The Legacy That Lives On.
I have stood in the shadows of giants.
Wooded sentinels four times as wide as I am tall.
Counting the rings of a time gone by,
In a place where time stands still.

I have seen the edge of the canyon.
Layered bands of red rock and a history
as deep as it is wide.
Where ‘grand’ portrays more in feeling, than in name.

I have felt the simmering heat of the earth.
Spewing from the island gateway as
sulfur fills the sky in plumes.
A world, like a phoenix rising, new and powerful.

I have swam in the forests of the sea.
Brimming with life of all color,
shapes, and size.
Where diversity is as beautiful as it is resilient.

I have listened to the stories of the generations.
Of past and present. Of men and women. Of conquest and liberation.
Of those unafraid to rise up.
One nation united, despite our differences.

I have walked in the footsteps of Roosevelt and Muir.
Great and noble men who saw the world
as bigger than themselves and fought
so that others might too.

I have beheld my national and cultural identity.
Our collective inheritance and responsibility.
From sea to shining sea.
A legacy that now lives on in me.

The post The Legacy That Lives On. first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Today is legendary! Why, you ask? Well, we are celebrating TEN YEARS of DSN posts. That’s right – if you go wayyyyyyyyy back in the archives you will note that the proto-Deep Sea News empire began with a little post by Dr. M on December 13, 2006.

What were we all doing in 2006? Well as for myself (this is Holly speaking), I was just starting my PhD research in good ol’ London towne. I was listening to a lot of Pussycat Dolls, and Christina Aguilera was going through that weird jazz phase. I was smoovely fixing nematodes on glass slides to the tune of Chamillionaire, and I had just signed up to this cool new website called Facebook.

As you can fathom, a lot has changed in 10 years. The DSN crew has moved forward and onwards in our careers, many of us metamorphosing from wee little student trainees into Real Scientists. Our list of contributors has changed and evolved. We write different types of posts now (should we remind Dr. M that he used to use DSN as a cruise blog?). In light of recent world events, our message and mission has become increasingly urgent.

But other things haven’t changed – our Core Values, although not formalized in writing until 2011, have always been a fundamental part of Deep Sea News. The passion, enthusiasm, and dedication of all of our past and present writers will never change. And of course I still listen to the Pussycat Dolls (because how can you NOT?)

So in celebration of our site’s 10 year anniversary, here we present you with our Top Ten (and then some) posts in DSN History:

2006 

Wetting my toes

Kim: Do I need to explain that the very first post on DSN is also that years highlight? It’s real, it’s sweet and it kicked off ten years of online shenanigans!

2007 

Just Science Weekend: They Eat Their Young

Jarrett: I <3 DSN in 2007. You can feel the online science world trying to figure out what it was. DSN was a more news-y place, with a heavy dose of reportage on the deep sea, like this awesome interview of sub pilot David Guggenheim. But amidst that, DSN was also figuring out who it was going to become – and this gem of a piece from Peter Etnoyer epitomizes the future, showing us that not only are deep sea fish all around us in our everyday lives, but man, do they sure like to cannibalize their babies. Mmmmmm….babiez.

2008

Dumping Pharmaceutical Waste In The Deep Sea

Rebecca: 2008 was a year or short-and-sweet posts, punctuated by long and well-researched articles on everything from coral age to deep ocean waves. DSN found a unique voice in being a place not just to report on the latest news, but also provide a scientist’s perspective on the way news about the ocean is reported in the press. This was also a year of raising awareness, with Dr. M’s post on pharmaceutical dumping in the deep as a perfect example of how blogs can call attention to unique and important stories that the press might miss.  

2009 

Holly: My favorite thing about 2009 is the epicness of Kevin Zelnio, best summarized with these two posts:

TGIF: TOTELY AWSUM SEE KUKUMBR!!!11!!!!11!

This post is a HILARIOUS animated video about a very boring sea cucumber, complete with rock guitar soundtrack. I think I just re-watched it like five times.

Thank You for Caring About Ocean Education!

(the more serious and dedicated size of Zelnio, where he coordinated a campaign at DonorsChoose.org and raised over $4800 from our readers. This campaign funded Ocean Education projects in K-12 classrooms around the country!)

