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So you think you want to be a marine biologist?

October 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Have you ever watched an epic movie about the sea and dreamed of being a “marine biologist” or “oceanographer”? Have you ever had thoughts after that thought about … what is the difference between a “marine biologist” and “oceanographer”? Marine biology, or the study of life in the sea, is actually just one branch of the oceanography tree. Oceanography is the larger discipline of describing and recording the contents and processes of the ocean. There are four branches of oceanography. Check out the difference below:

  • If you are a chemical oceanographer you might study (but, are not limited to …): the sea’s oxygen levels and their impact on marine life; toxic dumping; vents on the ocean floor; rainfalls.
  • If you are a physical oceanographer you might study (but, are not limited to …): oil spills and their travel patterns, ocean currents, alternative power, beaches, and shorelines.
  • If you are a marine geologist you might study (but are not limited to …): maps the ocean floor, volcanoes, trenches, abyssal plains, and helps predict the continental drift.
  • If you are a biological oceanographer (e.g., marine biologist) you might study (but, are not limited to …): ocean plants, animals, and all other sea life (i.e., bacteria!).

So, where do you fit in to all of these? Take this fun and informal online quiz from the New Hampshire Sea Grant to see which branch of oceanography would suit you best. My results are below! Go figure the “related fields” includes education.

What was your score? Anything surprising?

Filed Under: Oceanography, People, Science Communication Tagged With: , , , ,

Facts about ‘Finding Dory’ friends

June 26, 2016 by 3 Comments

Maybe it’s because I’m a full-time teacher now, but my favorite character in Finding Dory is the Sting Ray. I mean, if it wasn’t for the class trip to learn about migration Dory – the blue tang with short-term memory loss –  may never had thought about “going home” and the trek to look for her parents may never have happened. She is supported on the journey with Marlin and Nemo – a class act father and son clown anemonefish duo. However, they meet some other amazing new creatures and reconnect with some old friends. Here are some of my favorite facts to share about Hank the Octopus, Destiny the Whale Shark, Bailey the Beluga, Crush the Green Sea Turtle, and – of course, the Sting Ray Teacher!

Octopus_BCS

StingRay_BCS

DestinyWhaleShark_BCS

Beluga_BCS

 

GreenSeaTurtle_BCS

What are your thoughts on the Finding Dory film? Did anyone catch that Dory should now have been able to speak “whale” because of her friendship with Destiny – given Destiny is actually a fish and not a whale?

Filed Under: Biodiversity, Cephalopods, Fish, Marine Mammals, Skates and Rays, Vertebrates Tagged With: , ,

What they’re into … with John Bruno (SeaMonster)

August 28, 2012 by 3 Comments

It’s time for another installment of the What Marine Conservationists Are Into series and appropriately we’re heading into fall with a professor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In case you didn’t know this is a series I have been featuring each Tuesday this summer to get a special sneak peek at the different personalities behind the scientists, activists, and educators (including bloggers) who play an integral role in the marine science conservation field. It’s essentially an extension of the overwhelmingly popular and well done Tumblr blog, This Is What A Scientist Looks Like, (BCS was featured in April!) which sets out to illustrate that scientists are not just crazy haired nerds in lab coats. I’ve sent a list of 15 random questions to some folks I know and asked that each person share at least their answers to 5 of them.

John Bruno is a marine ecologist and Professor at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  His research is focused on marine biodiversity, coral reef ecology and conservation and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.  John earned his Ph.D. from Brown University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University in disease ecology.  He is currently working primarily in Belize, the Bahamas, Cuba and the Galapagos Islands.

John is an avid blogger and co-developer of the oceans website SeaMonster (www.theseamonster.net).  For fun, he reads, bikes, surfs and kitesurfs and in his spare time he is developing a blue carbon offsetting company (The BlueCarbon Project) that is restoring mangroves in northern coastal Ecuador. More info: www.johnfbruno.com

Are you a night owl or a morning person?
When I was younger, I’d get up at 5 to work (write papers, lectures, etc).  That rarely happens anymore and I am staying up later and later these days.  We have a screened porch attached to our bedroom that is 15ft off the ground and we spend a lot of time out there at night, listening to owls and coyotes, reading and watching movies late in the night.  I’ve also got a hammock out there, where I do a lot of my writing.  The porch is definitely my favorite room.

