Science Ink

A post by Carl Zimmer on The Loom asks science bloggers to show some skin for science. But not just any skin, he's looking for those of us so inclined to indulge in a little body modification.

The other day I was pondering how scientists tattoo themselves with their science. I was at a pool party where a friend, Bob Datta, had jumped into the water with his kids. Datta is a post-doc at Columbia, where he studies genes in Drosophila flies. I noticed that Bob had a tattoo of DNA on his shoulder.

So I'm wondering now--have I bumped into the tip of a vast hidden iceberg, or do I just happen to know the few scientists with tattoos of their science? If anyone wants to send me a jpg, I'll post it. If you're worried about tenure, just let me know how the tattoo represents the object of your study. The more personal the link, the better (i.e., not a generic tattoo of pi).

I noticed Craig McClain had thrown down already for the marine biologists, but I wanted to toss some of my own marine bio flesh out there for consideration. So I give you Honu, the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle and symbol of longevity. Man, all that black hurt like hell!

PS: That's not me on the right.

Carnival Of The Blue III

Welcome folks and step right up to Carnival of the Blue III: a collection of July's best ocean writing on the blogosphere. I have the pleasure of hosting this month, and many thanks to Mark Powell at Blogfish for his passing the torch and providing all of his assistance.

Since this is a carnival, I suppose that technically makes all the contributors collected here carnies. Carnies are typified as sly and coercive salespeople, but the term itself merely refers to any employee of a traveling circus or carnival. Carnies are commonly perceived as an insular and discrete subculture, an example of a marginalized segment of society banding together and consciously separating themselves from mainstream society. Not exactly the sort of cohort I'd go out of my way to associate with. Wasn't it only nuclear war that scares Austin Powers more than carnies? Carnies. Circus folk. Nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands.

If loving the ocean and working to protect it makes us a marginalized subculture, then so be it. I'm proud to band together with this group. But this collection of essays, musings, and observations indicates that ocean awareness is hardly a marginalized interest but rather a rapidly growing, almost viral enterprise. And that certainly is good news to me. But enough of my yacking, on with the carnival. And apologies for any whiff of cabbage herein.

Carnival of the Blue is delighted to welcome Blue Ocean Institute president and co-founder Carl Safina with his first submission, Bye Bye, Bluefin. Carl describes how the Bluefin tuna gets no respect – or justice – from the very people who are charged with looking after it.

Over at Hope for Pandora, Thomas Robey points out the importance of new remote sensing buoys and the potential for improved data collection for modeling ocean health. Thomas also provides great links to remote video captures of jellies and dogfish sharks.

At Island of Doubt, James Hrynyshyn explains why climate change is such a favored topic for him. For James, there is no more important a public policy challenge. And because the role of uncertainty in climate science--and science in general--has been grossly distorted in many popular media, his blog was established in part to combat such propaganda. His carnival contribution explores the appearance of a graph in last month's journal of Science that addresses both climate change and uncertainty.

Perhaps ocean science and ocean conservation wouldn't be so opaque to the general public if we did a better job of instilling a solid foundation of ocean concepts in our children. Emmett Duffy explores this idea and the growing Ocean Literacy Network at The Natural Patriot.

Brian Switek at Laelaps wonders why science must take a back seat to ratings during the ever popular Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. This annual morbid fascination of blood and fear comes at what cost?

Carnival of the Blue founder Mark Powell's contribution over on Blogfish begins with a peculiar question, What are oceans for? Mark thinks it’s a question people are beginning to ask, and he thinks the answer leads towards conservation.

Feeling crabby? If so, then Mark Hall has a trilogy on Horseshoe crabs on The Daily Kos. Yes, yes, I know... Horseshoe crabs are chelicerate arthropods, not true crabs. But until a better name comes along, enjoy this natural history. Kick-off with some Horseshoe Crab basics, move on to anatomy, then close the loop with some conservation. You can also read more ecological gems from Mark at his Biomes Blog.

And now for something completely different, Andre over in the UK ruminates about all the problems plaguing modern fisheries and wonders just what one should eat from the sea. His suggestions may catch you off guard.

Just like the diversity he so loves in the invertebrates he celebrates at The Other 95%, count on Kevin Z to provide incredible diversity for Carnival of the Blue. First he showcases sea squirt promiscuity (how risqué). Then enjoy his synthesis of science and music with his spineless song (and new Deep Sea News anthem), What does the Deep Sea Say?