2010 

All the coverage of the Deep Water Horizon Spill

Kim: Let’s be real, the Macondo well blowout sucked for the Gulf. But in terms of science, DSN was on it providing weekly updates and posting readable summaries of technical reports. The entire archive is here folks.

How To Cuddle Your Lady Right, by Smoove A

In this epic post, Miriam describes how one microscopic crustacean makes all the right moves and makes the mating happen. All biology textbooks should be written like this.

2011

From the Editor’s Desk: The Giant Squid Can Be A Panda For The Ocean

Holly: First of all, I love the 2011 Editor’s Desk posts because Craig very epically summarized himself with a minimalist icon of his bald head and beard. Second, the Giant Squid is WAYYYY more awesome than those damn dolphins and whales that everyone keeps going on about. And I prefer my cuddly mascots with lethal beaks and suckers, thank you very much.

From the Editor’s Desk: The Future of Deep-Sea News

This is the post where we formalized our now infamous core values – they were the brain child of the very first DSN retreat at the Georgia Aquarium, a weekend of meeting rooms and champagne in a rotating sky hotel. One of those things turned out better than the other.

2012 

#IamScience: Embracing Personal Experience on Our Rise Through Science

Jarrett: This post embodies DSN at it’s best. Kevin Z. takes us on his deeply personal and emotional journey into science. It’s a kind of story rarely told, and one that so many need to hear.

How presidential elections are impacted by a 100 million year old coastline

In this post, Craig connects American history with geological history, and ties it all together to understand how both impacted the 2012 presidential election. This post exploded the internet.

2013 

Kim: 2013 was just so awesome, I couldn’t just pick one!

10 Reasons Why Dolphins Are A$$holes

Do I even need to explain?

A field guide to privilege in marine science: some reasons we lack diversity.

When Miriam left DSN, she went out with a deeply important and thoughtful list. If you are an ally and want to see marine science grow, read this piece.

How many people does Kaiju need to eat everyday 

Sure we love all the creatures of the deep, but we also love Hollywood’s imaginary beasts as well. Craig answers some serious questions regarding the metabolism of the monsters in Pacific Rim.

The 60 foot long jet powered animal you’ve probably never heard of

In case you didn’t know what Rebecca’s niche in the online ecosystem, this is it. Someone found a giant gelatinous tube in the sea, she identifies it, and the internetz go wild. Rebecca, helping jellies go viral since 2013.

True Facts about Ocean Radiation and the Fukushima Disaster 

SPOILER ALERT: unless you live within 100 miles of the reactor, radiation from the Fukushima Disaster is still not harmful. This post was meant to be a guide to understanding radiation in the ocean. It ended up being one of most shared posts ever and the one we received death threats over.

2014

The Ever Increasing Size of Godzilla: Implications for Sexual Selection and Urine Production

Beth: Where Craig discusses the body size characteristics of godzilla over time, and the logical implications this would have on the millions of gallons of urine that massive godzilla would generate. This post has the thing that makes me love DSN – using scientific reasoning to explain a totally ridiculous thing. And it features Craig’s weird obsession with the size of things.

Runner up:

Sex, snails,sustenance…and rock and roll 

Where Craig uses great metaphors to explain some cool scientific studies on how snails reproduce based on food availability, featuring inappropriate references to rock stars and sex, and with a bonus soundtrack!

2015 

Ten Simple Rules for Effective Online Outreach

Alex: It’s like we all wrote a blog post… together. And then published it for realsies.

2016 

On Being Scared.

Alex: In which Craig verbalizes the place we have all been. I love and admire the vulnerability in this post and that he ended it so positively… that even when shit hits the proverbial sea fan, we get to choose how we respond. We get to choose how we show up.

Runner up:

The Twelve Days of Christmas: NASA Earth Science Edition

Alex: When you get retweeted by NASA… you get a spot on the list.

(Runner up #2)

The worst ocean environments to catch them all

Rebecca: When you love Pokémon but hate crushing barometric pressure.

The post A Decade of Deep Sea Decadence first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #1: “Be passionate. Others will tell you that science should be an emotionless endeavor. Well good luck with that. If you don’t get super excited about what ever you are studying then you are probably not going to make it.”