Which sitcom character do you relate to?
I don’t even own a TV and don’t know many sitcom characters, but I am reading the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson and can very much relate to both Salander and Blomkvist in their intense focus on and need for justice – although in my case, I want justice for the oceans.  Like Salander, I am also quite introverted although I am not a computer hacker and don’t have a photographic memory.

What is your favorite sundae topping?
Fruit and grape nuts!

What is your favorite pastime?
If I am not working or hanging out with my wife and three daughters, then I am surely either biking, surfing, kitesurfing, swimming or reading.  I basically never sit still and do nothing.  I’m usually in motion, doing something risky.  And I loathe board games and television.

What three things would you take with you to an island?
Funny you should ask, since most of my travel for work is to islands, usually in the Caribbean.  I always pack a knife, a hat and mask. That is all you need in life.

And, with that I hope everyone is off to a great start to the academic year. I have a few more profiles, but if you ‘re interested in sharing or know someone else that should participate please do not hesitate to contact me at info@beachchairscientist.com. Check out everyone that has participated so far this summer. It’s quite the eclectic group of personalities keeping the ocean conservation movement so lively and full of momentum! I love it!

Filed Under: Conservation, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Inspiration, People, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Sink your teeth into this: 20 facts about shark teeth

August 12, 2012 by 5 Comments

Are you ready to sink your teeth into Shark Week 2012? Here are 20 facts about shark teeth to get you started. Discovery Channel’s annual event looks like it will quite the extravaganza  for its 25th year. Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live has been brought in as the official ‘chief shark officer‘. I have my reservations about the summer ritual now as a marine conservationist (Read this article I resonated with last year “Should Shark Week Focus On Conservation?” from Care2.org), but love that it’s an event that brings people together and creates an interest in the marine ecosystem. I have many fond memories of my brothers, parents, and I slowing down at the end of summer to watch sharks in a way we never could from the shoreline.

1. Shark teeth are not attached to gums on a root like our teeth.
2. Sharks typically lose at least one tooth per week.
3. Sharks lose their teeth because they may become stuck in prey or broken and forced out.
4. Shark teeth are arranged in neat conveyor belt rows and can be replaced within a day of losing one.
5. Sharks average out to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw. Although most have 5 and then there is the bull shark that has 50 rows of teeth.
6. Shark teeth are popularly found as beach treasures because sharks shed 1000s of teeth in a lifetime. Although, don’t get yourself in trouble if you decide to collect them. Recently, over 2,400 shark teeth were confiscated from a passenger in India (shark teeth are an illegal import prohibited under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972).
7. Well after a shark dies and its body decomposes its teeth will fossilize.
8. Fossilized shark teeth are not white because they are usually covered with sediment (which prevents oxygen and bacteria from getting to them).
9. It takes about 10,000 years for a shark tooth to fossilize. The most commonly found shark teeth fossils are from 65,000 year ago (the Cenozoic era).
10. Venice, FL (on the Gulf of Mexico) calls itself the “shark tooth capital of the world”.
11. Sharks are born with complete sets of teeth and swim away from their mother to fend for themselves.
12. A shark’s tooth shape is dependent upon its diet. For instance, the shortfin mako razor like teeth tear flesh, the tiger shark has piercing teeth to cut flesh, and the zebra shark has dense flattened teeth because it feasts upon mollusks.
13. Whale sharks have 3,000 little teeth that are of little use. They’re filter feeders that find food by sifting through their gills.
14. The tooth of the megalodon range from 31/2 – 7 inches long and can weigh more than a pound!
15. Shark teeth were recently discovered to contain fluoride.
16.  Sharks do not suffer from cavities.
17. The inside of shark and human teeth contains a soft mineral known as dentin.
18. The coating of shark teeth is acid resistant and less water soluble than our teeth.
19. Shark teeth and human teeth are equally as hard.
20. Even though many sharks have sharp teeth that could inflict a wound to humans, sharks should always be treated with respect.