And speaking of the boys at Deep Sea News, they submitted a slew of posts for inclusion in this month's carnival. So it's dealers choice. First, Craig describes (sarcastically) why Canada should welcome global warming and an ice-free polar sea for all its potential benefits. Then enjoy a post from Peter that asks, How safe is your sushi? Peter set off a firestorm of comments with this, and they are as much fun to read as his post itself.

If it's great ocean conservation blogging with equally great comment trails that piques your interest, then check-out Jennifer's post on Shifting Baselines that followed Al Gore's Chilean Sea Bass drama from last month. Did he or didn't he? Find out for yourself. But the news was so popular (and contentious) that Jennifer had to follow-up with an additional post. Jack Sterne from Ocean Champions also contributed his take on the matter with a guest post on Shifting Baseline's Politics Tuesday.

Since the whole Sea Bass brouhaha got so much press, it's not surprising it showed-up in numerous blogs. Sheril Kirshenbaum at The Intersection found herself in a similar predicament as Mr. Gore and in turn asked her readers, What would you do?

Turning our attention to Micronesia, you can check-out The Saipan Blog where Angelo Villagomez treats us to an amazing gallery of Saipan nudibranchs and his thoughts on everything from island blogging, building an online community and conservation ethic in the CNMI, and a future that includes what Angelo calls Ecotourism 2.0.

On a subject near and dear to my heart, coral reef conservation, Caspar Henderson at the forbodingly named Coral Bones wonders if ocean and coral scientists are being too reticent and that warnings of ocean threats may be too conservative.

Jason at Cephalopodcast provides us with a great list of video and audio aquatic podcasts so you can feed your eyes and ears with great ocean news and views.

Wonder what tide pooling looks like in Malaysia? Join the folks at The Tide Chaser and virtually explore the exposed rocky shorelines of Singapore. Amazing nudibranchs and anemones every month.

The folks at Squid, the blog of Laughing Squid, the San Francisco-based web hosting firm that's also dedicated to art, culture, and technology, covered the ongoing invasion of Humboldt squid into northern California. Can you say jumbo orders of fried calamari?

And while we're on the subject of squid, he may have been too busy to submit his favorite ocean-themed post from last month, but you can always count on PZ Myers at Pharyngula to remind you that he's got some serious squid envy. For some great cephalopod science, check out his piece on what the developmental biology of squid can teach us about evolution. On the lighter side, PZ gives us a snippet of the last thing you can expect to see before being eaten by his favorite cephalopod.

Finally, yours truly was all over the map as usual in July on Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets. I'll point you to two favorites: First you can find out about how recent science is uncovering that some coral species, and their algal symbionts, are more resistant to heat stress than formerly understood. Potentially positive news in a warming world. Lastly, I challenge the notion that scuba divers and other marine recreationists are somehow better informed and that conservation messaging to this audience is unnecessary.

Yikes! That was exhausting! Who knew that one month held so much great ocean writing? Of course, all apologies if I missed anyone in this roundup. Please shoot me a heads-up and I'll add your post to the carnival. And be sure to look for Carnival of the Blue IV which will be coming from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, hosted by Angelo over at The Saipan Blog on September 3.

Keep it blue!

Kalua Pork, Shaved Ice, Hula Children, And Conservation Outreach: A Perfect Day At SF Aloha Festival

CORAL was invited to participate in this year's Aloha Festival in San Francisco. A production of PICA, the Pacific Islander's Cultural Association, the Aloha Festival is a two-day festival of arts held during the first full weekend of every August in The Presidio. Entertainment includes Pacific Islander music as well as Polynesian dance. The festival also features over 100 arts & crafts vendors, island cuisine, educational exhibits and workshops. It's a great addition to San Francisco's already impressive collection of cultural festivals and I was proud CORAL was a part of it.

Anja was the real heroine of the day, volunteering to wake-up early on a Saturday morning to schlep all of the displays and outreach materials over to The Presidio. She set up a table with brochures, calendars, Seafood Watch cards, and of course the famous outreach raffle. Anja had a great flow of traffic all day and helped share a coral reef conservation to any interested visitor. And with all the fish eaters among the attendees, I suspect we placed some well needed Seafood Watch cards in lots of pockets. Here's Anja posing with our spanking new banner.