You guys. This is EVERYTHING. PASSION IS EVERYTHING. I tell all the kids I teach science stuff to or mentor about science stuff, that this is the #1 thing you need to be a good scientist. Hell, this is just good overall life advice. If you aren’t passionate about what you are doing…. then why are you doing it?

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #2: “Embrace the World Around You.”

You like Beyoncé? Well, I freaking lover her. Can I tell you 3 ways that Beyoncé and the Rocky Intertidal are related. You damn well bet I can. Will you always remember those three things every time you hear a Beyoncé song? Chances are good. Relevance is Power. Embrace the World Around You.

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #3: “Don’t forget why you wanted to do this. When you get those rejections and your scientific career is generally weighing you down, remember why you do this… It is because sorting little snails and worms out of decaying stinking wood is the best thing that has ever happened to you.”

 I wouldn’t be the first to say it, nor will I be the last. While this is REALLY damn good advice, this is also REALLY damn hard advice. There will be times that you will most definitely forget why you are here (But then you will come back to this post and remember your brilliance!). Ocean science is full of awesome, squishy, crazy things! Ocean science is also full of crap. Sometimes, you will need to be able to wade through both. Also remember that while worms and snails make Dr. M happy….he is a nerd. Other things like seaweeds, and jellyfish, and genomes, and waves, and rum might make you happy….but you are probably a nerd too. So carry on.

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #4: “Say Things Others Do Not”

This one might be slightly cheating cause it was a DSN groupthink that included Dr. M that created this line, but this is my post so I get to do what I want. One of my most favorite DSN core values challenges the status quo of science. To say what needs to be said rather than what the PR department at your university said you could say.

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #5: “I believe that effective science communication, from the scientists themselves, must be based on a model with better integration between research and outreach. And importantly, we must teach these models to our students.”

Some advice I wish all scientists could take to heart. Not only is science communication an actual thing, but you can do it too! So many scientists I have come across, just don’t see the world this way. And the most unfortunate part is that students suffer because tools needed to do this well aren’t being presented in the classroom. It’s a spiral of doom!

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #6: “10 Reasons Why Dolphins Are A$$holes”

Need I explain further….

Dr. M’s Really Damn Good Advice #7: “Own it.  Love it. Define yourself. For all my struggles, I have won.  And so will you.”

Excuse me guys, I have something in my eye.

Real Talk: The first time I read this, I was sitting in my lab and it had been one of those real awful days. I had just started grad school and I was having an “Oh shit what did I sign up for” moment. You may be familiar. Nothing was working, classes were overwhelming, I had no secured funding, struggles were indeed real. Reading that last line from Dr. M’s “I Am Science and a Nerd” post got me through it. I felt a little less alone in a pretty dark place in my life. If this crazy bald man who studied something as weird as the Deep Sea could do it…I could do it. Thank-you Dr. M for all you have contributed to our field and for truly paving the way for the crazy kids like me to continue your legacy of work. I’ve been owning it, loving it, and defining myself ever since. And everyone else should too.

The post Some REALLY Damn Good Advice first appeared on Deep Sea News.

I fell in love with seaweed, much in the same way as Josie, albeit I was knees deep in the rocky intertidal covered in sand and all the squishy things. A magical world that many see, but very few take the time to appreciate. This oversight somewhat understandable as many algal species look like clumps of red, brown or green “stuff” when washed ashore. Not entirely exciting to the passing beachcomber.

However, having spent more hours than is considered healthy gawking at algae from all over the world, I just wished there was a way for people to see it like I did. A love built on the intricate lines and flowing fronds of the most exquisite water bound plants.

With this passion, I have collected more algae books over the years than you can count. My library is filled. But there is one book, actually brought to my attention by the lovely Dr. Martini (she is an enabler), that sits on the very top shelf. A place reserved for the best of my collection (and the best of my gin).

With the help of the illustrious Curator of the Berkley Collection and phycology queen herself, Kathy Ann Miller, author Josie Iselin compiled one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. “An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed” takes you on a colorful and vibrant adventure through littoral and sublittoral seaweed species that decorate our coastal spaces. Using a flatbed scanner, she is able to unclump the hidden secrets of these beautiful plants and reveal their inherent elegance. Masterfully, she has depicted life with these salty flowers exactly as I see it.

