Science and the Sea podcast
196 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago - ★★★★★ - 14 ratingsThe goal of Science and the Sea is to convey an understanding of the sea and its myriad life forms to everyone, so that they, too, can fully appreciate this amazing resource.
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Episodes
Melting Bergs
July 11, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.18 MBYou might not think that the way an iceberg melts would matter much -- but it does. As an iceberg melts, the change in ocean temperature and salinity can alter currents and have other effects. So scientists need to know how and how quickly icebergs melt to make sure their ideas of how the oceans work are accurate. Researchers in Australia recently contributed to that effort with experiments and mathematical models. Their work showed that icebergs don’t all melt the same way. They tested b...
Fish and Shrimp Combo
July 04, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.18 MBThe longfin damselfish is a feisty little farmer. It’s only a few inches long, but it will attack just about anything that enters its territory -- including people. Yet some damselfish in the Caribbean actually protect a tiny shrimp on their farms. That’s because the shrimps’ waste helps fertilize the farm -- which may make the damselfish stronger. The “farms” are patches of algae that the longfin damselfish protect. Scientists had noted that some of the farms contain dense blobs of mysid ...
Deep Freeze
June 27, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.18 MBThe South Padre Island Convention Centre has hosted conferences, plays, concerts, and even basketball games. In February, though, it hosted an event like no other: a sea turtle rescue. A major winter storm chilled waters along the Texas coast. Sea turtles were stunned by water temperatures that plunged into the 40s and even 30s. Volunteers gathered about 13,000 turtles from the beaches and took them to rescue centers all along the coast, including the University of Texas Marine Science Ins...
Quieter Seas
June 20, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBFor the humpback whales of Glacier Bay, Alaska, the early months of the COVID-19 outbreak may have been a blessing. Travel bans and cancelled cruises left the bay much quieter, especially during the summer tourist season. That meant the whales didn’t have to “talk” as loudly or simplify their messages as much as they do during normal summers. In fact, for several months the oceans got much quieter. As economies closed down, the number of cargo ships went down, too. Scientists monitored wha...
Reef Snacks
June 13, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBThe smallest fish in the oceans grow fast and die young. And that may keep coral reefs going. The little guys are known as cryptobenthic fish -- crypto for “hidden,” and benthic for “ocean floor.” They’re no more than a couple of inches long, and most of them are much smaller. So that allows them to “hide” among the corals. But a study a couple of years ago showed that they don’t stay hidden from other organisms on the reef -- they may account for more than half of the food consumed by oth...
Ice Islands
June 06, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBMost islands don’t move around much. But for more than two decades, scientists and others operated from one that did. Known as T-3, the kidney-shaped island was seven miles long. It drifted close to the north pole. And eventually, it melted away. That’s because the island was made of ice -- it was a giant iceberg. T-3 was discovered after World War II, when the military was sending airplanes across the Arctic Ocean to keep an eye on the Soviet Union. In 1952, the Pentagon built a station o...
Bryde’s Whales
May 30, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBOne of the most endangered groups of whales in the world hangs out in the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s down to fewer than a hundred members. And although it’s protected as an endangered species, challenges in the Gulf could make it hard for the whale to recover. The Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale stretches about 40 feet long and weighs about 30 tons. It’s most often seen off the Florida Panhandle, near a small gash in the ocean floor known as DeSoto Canyon. It’s usually se...
Making Connections
May 23, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBOne of the adages of modern science is that if a butterfly in China flaps its wings, it might lead to a hurricane weeks later in the Atlantic Ocean. There’s no way to prove or disprove that idea. But there does seem to be some evidence of a connection going the other direction: Warmer water in the northwestern Atlantic may be one factor in creating heatwaves over China, Korea, and Japan. Eastern Asia has undergone several deadly heatwaves in recent years. A month-long hot spell in 2018 bro...
Icefish
May 16, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBAs its name implies, the icefish is cold-blooded. But it’s also clear-blooded. It’s the only known vertebrate in the world that doesn’t have red blood cells -- or the protein that gives those cells their color. The first icefish was discovered in the 1920s in the Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica. It was called the white crocodile icefish. It has a see-through body -- you can even see its brain -- plus big eyes and a long snout with a lot of teeth, like a crocodile. Since then, b...