One of our neighbors in the education tent, Surfrider Foundation, was also providing ocean conservation outreach to visitors. Though I must admit I think they are sending out mixed messages by providing free souvenir shells to little visitors. I don't think it serves the goal of building stewardship by encouraging the collection of ocean curios.


After checking-in with Anja, Manuel and I made a bee-line straight for the food tents. It wasn't hard to find. First you follow the wafting aromas of charring pork and chicken. They you look for the long lines leading-up to the most popular vendor. It was a difficult choice given all the vendors: huli chicken, Filipino platters of adobo, pancit, lumpia and more, Pad Thai, Thai barbecue, salmon burgers, garlic fries, kettle corn, chicken kabobs... the list goes on. We spotted a particularly long line for a vendor serving-up Hawaiian lunch plates consisting of a mound of kalua pork, fresh salmon poki, steamed rice, macaroni salad, and poi for $6.00. The line moved quickly and before long we were both enjoying island flavors under San Francisco fog.


And after a great island lunch, how about a great refreshing island treat of shaved ice? I'm a big shaved ice fan, and apparently so was everyone else in attendance. We waited in line for about 30 minutes to approach one of the two shaved ice vendors. We chose the one where you actually get to choose and pour your own flavors. Oh baby, why didn't they have this when I was a kid? I went nuts and mixed-up my own combo of green apple, watermelon, mango, strawberry, and peach. I won't even try to descibe how great it tasted on a hot (well, hot for San Francisco) afternoon.



I made the mistake of asking Manuel to hold my shaved ice as I took pictures. Needless to say there was less shaved ice in my bowl when he handed it back to me.


The Aloha Festival is a great event that attracts a broad cross section from the entire Pacific Rim. There were visitors and vendors representing Hawaii, Samoa, Guam, Philippines, the CNMI, Palau, Tonga, and more. It's a fantastic family event that has something to offer every visitor, whether you're from the islands or not. As we were leaving, we walked past the performers prep area and watched a family getting ready for a Hula presentation. There were children, parents, and grandparents representing a connection to island culture stretching back at least three generations. It's great that the Bay Area can have this event that allows island pride and culture to shine. You still have tomorrow (Sunday) if you want to attend the festival. I might have to go again if only for more shaved ice or a Halo-Halo. And if you miss this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next summer.

Lunch In Chinatown And The Toll On Our Oceans

I had a hankerin' for some Char Siu Bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) for lunch, so I strolled up to SF Chinatown in search of a Chinese bakery. Okay, I didn't stroll, I slogged and sweated up the concrete luge run they call California Street. Cutting down Grant Street (above image) I began the hunt for lunch but got distracted by all the dried shark fins, sea cucumbers, sea horses, pipefish, abalone, scallops, and myriad fish on display in the assorted ginseng shops and traditional medicine apothecaries.

Being an ever watchful blogger, I keep my tiny camera tucked-away in one of my many pockets. I tried to take some well-composed pictures of the dehydrated ocean carnage, but I got chased out of the first shop by the rather angry (and apparently non-English speaking) old lady running the store. Yeesh, if you have no concerns selling this stuff, why get all upset? Perhaps because some pain-in-the-ass blogger will showcase your callous disregard for the health of the oceans? Perhaps.

Sorry for the poor quality here, but I had to be sneaky, having reached my fill of Chinese scolding for the afternoon. Here you can see some dried fish fillets and dried sea cucumbers in bins:


Jar after jar of dried shark fin (check out the tag on one jar for $288 a pound):


And tray upon tray of dried sea horses waiting to be ground into powder, boiled in clay pots with other ingredients, and quaffed for any of a variety of ailments.


The use of sea horses for traditional Chinese medicine takes the lives of about 20 million sea horses per year. They are used to treat a variety of ailments including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, and heart disease. The use of sea horses for medicine is no longer limited to the Chinese either. It is becoming popular in other Asian communities as well. However, although sea horses are popular for their medicinal value and are claimed to be effective treatments, no empirical research has been done to demonstrate evidence that they actually are effective treatments.

Что тупоумное место для флага!

In 1845, New York journalist John O'Sullivan coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny," an expression that would remain shorthand during the late nineteenth century for the belief that Americans had an obligation to settle the western territories. In fact more than simply being America's burden to explore and expand, Manifest Destiny implied that America's expansion was predetermined, undeniable, and--most importantly--inspired by some all powerful creator. But don't for a second think that the US has cornered the market on arrogant land grabs in the name of empire.