Beyond the larger conglomerate of specimens that fill it’s pages, Iselin goes on to discuss their natural history, every day uses, and other savory seaweed vignettes. “An Ocean Garden” is a piece of art, practical in it’s nature for both the well seasoned phycologist and the unfamiliar beach enthusiast. This compilation quite literally sheds light on and brings a new found appreciation for all who thumb through it’s pages of the majestic and not-so-secret world of seaweeds.

The post From the Top Shelf first appeared on Deep Sea News.

I now know what all the Deeplings are getting for Christmas….

This might be the best thing I have ever seen on Etsy.

The post The Hat You Didn’t Even Know You Needed. first appeared on Deep Sea News.

I wasn’t quite prepared for what I heard next….

Not to get too Kanye on you, but perhaps one of the best science rhymes of all time.

Because DSN readers are my favorite, below you will see the world-premire, first look of what is promising to be the most epic merge of aquatic sciences and hip hop to date. Prepare yourselves and stay tuned.

For more epic science raps (because who doesn’t love ’em), check out the newest round of videos put out by the Bio Logik Project this past week. Bio Logik is the deeper understanding of Biology and Ecology that is achieved when science, hip hop, and videos merge. Our collaboration emphasizes the production of scientifically accurate music videos that 1) create a more personal connection between students and science and 2) make science accessible to a broader audience.

The post Epic Science Raps of History – A teaser first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Coral reefs are in crisis. They are fragile. They are complex. And they are disappearing faster than we are able to understand them.

This threat is exacerbated by an ecological battle raging on reef lines between corals and seaweeds. When fish are removed, seaweeds run rampant, and corals suffer. This negative feedback loop is often mitigated with the implementation of Marine Protected Areas (MPA).

Essentially….Save the fish, Save the world coral.

MPAs globally are established on the premise that they will not only protect critical reef habitat, but also act as a source for larval export to surrounding regions. This is known as the spillover effect and it represents a central tenet in the creation and management of these areas.

However a seminal study, out today in Science, demonstrates that coral and fish larvae can actually distinguish the differences between protected areas and degraded ones on the basis of the reef’s chemical scent alone.  Resounding larval choice for healthy reefs puts into question the validity of the critical “spillover” process for these areas.

Exploring three different marine protected regions off the Coral Coast of Fiji, Dr. Danielle Dixon and her team were able to provide outstanding evidence in laboratory flume studies for the case that when coral and fish larvae are given the choice between water taken from an MPA and that of a non-MPA (representing healthy and degraded reefs) that they will chose the former. Over and over and over again. This pattern held true for three different coral species (genus: Acropora) and 15 species of reef fish spanning multiple families and taxonomic groups.

As if that was not remarkable enough, this larval behavior is dependent on the presence of cues stemming from certain coral and seaweed species in the water. For instance, they discovered that larval fish prefer water treated with corals that are more susceptible to stress over those that are less. With presence of more susceptible corals on a reef being a good indication of a healthier area where such sensitive corals may persist. Furthermore, larvae were able to distinguish between different types of seaweed cues.  They found larvae dissuaded more by the scent of seaweeds that had a higher likelihood of blooming then those that might not necessarily take over a whole reef. A seaweed-dominated reef not exactly representing good habitat for a baby fish and especially a baby coral.

Once Dixon and Co. had discovered these trends in the lab, they wanted to corroborate these findings in the field, a truly monumental task. Using special tiles to track where larvae landed in both MPAs and non-MPAs, these researchers found that although larvae were present in the non-MPAs, they were not settling there. Conversely, larvae were found settled in abundance within MPAs.

Undoubtedly, the ability of fish to find a healthy habitat to call home is critical, even more so for corals that are unable to move after they settle.  This study is the first to establish that fish and coral larvae can smell the difference between MPAs and non-MPAs and are actively choosing to settle in a more suitable, coral-filled habitat over one that is dominated by noxious seaweeds.

Due to the fact that the reefs surrounding these MPAs have degraded beyond an unknown tipping point, connectivity between areas is minimal, and spillover does not appear to be occurring. This does not in any way mean that Marine Protected Areas are not working to their intended purpose, quite the contrary. They are most definitely effective. However, with this knowledge we are now aware that they just might not be enough. Managers must look into ways to enhance the “Call of the Reef” or the good smelling corals that attract settlers and decrease the tremulous odor of algal domination to help guarantee a better future for reefs everywhere.