Image (c) http://www.fancynancypantsinct.blogspot.com

Filed Under: Conservation, Random Fun!, Sharks Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

What they’re into … with Mark Gibson (Breaching the Blue)

July 31, 2012 by 3 Comments

This is a series I’ve been featuring each Tuesday this summer to get a special sneak peek at the different personalities behind the scientists, activists, and educators (including bloggers) who play an integral role in the marine science conservation field. It’s essentially an extension of the overwhelmingly popular and well done Tumblr blog, This Is What A Scientist Looks Like, (BCS was featured in April!) which sets out to illustrate that scientists are not just crazy haired nerds in lab coats. I’ve sent a list of 15 random questions and asked that each person share at least their answers to 5 of them. Here’s what Mark Gibson had to say.

Mark at Ted Turner’s Flying D Ranch, a model ranch in terms of species conservation and land restoration.

Mark runs Breaching the Blue, a website on the “politics, economics, and human dimensions of the global ocean”.  He says you can think of it as a sort of ‘digital nerdery’ – a place and space to tinker with ideas on ocean conservation and politics. These days he spends a lot of time thinking on how we might rebuild fish stocks through innovations in fishing rights and reduce illegal fishing through the application of criminological theory.

He studied international affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, DC, and tailored his coursework to look at marine policy.  He sees this as a perfect example of how you don’t need to go to a ‘blue’ school to do ocean work. In fact, the combination of a more traditional international security education with ocean affairs led to his tackling of a lot of interesting issues, from the political economy of MPA selection to the international law that would govern displaced island nations.

After graduating, Mark worked at Oceana and the Pew Environment Group.  This led him to some interesting work, from evaluating the damages to fishermen after the Deepwater Horizon Spill to a full-scale policy analysis of Europe’s deep-sea fishing. A major interest of his is helping the NGO world better use all the great economic data out there.  Why work so hard to make moral arguments when so much of the ocean could be protected on economic grounds alone?  He continues to work in ocean conservation in DC, but spares us the details to maintain his independence.

In the long term, Mark hopes to have his own consulting practice that would analyze the economics of fisheries crime and efficacy of enforcement activities.  The aim would be to offer a knowledge product that would a) increase the efficiency of enforcement efforts, b) increase the value of fishery access rights, and c) improve overall conservation. He’s now exploring how he might go about that.

Outside of oceans, Mark spends his spare time rock climbing, practicing pop psychology as a Myers-Briggs enthusiast, and promoting the slightly eccentric diet and lifestyle known as ‘Paleo’.

What is the last thing you bought that you shouldn’t have?
More books. I’ve committed myself to not expanding the Gibson library until the end of the summer.

What is your favorite fruit flavor?
Banana.

What is your favorite Sunday breakfast?
Avocado and mushroom scramble with a grass-fed beef patty, fresh berries, and artisanal coffee.

What’s your favorite midnight snack?
Almond butter.

Are you a night owl or a morning person?
Morning person.

What is your favorite room in your home?
The basement.  I have a ‘Bat Cave’ with a small library and a large cache of climbing gear, diving equipment, and other outdoor paraphernalia.

Which sitcom character do you relate to?
I relate equally to Ron Swanson and Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation. Go figure.

What is your favorite scent?
Fresh coconut.

What is your favorite sundae topping?
I don’t eat ice cream, but it would probably be dark chocolate or raspberries.

What is your favorite pastime?
Scuba diving.  The best job I ever had was as a divemaster in the Bay Islands.

What three things would you take with you to an island?
A sea kayak, a tent, and a bottle of hard cider.

How superstitious are you?
Not at all.

What is your favorite day of the week?
Friday.

Are you a cat person, dog person, or neither?
Dog person.