This week, Russia symbolically staked its claim to billions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the Arctic Ocean when two mini submarines reached the seabed more than two and a half miles beneath the North Pole. The dangerous mission prompted ridicule and skepticism among other contenders for the Arctic's energy wealth, with Canada and the US being among the first to go on the record. This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say: 'We're claiming this territory', the Canadian foreign minister, Peter MacKay, told Canadian television (CTV).

Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle – Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland – have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline. A UN convention says none can claim jurisdiction over the Arctic seabed because the geological structure does not match the surrounding continental shelves. The region is currently administered by the International Seabed Authority but this is now being challenged by Moscow.

Russian scientists claim that the 1,220-mile long underwater Lomonosov Ridge is geologically linked to the Siberian continental platform - and similar in structure. The U.S. State Department noted that Russia has not yet made public the research allegedly backing its position and said the best available scientific evidence suggests the ridges in question are oceanic by nature "and thus not part of any country's continental shelf."

While the United States remains skeptical, we have not had the opportunity to examine any of the recently obtained data, said Leslie Phillips, a department spokeswoman. We wish the Russian scientists a safe expedition.

Pumped Poop Puts Precious Maui Reefs In Peril?

Instead of hitting the fan, the shit seems to be hitting the deep ground in Maui County, Hawaii. The county heard briefings earlier this week on two reports that were published earlier this year, on rampant algae growth around Maui and on evidence suggesting links between algae and the use of injection wells. The presentation showed how the two studies reinforce each other.

Deep well injection is a liquid waste disposal technology. This method uses injection wells to place treated or untreated liquid waste (in this case partially treated human effluent) into geologic formations on Maui that have no potential to allow migration of these contaminants into potential potable water aquifers. Or at least that's the idea. But if human effluent (essentially a nutrient-rich fertilizer) seeps into nutrient poor tropical coastal systems, it can potentially spur macroalgal blooms at a rate that reef grazers cannot adequately control. As a result, algae can smother reef surfaces, effectively blocking light penetration to the coral polyps.

In the last year, studies conducted in Hawaii have linked injection wells to algae on reefs, but Dan Polhemus, administrator of the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources seems to prefer further data collection over the precautionary principle, We want to make sure we are drawing the right conclusions from the right data, he said. We don’t want to be premature. But Maui County Council Member Danny Mateo is somewhat less sanguine. The state has coral cover studies that stretch back almost 12 years on Maui and to Mateo, that's a sufficient data set. I cannot wait another 12 years, he said. [The State of hawaii] had better shift gears and start protecting our valuable resources.

Source: The Maui News, Tuesday, July 31, 2007

H.R. 1205 Update And A Feinstein Gaffe

Fresh news this morning from the office of US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) concerning H.R. 1205, the Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2007:

Dear Mr. MacPherson:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for the "Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2007" (HR. 1205). I appreciate hearing from you and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

The "Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act" was introduced by Representative Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) on February 27, 2007. The bill would reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. H.R. 1205 is pending in the House of Representatives, and currently there is no Senate companion legislation. However, I will keep your comments in mind should similar legislation come before me in the United States Senate.

You may be interested to know that Senator Olympia Snowe (D-ME) introduced the "Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2007" (S. 950), of which I am an original cosponsor. The bill would develop and maintain an integrated system of coastal and ocean observations for the Nation's coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes. Using advanced buoys and other data collection tools, ocean observation will help us better understand how our changing climate impacts oceans. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind about the serious impact of climate change on the oceans and coasts as I continue to support legislation to help protect and preserve our environment.

Again, thank you for writing to me. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Which is all well and good, except it's not quite accurate. S. 1583 has been introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 7. Senator Feinstein's staff apparently isn't paying attention (and Senator Feinstein isn't fact checking.)

I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

Aw, shucks. My fellow bloggers have been very kind enough to say embarrassingly nice things about me while tagging me with two separate peer awards. Mark over at blogfish slapped me with a Bloggers For Positive Change tag while Craig at Deep Sea News handed me a Thinking Blogger Award. I'm actually touched that people read this stuff, so it's nice to get the props. Thanks guys! Though don't for a moment think I can't see through the horrid chain-mail-in-disguise of these "awards."