Deep Threat
May 09, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBNo place is safe. Trash and pollution make their way into just about every nook and cranny on Earth -- including the deep oceans. A few years ago, for example, explorers found a plastic bag in the Mariana Trench, the lowest spot on the entire planet. And in 2020, scientists reported that organisms in two ocean trenches contained high levels of mercury -- most of which was produced by human activities. Mercury is pumped into the atmosphere by coal-fired power plants, silver mines, and other...
Keeping Tabs
May 02, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBThe giant squid is one of the biggest animals in the oceans. A typical adult is 35 or 40 feet long, and some are even bigger. Yet it’s almost never seen. Much of what we know about the creature comes from dead ones that washed up on shore. Only a few have been photographed alive and well in the oceans. In 2018, though, a research team easily detected the giant squid’s presence in the Sea of Japan -- through molecules of its DNA in the water. The technique could help scientists keep tabs on...
Glacial Tsunami
April 25, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBMelting glaciers are a big problem. As their water pours into the oceans, it raises the global sea level -- a problem that will get worse in the years ahead. But they could trigger more immediate problems for people who live near them: tsunamis. As our planet warms up, glaciers are getting thinner. And they’re backing away from the coastline, exposing land that might have been covered up for millennia. Such land might be unstable, so it could create a massive landslide. As the rocks and di...
Noisy Toadfish
April 18, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBAnyone whose quiet afternoon at the beach has been disturbed by loud boats will feel sympathy for the male oyster toadfish. Boats can overwhelm its call to females. And it can get the fish all mixed up as well, causing it to change its call or even clam up for hours. The oyster toadfish isn’t the most sympathetic looking creature in the sea. It’s about a foot long, with a big head, a body covered in mucus and warts, a powerful bite, and spines on its back that are venomous. It lives in sha...
Blue Dragon
April 11, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBBlue dragons are among nature’s most efficient recyclers. But what they’re recycling, you don’t want. They absorb the stinging cells of the Portuguese man o’ war and similar creatures, then use them to deliver a nasty sting of their own. Blue dragons are a type of sea slug. They’re small and elegant -- about an inch long, with wing-like structures that make them look like angels. And they have a shimmering blue color scheme that gives them their formal name: Glaucus atlanticus -- the blue ...
Stubborn Hurricanes
April 04, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBThe 2020 hurricane season was a mean one. It produced 30 named storms, which was a new record. Thirteen of the storms became hurricanes, which was tied for the second most on record. A dozen storms hit the United States -- another record. And combined, the storms produced an estimated 37 billion dollars in damages. Some of the damage occurred far inland, as heavy rains produced massive floods. And according to a recent study, the inland damage could get even worse in the years ahead. That’...
Gassy Worms
March 28, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 5.15 MBSome small worms may be doing the world a big favor. They’re gobbling up bacteria that eat methane, a gas that contributes to global warming. Biologists discovered the worms during research cruises in 2017 and ’18. The scientists were studying the ocean floor off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. In particular, they were using a small robotic submarine to scan the area around methane seeps -- spots where methane is bubbling up into the water from underground pockets. At a seep more than a ...
Padre Island
March 21, 2021 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBPadre Island is perhaps best known for its visitors: spring breakers in March and April, endangered sea turtles during summer, and migrating birds in the winter. And there’s plenty of room for them, because Padre is the longest barrier island in the world. Barrier islands form as waves and currents drive sand from the ocean floor toward land. Eventually, enough sand piles up to rise above the water. Such islands protect the coastline from tropical storms and other threats. Most barrier is...
Blue Crab
March 14, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBBlue crabs are among the most popular seafood items in the country. Tens of millions of them are harvested from bays and estuaries every year. They account for thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales -- all for a little critter that’s more legs and shell than meat. Blue crabs are found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. They’re most common in Chesapeake Bay, where a 2020 census found more than 400 million of them. That was down from the year before, but well within ...
Dark Fish
March 07, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBIn the darkness of the deep ocean, the faintest glimmer of light can mean the difference between life and death. It can scare away prey or draw in predators. So remaining completely dark can help a deep-sea fish catch a meal -- or avoid getting caught. A recent study found some fish that have a big advantage in that area. Their skin is almost completely black -- it reflects no more than one-half of one percent of the light that strikes it. That makes the fish much darker than charcoal, and...
