Sorry, no content matched your criteria.
Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
Follow BCS on Twitter
My TweetsWant updates on BCS posts?
Scroll through the BCS archives …
Learn more on …
Random posts from BCS …
Have you watched Ocean Frontiers yet?
Ocean Frontiers is a movie you cannot miss the opportunity to watch. If not because you are genuinely interested in a film that outlines the transition of thought from the “the outlook is grim for the future of the ocean” to “there is a light at the end of the tunnel for our ocean“, then […]
The First Beach Chair Scientist post is about my favorite animal – The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
Some might say that the horseshoe crab is quite possibly the scariest looking creature along the shoreline. However, I disagree. There’s actually a sweetheart of an animal underneath that tough, pointy, chitin exoskeleton. I am certain that the horseshoe crab has survived since before the time of the dinosaurs due to its ability to adapt […]
Eight quotes to remember
I’ve been exploring a lot of new museums lately since I just moved to the Chicagoland area. One thing I’ve noticed is the abundance of inspirational quotes on walls. I love this method of making use of space and design. However, many (many, many) of them are quotes from men. It’s no surprise given that […]
How do sea stars eat?
First, sea stars grip their prey (e.g., bivalves, such as clams and oysters) with their suction feet and pry them apart to eat the muscle inside the shells. Then, once the bivalve’s shell is open, the stomach of the sea star emerges from the middle of the underside of its star-shaped body to absorb the […]
How do fish float?
There are a few different answers – depending on what type of fish we are asking about. The most sophisticated types of fishes – bony fishes – have a swim bladder. These fish can inflate their swim bladder with gas from a special gas gland. The gas is basically oxygen from the fish’s blood. Bony […]
Is a starfish really a fish?
No. The classic common name is very misleading. Scientists and environmental educators are transitioning their language to seastar when referring to this animal because, well, it is not a fish. The seastar is in the same family as the sea urchin, sea cucumber, sand dollar and a few others that all have these things in […]
Syzygy and Supermoons
OK, just in case you are playing some pub trivia this summer I want to mention the phenomenons of syzygy and supermoons. In celestial terms, syzygy refers to when three heavenly bodies (for instance the sun, the moon, and the Earth) are aligned. This alignment typically enhances tides to an exceptional level. In marine science, […]
National Hagfish Day is October 20th
You may not know it, but, tomorrow is National Hagfish Day. The day was created to draw attention and appreciation of all marine animals and plants. So please do not forget to appreciate not only the charismatic bottlenose dolphin, but, also the not-so-charismatic hagfish, sea cucumbers and horseshoe crabs. Here is a little bit of […]
Sea slug actually anything but a lug
This might sound familiar (since I recently retweeted from @NOAAOceanToday) but there was recently an article discussing the virtues of sea slugs. In particular that they have been used to understand how to maximize the effectiveness of long-term memory in humans. Also, check out these divers (with the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in Bamfield, BC) […]
Resources & more …
What people are saying …