So now I have to think of five other blogs in the ocean or conservation world who best typify "thinking" or "positive change." The blogs I love who would make my short list have either nominated me or have alternatively been nominated in kind. But I think there still might be a few I can pass this curse award along to:

1) The Saipan Blog: Think Perez Hilton but not gay, not morbidly obese, and not blogging about trite, mindless crap that doesn't matter. But he does get as much traffic. I almost hate to nominate Angelo, since I think he already is getting an over inflated ego, but I love what this man is doing on Saipan to stir the shit, wake people up to conservation in Micronesia, and score as many pictures with hot asian go-go girls as possible. Angelo Villagomez for President!

2) Climate Shifts: Your one stop shopping for climate change news and views and overall round-up of politics and the environment. Written and maintained by Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from Down-Under, this site serves as my primary climate change information portal.

3) The Radula: Not always ocean related (despite the misleading title), but Dorid always has a daily dose of reality in her musings on topics ranging from evolution and atheism to mental health and love of nudibranchs. Plus she has the best T-shirt shop in the blogosphere.

Congrats, esteemed blogeagues! No prize, but you have my deep respect for what you do!

House Bill Proposes To Sacrifice Sea Lions For Salmon

Legislation that would make it easier for states in the Pacific Northwest to interfere with or kill protected sea lions in an effort to keep them from wiping out endangered salmon is on the move in the House.

Del. Madeline Bordallo's (D-Guam) Fisheries and Wildlife Subcommittee holds a hearing on, H.R. 1769, the "Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act," this week. The bill from Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) would lift some Marine Mammal Act protections for sea lions, allowing officials in California, Oregon and Washington to kill up to 10 sea lions or use "alternative measures" to keep them away from salmon.

The California sea lion population has increased six-fold over the past 30 years, and in recent years more than 1,000 sea lions have started to enter the lower part of the Columbia River during the peak spring salmon run. At the Bonneville Dam, along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, sea lions consumed almost 3 percent of the salmon passing the structure last year, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. It was seven times as many salmon as they ate five years ago. Officials at the dam have tried "hazing" the sea lions away from the salmon, but some have not been responsive.

Environmentalists say the real problem is not the sea lions, but the dams, since they create an artificial situation that groups the salmon. They want to eliminate four dams in the lower Snake River to help restore salmon runs. American Rivers and the Humane Society have come out against the bill.

The legislation would create an expedited permit process for parties interested in killing the sea lions. They could "lethally remove" no more than 10 animals a year. The bill includes a "sense of Congress" statement that non-lethal methods of controlling the predation are preferable to lethal methods.

Source: Allison Winter, E&E Daily reporter

The Complete Harvard Kronosaurus

A little Photoshop magic and voila... a complete 42-foot Kronosaurus queenslandicus from the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. William E. Scheville, a graduate student on a Harvard collecting expedition to Queensland, Australia in 1931, discovered the specimen. Scheville found the fossilized bones in a limestone deposit on a sheep ranch. The limestone holding the Kronosaurus was dynamited out of the ground and shipped to Harvard, where it took 26 years to be removed from the rock, cleaned, assembled and put on display.

Kronosaurus is one of the group of plesiosaurs, flesh-eating marine reptiles which have no real equivalent today and, in their time, had no exact counterpart on land, either. The plesiosaurs represent one of evolution's fascinating about-faces: after it's ancestors made the transition from ocean to land, plesiosaurs returned to the ocean. Just as whales show their land ancestry by the bones within their fins, Kronosaurus had enormous paddles for locomotion. Each paddle-like fin holds elongated finger bones.

For years after it was collected, not enough money could be found to work on the specimen. That changed when the Kronosaurus came to the attention of Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, Harvard Class of 1882, who was in his 90s and had been fascinated by sea serpents since his childhood. His great-grandfather, after going to investigate popular reports of a 60-foot sea creature, had observed what he described as a sea serpent - at longer than 40 feet - swimming in Gloucester Harbor in 1817. One can only presume Grandpa Cabot had one too many gin and tonics during happy hour.

The Cabot family, true Boston Brahmins, remain one of the legendary first families of Boston and major contributors to Harvard's early infrastructure. Together with the Adamses, Eliots, Emersons, Lowells, and Quincys they funded the enduring architecture of Harvard College and overall configuration of Harvard Yard. Strolling through the Yard you're reminded of this when passing Quincy House, Emerson Hall, and others. If you find Harvard folk insufferable today, one can only imagine what it was like during the heyday of these first families. My favorite bit of Boston doggerel from the era sort of sums it up:

And this is good old Boston,
The home of the bean and the cod,
Where the Lowells talk only to Cabots,
And the Cabots talk only to God.