Reference:

Dixson et al., “Chemically mediated behavior of recruiting corals and fishes: A tipping point that may limit reef recovery.” (August 2014,Science). http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6199/892 

The post What the "Call of the Reef" is Telling Us first appeared on Deep Sea News.

“I think it’s important to establish, first of all, that Irrawaddy dolphins are jerks to study.”

Not exactly the preface I was expecting.

“One of my esteemed colleagues describes them as, ‘cute, but generally irritating.’  They tend to be boat-shy and will scatter in all directions (popping up hither and thither), they surface low to the water, have relatively tiny dorsal fins, and sometimes will surface and re-submerge without even showing them.” Tara continues sarcastically, “This makes photo-identification absolutely delightful. I have said many not-so-nice things to these adorable critters.”

Despite popular notion, studying dolphins entails it’s fair share of frustrations. No one understands this better than Scripps Institute of Oceanography scientist and premier “waddy” wrangler, Tara Whitty.

Armed with her camera and clipboard, Tara scans the waters of Malampaya Sound for signs of her rather elusive study species. Unfortunately, the Irrawaddy’s ephemeral presence is most likely attributed to their ICUN designation rather than their secret plight to evade Tara’s ever-watchful eye. Though I can’t say that for sure.

“Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are a relatively little-studied species of dolphin distributed patchily around Southeast Asia. They occur in riverine, estuarine, and coastal habitats, which puts them in contact with a number of human activities. Though the species as a whole is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, several subpopulations (i.e., geographically separated groups) are listed as Critically Endangered. Major threats include accidental entanglement in fishing gear, or “bycatch”, as well as habitat degradation (particularly for the riverine subpopulations), pollution, and boat traffic,” Tara explains in her research blog Of Dolphins & Fishers.

As a conservation ecologist, Tara’s research with the Irrawaddy is critical in our greater understanding of these creatures, their role in the ecosystem, and what efforts we might take to recover their rapidly fleeting populations. Yet, the dolphins are merely players in a greater underlying narrative.

Whether by tradition or necessity, many of the coastally developing nations that encapsulate the Irrawaddy’s home range continue to depend on small-scale and artisanal fisheries. Despite the fisheries being relatively low-tech, they are vital to the livelihood and food security of millions of people. Conversely, these fisheries exhibit the greatest threat to dwindling dolphin populations through accidental capture by fishing gear. Balancing the complicated interface between human well-being and charismatic animal conservation, dolphin bycatch presents a problem not easily remedied.

Thus, Ms. Whitty has taken to the business of mapping conservation-scapes. Stepping back and looking at the whole picture, these conservation-scapes consider not only human impact on dolphins, but the social, cultural, and economic factors that drive human-dolphin interactions. Furthermore, her work examines the obstacles and opportunities that exist for fisheries management and marine conservation within these communities.

Through extensive interviews with the local populace spanning her four study sites (Thailand, Indonesia, and two in the Philippines), Tara compares conservation-scapes across locales to better understand how management might be improved in these places. These household surveys cover topics ranging from fishing practices and local dolphin knowledge to perceptions of marine resource management and governance structure. Now, it would seem that such direct interactions would not bode well for “prying scientists,” however this did not appear to be the case for Tara and her team.

She fondly recalls, “Often, we were treated with great hospitality – given the best (sometimes only) chairs in the household, treated to snacks and extremely sweet coffee or tea, and sometimes fresh coconuts. I also had several charitable local women offer to find me a local husband: ‘You are married? No? Ah. When do you come back here? OK. I will find some men for you.’”

When not being promised off to the locals, Tara and her interview crew continue to pinpoint potential pathways for improving conservation and fisheries management practices in these areas. With this goal, SAFRN, more formally know as the Small-scale and Artisanal Fisheries Research Network, was founded.

At it’s core, SAFRN is more or less a “support group” for those interested in doing interdisciplinary research within small-scale fisheries. Often times, research that is done in these areas is not cohesive, with multiple projects in progress, but little to no communication between them. Thus, with collaborators from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego State University, and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, “SAFRN aims to serve as a hub for interdisciplinary communication and collaboration on methods for studying small-scale and artisanal fisheries, and for elucidating the commonalities and differences across fisheries in different regions where this research is conducted.”