Retiring Rigs
February 28, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBSetting up an offshore oil rig takes a lot of time and money, and a lot of thought about the environment. And so does taking one down. California, for example, is pondering what to do with a couple of dozen platforms that have shut down or that are about to. And researchers have looked at what might happen to fish around those rigs. Offshore platforms make good reefs. Mussels, oysters, and other shellfish latch on to the structure. Dead shells fall around the rig, providing good hiding pla...
Growing Island
February 21, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBA volcanic island in the western Pacific Ocean just can’t settle down. After not changing much for thousands of years, it’s undergone a series of eruptions in recent decades. That’s made it much bigger. And the eruptions may not be done. Nishino-shima is about 600 miles south-southeast of Tokyo. It’s the tip of a volcano that rises two miles from the ocean floor. Before 1973, the island was only a couple of thousand feet wide, and its volcanic cone rose only a few dozen feet above the wa...
Birds in Peril
February 14, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBThe Tristan albatross is one of the largest sea birds on the planet. It has a 10-foot wingspan, which it uses to soar across millions of square miles of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. But the albatross nests mainly on one small island in the South Atlantic -- and that’s been a big problem. House mice introduced to the island a century and a half ago are eating the eggs and chicks, and even attacking adults. That’s made the Tristan albatross a critically endangered species. The albatross i...
Hairy Frogfish
February 07, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBThe striated frogfish has quite a resumé. It walks on the ocean floor, camouflages itself to avoid predators, carries its own fishing lure, and can gobble another fish faster than the blink of an eye. And it has a shaggy appearance that’s earned it a nickname: the hairy frogfish. The fish is short and round -- only about eight or nine inches long. It lives in fairly warm, shallow waters around the world. In the United States, it’s found along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey southward, ...
Melanoma Fighter
January 31, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBMelanoma kills thousands of Americans every year, and attacks tens of thousands. So far, there’s no cure. But a potato-shaped organism in the waters around Antarctica may offer a solution. The organism produces a compound that’s shown some promise in treating this nasty form of skin cancer. Sea squirts are found all across the planet -- in waters warm and cold, shallow and deep. The potato-shaped organisms usually anchor to a solid surface and spend their entire lives in a single spot. Th...
Living Fossils
January 24, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBSea lilies and feather stars are some of the most beautiful and delicate creatures in the oceans. Many of these animals resemble feather dusters, with the “feathers” colored orange, yellow, green, or other hues. They’re also among the oldest sea creatures. Their ancestors date back hundreds of millions of years. Because of that, they’re sometimes called “living fossils.” Sea lilies and feather stars are crinoids. They’re related to sea stars, urchins, and cucumbers. There are about 600 ...
Southern Orcas
January 17, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBKiller whales are a bit provincial. They’re split into small regional populations that stay on their own -- they almost never interact with others. The smallest of these groups is the Southern Resident population. It’s found in the Pacific Northwest. There are so few of the whales that they’re listed as an endangered species. The population is split into three smaller groups, known as pods. Each pod consists of several families, which are headed by older females. Each pod has its own rang...
Shared Heritage
January 10, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBEven if you live a thousand miles from the ocean, it still has an impact on your life. It provides food, fuel, and other resources. It’s a “superhighway” for transporting goods between countries. It provides jobs and attracts tourists. And it offers some of the most beautiful views on the planet. In short, it’s a critical resource -- and a common heritage -- for everyone on Earth. A United Nations program is designed to preserve some of that heritage. It’s designated 50 World Heritage mar...
Jellybeans on a Reef
January 03, 2021 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBThe smallest fish on coral reefs appear to have two main jobs. One is to make more fish. And the other is to get eaten. These little guys are known as cryptobenthic reef fishes. “Crypto” indicates that they’re mostly hidden, and “benthic” means they stay close to the ocean floor. Most are no more than half an inch long. They include thousands of species across many families. And because they’re so tiny and colorful, they’re sometimes called the Skittles or jellybeans of the reef. Marine...
Deadly Combination
December 20, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons -- PAHs -- are compounds that can be both good and bad. On the good side, they form the “bark” on a slice of brisket, which adds flavor. On the bad side, they can cause cancer, so it’s best to avoid them. PAHs are also bad for young fiddler crabs. In combination with direct sunlight, in fact, they’re killers. PAHs are among the compounds found in crude oil. When oil spills into the ocean, some of it settles to the bottom. Many of the compounds in the oil c...
