and really allow me to take Deep Sea News to the next level," said McClain. "I can even see myself being played by actor Michael Chiklis, or maybe even by that guy on The Travel Channel who will eat anything."