So what does this all equate to? Does Tara’s research on the inter-tangled lives of humans and dolphins end in a happily-ever-after?

“I’ll be blunt: I have serious doubts about whether the dolphins at 3 of my sites are going to make it.  They have tiny population numbers, with bycatch beyond the sustainable “Potential Biological Removal” rate.  I believe that this represents the situation for many subpopulations of marine mammals, particularly riverine and coastal cetaceans, and thinking about it can be disheartening.  I spent a good amount of time feeling discouraged, wondering, ‘What am I doing here? What’s the point?’

Here are some thoughts that emerged from that process:  This particular conservation issue (marine mammal bycatch in small-scale fisheries in developing countries) generally coexists with a suite of other issues that need to be addressed regardless of the charismatic animals, for environmental and social sustainability.  Maybe we can’t save these dolphins, but “mapping conservations-capes” at these sites might be able to help improve future management of other issues related to ecosystem health and human well-being.

We need to be candid about conservation outlooks.  Not alarmist, not carelessly optimistic, but candid and pragmatic.  We will almost certainly lose subpopulations, perhaps subspecies or species, of marine mammals due to bycatch in the coming decades.  That is the reality of the situation. Effectively dealing with that reality will require growth in how we approach conservation research. ”

For the dolphins and many cetaceans that roam this area, the future looks grim. However, Tara does not believe all is for naught. Many of these coastal communities are in desperate need of interdisciplinary data sets that take into consideration the ecosystem as a whole, humans included. Organizations such as SAFRN are needed to streamline this information, make it accessible, and ultimately, utilize this data in a way that implements sustainable solutions.

The Irrawaddy are merely the sentinel species, forewarning us of impending danger, not only in Southeast Asia, but globally. Are we listening?

For more about Tara Whitty’s research and the Small-Scale Artisanal Fisheries Network, visit:

http://artisanalfisheries.ucsd.edu

http://tswhitty.com

Special thanks to Tara Whitty, for letting me tell this story for all of you here at Deep Sea News and for dealing with my many, many e-mails. Salamat. 

Related articles

• Saving dolphins & Managing small-scale fisheries
• Introducing SAFRN’s Blog!

The post The Plight of the Irrawaddy first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Recently we at Deep-Sea News have tried to combat misinformation about the presence of high levels of Fukushima radiation and its impact on marine organisms on the west coast of the United States.  After doing thorough research, reading the scientific literature, and consulting with experts and colleagues, we have found no evidence of either.  In the comments of those posts and on Twitter, readers have asked us about the “evidence” of dead marine life covering 98% of ocean floor in the Pacific as directly attributed to Fukushima radiation.  After some searching I found the main “news” article that is referenced.

The Pacific Ocean appears to be dying, according to a new study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California recently discovered that the number of dead sea creatures blanketing the floor of the Pacific is higher than it has ever been in the 24 years that monitoring has taken place, a phenomenon that the data suggests is a direct consequence of nuclear fallout from Fukushima.

Before I discuss this “evidence” further, I want to provide a little background.  I am a deep-sea biologist and over the last several years my research has focused on the biodiversity of deep-sea communities off the California coast.  Like many others, I am also working toward understanding how deep-sea life will respond to increased anthropogenic impacts particularly climate change.  This resulted in a high profile publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.  I mention this background because 1. It explains why I view myself as an expert to comment on this and 2. it explains why I was confounded for a moment when I thought I had missed a paper in a journal I have published in, on a geographic region I study, and on a topic close to my own research.  And to boot from researchers at institution (MBARI) I was formerly employed with.

The reason I am unfamiliar with a study providing evidence of  “Dead sea creatures cover 98 percent of ocean floor off California coast; up from 1 percent before Fukushima” is because no such study exists.  Here are the details of the actual study.

Ken Smith’s group at MBARI has monitored a deep-sea abyssal site called Station M off the California coast continuously since 1989 (24 years).  Their work has lead to many major findings.  A majority of deep-sea animals are completely reliant on the sinking of food from the surface, i.e. marine snow. One of the most important findings from Smith and colleagues’ work is that rhythm of deep-sea life is intrinsically linked to the production of phytoplankton at the oceans surface. Thus El Nino/La Nina cycles and other such meteorological/oceanic events leave a deep-sea signature.  Ken’s research has been paradigm shifting for deep-sea research.  We have moved from a belief of a stable and climate-buffered view of the deep sea to one of a dynamic system intimately related to seasonal, annual, and decadal changes in surface production and ocean currents.