MERMAIDS
December 13, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBDozens of mermaids MERMAIDS drift with the currents of the South Pacific. They listen for the rumble of earthquakes on the ocean floor. Then they pop to the surface to tell seismologists what they’ve heard. These MERMAIDS don’t have flippers, though. They’re scientific devices: Mobile Earthquake Recorder in Marine Areas by Independent Divers -- MERMAIDS. Seismologists record earthquakes to learn what’s happening below Earth’s surface. Sound waves bounce around inside the planet. Recording...
Defenses
December 06, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBJust because something is tiny doesn’t mean it’s defenseless. Some of the smallest organisms in the oceans, for example, have found ways to keep much larger organisms from gobbling them up. Researchers have studied how some types of algae and other organisms protect themselves from predators known as copepods. These are tiny shrimp-like creatures that are common in the top layers of the oceans. C opepods emit chemicals as they swim along. To other organisms, the chemicals are like a bad c...
Running Away
November 29, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBWhen you’re being chased by a great hammerhead shark, simply running away isn’t always a great option. The shark is big and fast, so there’s a good chance it’ll catch whatever it chases. So the best plan is to run to someplace where the sharks can’t follow -- like shallow water. Adult blacktip sharks on the southeast coast of Florida seem to have adopted that strategy. Researchers saw them do it in three videos shot with drones in 2018 and ’19. Blacktip sharks are a common sight along the...
Sleeping Corals
November 22, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBWarmer oceans are bad news for corals. Higher temperatures can kill the living part of a coral, leaving only a bleached-out skeleton. Despite appearances, though, one species of coral might not be dead at all -- it might be only mostly dead. And when conditions improve, it can regenerate. Researchers studied a type of coral found only in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, they regularly checked on a large patch of coral off the coast of Spain from 2002 through 2017. At various times du...
Plane Reefs
November 15, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBShortly after the end of World War II, American forces on Kwajalein Atoll, a small island in the western Pacific Ocean, faced a problem. It would cost more to ship leftover airplanes to salvage yards than the planes were worth. So more than a hundred Corsairs, Wildcats, Avengers, and other warplanes were loaded onto barges, carried into the middle of the lagoon, and dumped. Today, most of them are encrusted with corals and surrounded by fish and other marine life -- artificial reefs that h...
Warmer Penguins
November 08, 2020 06:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBAdelie penguins live in one of the iciest regions on Earth -- on the rim of Antarctica. But when the ice around one colony thinned out a few years ago, the penguins flourished. The adults grew fatter and the chicks were more likely to survive. Adelies are among the smallest penguins in Antarctica. A typical adult is up to a couple of feet tall and weighs about 10 to 12 pounds. They’re also the most common penguins on the continent -- they form colonies of thousands of birds all around it. ...
Meteotsunamis
November 01, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBIf you live along the coast, you might get hit by several tsunamis a year -- but not even know it. They aren’t generated by underwater earthquakes, volcanoes, or landslides. Instead, they’re caused by the weather. So they’re called meteorological tsunamis -- meteotsunamis, for short. And they may be pretty common. A meteotsunami stirs to life when a tropical storm, a nor’easter, a thunderstorm, or some other major weather event roars across the water. The storm causes a big but quick chang...
Cannibal Walnuts
October 25, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBThe sea walnut first entered the Baltic Sea almost 40 years ago, probably hitchhiking on cargo ships. Since then, this little critter has been a big pest. The population has exploded as the organisms have gobbled up young fish and crustaceans. And to sustain themselves during the winter, they may eat their own young. The sea walnut is a type of comb jelly. It’s typically a few inches long, and its transparent body is shaped like the meat of a walnut. Its native habitat is the northern Atla...
Deep-Sea Mining
October 18, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBTrillions of metallic nodules cover the bottom of a vast region of the Pacific Ocean. They’re worth a fortune, so mining operations are considering scooping them up. But like many things, the idea is complicated. The nodules are the key to survival for many species of life. So taking the nodules away could cause massive loss of marine habitat. The nodules are found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. It covers 1.7 million square miles, between Mexico and Hawaii. The nodules are up to the size ...