If you were a geometric shape, what would you like to be?
An octagon.

What’s some other random favorite information about you?
Favorite blogs: Marginal Revolution and the Dan Ariely Blog.
Music: Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and Steve Earle
Movies: The Life Aquatic, Moon, 3:30 to Yuma
What I’m reading: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Why People Obey the Law, Managing Small-Scale Fisheries: Alternative Directions and Methods, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, and The Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communication

Thanks to Mark for participating in this questionnaire and I hope you’re finding time to get through that library. Check out the other great folks that contributed to the “What they’re into …” series this summer.

Filed Under: Conservation, Inspiration, People, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

12 good non-fiction books about fish

September 29, 2010 by 3 Comments
  1. Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenburg (read a review here.)
  2. Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
  3. On the Run: An Angler’s Journey Down the Striper Coast by David Dibendetto
  4. Giant Bluefin by Douglas Whynott
  5. The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America’s Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town by Mark Kurlansky
  6. The Unnatural History of the Sea by Callum Roberts
  7. Tuna: A Love Story by Robert Ellis
  8. The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America: H. Bruce Franklin
  9. The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat by Charles Clover
  10. The Empty Ocean by Richard Ellis
  11. 5 Easy Pieces: The Impact of Fisheries on Marine Ecosystems by Daniel Pauly
  12. Striper Wars: An American Fish Story by Dick Russell

Beach Chair Scientist also has list of great movies, fiction books and blogs about the sea!

Image (c) Island Press.

Filed Under: Fish, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What is the best book about the ocean?

July 31, 2009 by 1 Comment

That seems like a fun question. And, worthwhile, especially since we wrote about the best beach movies this winter. But…Are we talking non-fiction or fiction? Let’s just say for the sake of relaxation you are asking about fiction. I can name some that come to mind, but, would love to hear feedback from others as well!Moby_Dick_by_KissMyShades

Here is my list:

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I am sure there are many more that I have yet to read…please add your favorites to the comment section. Thanks!

Has anyone read Robinson Crusoe by Robert Louis Stevenson? I feel like that would be worthy of the list, but, don’t want to say I read it when I never did…

Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and enter let us know or e-mail beachchairscientist@gmail.com!

image (c) deviantart.com

Filed Under: Random Fun!

Who are the top celebrity ocean advocates?

February 19, 2009 by 1 Comment
Actor Ted Danson (cropped from original)
Image via Wikipedia

Wow! What a fun question to research, thank you! (You’ll surely notice I was picky because there are many environmental activists in Hollywood but  and tried to keep the list to those that focus on primarily oceans.)

I am such a fan of giving back no matter how much I believe we all make a difference. I find myself giving my time to local clean-ups, making contributions to Surfrider Foundation, National American Association of Environmental Education, or Mid-Atlantic Marine Educators Associations, and just in general pitching in where I can.

Here is a list of some celebrity ocean advocates.

Ted Danson, recently appeared before the House Committee on Natural Resources to testify again off-shore drilling. Board member of Oceana.

Sam Waterston board member of Oceana.

Pierce Brosnan donates his time and energy to Oceana, Waterkeeper Alliance, Ocean Futures Society, California Coastal Protection Network, among many others.

Cousin Jennifer did some lobbying and convinced me to put Hayden Panettiere on the list. She is an outspoken advocate for marine mammals (including I think a brief brush with the law for some protesting with Greenpeace). One of her main organizations for this platform is Save the Whales Again.

I know also that musician Jack Jackson has done quite a bit on behalf of the oceans.

For all the people listed above I’d like to say ‘thank you’ for giving a prominent voice to the oceans.

Added 5/9: By default I think that Ewan McGregor can be added to the list since he is rumored to play Paul Watson, founder of Greenpeace, in ‘Ocean Warrior‘.

Please feel free to let me know if you think of others. Just e-mail info@beachchairscientist.com!

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Filed Under: Ocean, People, Random Fun!, Test Your Knowledge Tagged With: , , , , , ,