This group’s newest paper

Smith, K. L., H. A. Ruhl, M. Kahru, C. L. Huffard, and A. D. Sherman. (2013). Deep ocean communities impacted by changing climate over 24 y in the abyssal northeast Pacific Ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1315447110.

reports findings that large and episodic pulses of marine snow occur.  These large blizzards are met by hungry deep-sea animals that quickly gobble the meal.  The amount of food these blizzards deliver are huge equaling years, if not decades, of normal marine snow.  But the amounts and frequency of both normal marine snow and the blizzards are changing.

From 2003 to 2012 the amount of phytoplankton production, fodder for marine snow, was higher than years prior.  After 2006, the frequency of spikes in marine snow, i.e. blizzards, also increased.   In the summer of 2011, the first of three dramatic blizzards occurred.  During this event a large number of diatoms bloomed at the surface and sank rapidly to the seafloor.  The second event in the spring/early summer of 2012, was triggered by a major bloom of gelatinous salps. As mentioned in the press release of the paper, “These salps became so abundant that they blocked the seawater intake of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, located on the California coast east of Station M.”  When these salps died, as they do after a bloom, they carpeted the seafloor.  In September 2012 another plankton bloom occurred and this combined with fecal pellets from salps (who hungrily munched on the algae) again carpeted the floor with marine snow.  In addition the greatest amounts of marine snow and consumption by deep-sea life (as measured by respiration rates) occurred in the last two years of the time series.

What caused these recent changes in marine snow?

From the paper,

The abyssal area surrounding Station M is influenced by the California Current, which is experiencing increased wind stress, resulting in increased upwelling of nutrient-rich subsurface waters, contributing to increased primary production. With increasing primary production there has been a corresponding increase in POC flux and detrital aggregate accumulation on the sea floor over the past several years.

And from the press release,

The researchers note that deep-sea feasts may be increasing in frequency off the Central California coast, as well as at some other deep-sea study sites around the world. Over the last decade, the waters off Central California have seen stronger winds, which bring more nutrients, such as nitrate, to the ocean surface. These nutrients act like fertilizer, triggering blooms of algae, which, in turn, sometimes feed blooms of salps. The fallout from all of this increased productivity eventually ends up on the seafloor.

Nowhere does the paper or the press release mention radiation or Fukushima. Nilch, negatory, nadda, never.

But this is not good enough for staff writer Ethan Hunt and others outlets that continue to recycle this story.

Though the researchers involved with the work have been reluctant to pin Fukushima as a potential cause — National Geographic, which covered the study recently, did not even mention Fukushima — the timing of the discovery suggests that Fukushima is, perhaps, the cause.

MBARI today also issued a press release addressing the “several misleading stories [that] have been in circulation on the internet.”  The press release points out the obvious.

1. MBARI research actually showed evidence that there were MORE algae and salps living in California surface waters during 2011 and 2012 than during the previous 20 years.
2. Salps are small gelatinous animals that eat single-celled algae. They are known to experience large blooms in their populations. Large populations of salps have been periodically documented in California waters since at least the 1950s.
3. Blooms of gelatinous animals (including salps) and single-celled algae are a common occurrence off the California Coast. They come and go, running their course when they use up their food and nutrients.
4. Animals and algae that live in the surface waters eventually die. If they are not eaten in surface waters then they sink to the deep sea. This is the main food source for deep-sea animal and microbe communities.
5. Soon after the salp bloom and die-off at the surface in 2012, the deep seafloor at the researchers’ study site was littered with dead salps. This was observed at one location, and salps were the only dead animals observed in large numbers.
6. There is no indication that any of the events in this study were associated with the Fukushima nuclear accident.

I will also note the Fukushima disaster occurred in March 2011, five years after the researches begin to see changes in surface production.   To reiterate the statements points, there is evidence of more life recently in California waters. The supposed “die off” is a common feature of any bloom of short-lived invertebrates. The “die off” was experienced at one location and with one species.  The entire Pacific seafloor is not littered with dying organisms.  I would also point out that these massive food falls of marine invertebrates are a common occurrence. For example, in 2002 a massive deposition of jellyfish was seen in the deep Arabian Sea.

