Excerpt from the Blue Planet.
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Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
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Is seaweed really a “weed”?
Actually seaweed is a term given too many different types of marine plants that grow in the ocean and none of them are weeds, in the sense that we would try to get rid up them with a weed killer. The basic scientific term would really be algae. Algae (Red, brown, or green) are a […]
What’s your favorite marine mascot?
We took our daughter to her first major league baseball game this weekend. I will never forget her cheery face when she’d point at the bright orange and black cartoon Orioles on fan’s shirts and say, “buuurrd?” The Phillies lost so it wasn’t the best experience we could have hoped for at Camden Yards, but […]
10 reasons you’ll want to start to collect bottle caps
I try to reduce-reuse-recycle-refuse-reuse as much as possible but sometimes there is no way around it. Your home collects trash and waste. We seem to accumulate plastic caps. Bottle caps are one of the top five types of litter found on beaches worldwide. Imagine how many are in the sea we can’t see!? First, check […]
What is shark finning?
There has been a lot in the news recently about shark finning. It’s the inhumane practice of capturing a shark, slicing its fins off (shark fin soup is an expensive delicacy popular at Chinese weddings and Chinese New Year celebrations), and tossing the rest of the animal overboard to bleed out a die. As noted […]
Scientists discover new living fossil. What is a living fossil?
A living fossil is not Russell Johnson (the professor from Gilligan’s Island) or dear Zsa Zsa Gabor (God bless you for holding on!). I’ll chop it down to say that a living fossil is an organism that more closely resembles a fossil than anything living. For instance, the Atlantic horseshoe crab resembles the fossil record […]
Are laughing gulls really funny?
NO! Not at all. Laughing gulls, or Larus atricilla, are quite aggressive. These birds travel up and down the coasts and never have to stray far inland. They are extremely confident and spend their days foraging food from overly-relaxed beach goers. They will easily push larger birds, for instance, a pelican, right out of the […]
Do you know your seafood?
With the holidays right around the corner there will no doubt be plenty of indulgences. It is important to keep in mind that seafood can also be considered an extravagance if you’re choosing an unsustainable option to serve or taste. Did you know that the global fishing fleet can catch up to two and a […]
What about blob(fish)?
“The blobfish is the ugliest animal in the ocean” or at least that is the consensus on many blogs and websites. I am curious if you have another ‘ugly’ favorite. Please share below and in the meantime here are five fun facts about the fish that will never win a beauty contest. But, please remember […]
What is shark finning?
Basically, there is a very high demand for the fins of sharks in China for a soup. The current practice is to cut off the fins off sharks and toss the body back into the ocean. The shark does not grow a fin back like a seastar would regenerate an arm. The shark will not […]
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Top posts & pages from BCS …
- Hurricane vs. Cyclone vs. Typhoon
- A House for Hermit Crab
- How to handle a horseshoe crab
- Snot's your house
- Wednesday Wisdom: Various quotes (Alaska scenes)
- A naturalist's must-see destination: Fossil Hunting at Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, MD
- Belly biology creates lasting memories
- Five awful puns about courtship in the sea
- Horseshoe crabs confirmed as members of arachnid family
- Beyond the bag: Other plastics being banned
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