As I write this post on this cold Saturday morning, my attitude matches.  I have wanted to write about this paper for a while here at DSN.  And I’m sorry I did not.  I shoudn’t be defending great science against propaganda and poor journalism.  I should be writing about how this paper answers a major question about the deep sea.  Previous studies have noted that the energy requirements of deep-sea animals could not be met by normal and minimal marine snow.  Research over the last decade or so set out to determine how this deficit is made up.  Smith and colleagues’ work solves this riddle.  Deep-sea animals simply wait for a sporadic feast.  Smith’s work suggests this is likely linked to climatic events.

If anything the paper is a cautionary tale of climate change not radiation.

The post Is the sea floor littered with dead animals due to radiation? No. first appeared on Deep Sea News.

The other day I received a slightly disconcerting text message from my cousin regarding Shark Week. She has two young kids one age 6 and the other age 9. The conversation went a bit like this…

   Cousin: “The kids want to know…what is your opinion on Megalodon? They get all their scientific knowledge from Discovery Channel! =) But they want a real scientist’s opinion.”

Despite my better judgment (and because there was nothing else on T.V.) I had watched the Megalodon atrocity that kicked off what is usually my most favorite broadcasting week of the year. Appalled that this is what Discovery had resorted to, I sadly turned the channel and had decided that was enough Shark Week for me.

My reply: “<Insert Megalodon/Discovery Channel Rant>”

Eventually we talked it out and set the record straight for the kids and went about our lives. However, I just couldn’t shake the conversation.

Discovery Channel had let them down. It had let us all down.

In the past couple of days, I find comfort that the scientific community has made apparent their disapproval of these Shark Week shenanigans. But what about my little cousins? What about the others like them who “get all their scientific knowledge from Discovery Channel?” What is their take on all of this?

I wanted to know. So I asked. We ended up talking for 45 minutes. And let me tell you, there is nothing more humerous, interesting, and ultimately telling than Shark Week from the perspectives of a 6 and 9 year old.

They didn’t know whether or not to believe that Megalodon was somewhere to be found off the waters of South Africa. Hence their earlier inquiry. They did call Discovery out on their shotty animations (to which I laughed), but they didn’t know that the scientists were actors (to which I didn’t). In fact, they were shocked when I told them. They believed in the evidence of a half bitten whale.

“They spread that information out there, and then people start thinking it’s real. Then they start getting afraid of sharks, and then they start killing them…and that’s a problem.” A direct quote….from a 9 year old.

When I asked them how they would know if a scientist was real or not? They said they didn’t know and that was a hard question. Honestly, would you know?

We went on to talk about their favorite shows, the ones that told them cool facts about sharks. They wanted to know more about ones that lived in the deep and didn’t want to see people getting eaten, but rather to see them actually interacting with sharks.

I asked if some of the shows made them scared to go in the water. “Kind of,” they replied. They didn’t want mom paddle boarding out there, because they had seen a paddle boarder with sharks all around them.

We discussed shark conservation. What they did know about shark finning they didn’t get from Discovery Channel, but they thought it was something people needed to know about.

Eventually, they turned the tables on me and started asking the questions. Why are some sharks aggressive? What is the average length of a shark? How fast do they have to go to jump out of the water? If it wasn’t for our limited time, I don’t think the questions would have stopped.

Throughout this entire conversation, sometimes they would cite word for word something they had watched on Shark Week. These kids are paying attention.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL. THESE KIDS ARE PAYING ATTENTION.

We ended our most enlightening conversation by discussing the role sharks play in the ecosystem. Not only did they understand, they were the ones who told me. Asking if they had heard that on Shark Week, they said no, but concluded with “Isn’t that the stuff people need to know though?”

I adore my little cousins and hope that they inspire you as much as they inspire me.  They love and respect the ocean. I have even kept this on the fridge for the past couple of years to remind myself that they look up to me and as such I must set the best example I possibly can. Thus, I resume watching Shark Week despite my disgust, so that I may continue this conversation with them. They deserve the truth and I don’t want to let them down.

The post Why I Still Watch Shark Week first appeared on Deep Sea News.