Menhaden
October 11, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBAtlantic menhaden stinks. Because of that, its oily flesh isn’t exactly a sought-after treat. Over the decades, though, it’s been a common sight on American dinner tables -- in margarine, salad dressing, cookies, and other products. It’s also been used to feed pets, other fish, and even plants. In fact, menhaden is one of the most economically important fish in American waters. Several species of menhaden, which is a type of herring, are found along American coastlines. The most common is ...
A Peaceful Ocean
October 04, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBIn November of 1520, an expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan headed into an ocean that was a complete mystery to European sailors. It turned out to be far larger than they expected -- and far calmer. It was so calm, in fact, that they called it the Pacific -- a name that means “peaceful.” Magellan’s expedition was backed by the king of Spain. It was looking for a new route to the Spice Islands -- part of modern-day Indonesia, in the western Pacific. Previous journeys to the islands went ar...
Nightmare Worm
September 27, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.66 MBThe sand striker is like something out of a nightmare. The worm hides in the sediments on the sea floor, then lunges out to grab a passing fish or crustacean. It clamps its jaws together so fiercely that it can snap the prey in two. It’s even been known to inflict nasty bites on people. Sand strikers are most common in and around the Atlantic Ocean. But they’re also found in warm waters elsewhere. They typically live in areas with sandy or muddy bottoms. That allows them to dig burrows. Du...
Whaling Walls
September 20, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBWhen Robert Wyland was 14 years old, he and his mother traveled from their home in Michigan to Laguna Beach, California. From the water, Wyland saw another mom and child taking a trip: a gray whale and her calf, headed toward Mexico. That inspired a life-long interest in whales, and a decades-long public art project -- the Wyland Whaling Walls. Wyland moved to Laguna Beach a few years later. There, he painted a mural on the side of a hotel -- “Gray Whale and Calf.” It was dedicated in 1981...
Transition Zone
September 13, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBThe waters of most of the world’s oceans are stacked like the layers of a cake. Each layer is a different temperature. The top layer is warm, the bottom layer is cold, and the layer in the middle is a transition zone -- the region with the biggest change in temperature. That layer is known as the thermocline. It begins a few hundred feet below the surface, and can extend downward for a few thousand feet. The top layer of the oceans is warmed by the Sun. Wind and waves churn the waters nea...
Fewer Belches
September 06, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBWhen sheep or cattle burp, it’s not just rude -- it’s a hazard. The average dairy cow can belch almost 400 pounds of methane per year. And methane is a powerful greenhouse gas -- 28 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide is. So sheep and cattle account for up to 20 percent of global climate change. One way to cut that amount may be to feed them seaweed. A small amount mixed into the diet can almost completely eliminate the methane the animals produce. The discovery was ...
Going Deep
August 30, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBIn Greek mythology, Hades was the underworld -- the dark realm of the dead. And that seemed like a good description of the deepest parts of the ocean. They’re dark, and until fairly recently were thought to be lifeless. So scientists called the region below about 20,000 feet the hadal zone, after Hades. It turns out, though, that the hadal zone is a lot livelier than expected. Biologists have discovered more than 400 species there -- fish, shellfish, worms, snails, and others. They’ve also...
Greedy Gullys
August 23, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBPeople who picnic on the beach sometimes face a greedy pest: a seagull. Gulls grab the food around people -- and have even been known to take it right out of an eater’s hands. And some recent research says that’s no coincidence -- the gulls appear to prefer food that’s been handled by humans. Scientists at Exeter University checked out the preferences of herring gulls on the southwestern coast of England. They offered the gulls a choice of two Ma Baker’s blueberry bars, which are wrapped i...
Clear Skin
August 16, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBClear skin is worth some extra time -- even for a whale. In fact, some whales may leave their usual feeding grounds for weeks to clear up their skin. Many whales found in cold polar waters have sickly looking skin. It’s covered by a slimy yellow layer of algae. But the skin of other whales in the same areas looks clear and healthy. Whales that spend most of their time in polar waters sometimes head for the tropics. The leading ideas have said the trips provide access to better feeding gro...
Free Babysitting
August 09, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBMost fish in the oceans don’t do anything to protect their offspring. They release their eggs, then move on. So most of the eggs get eaten, and most of the fish that hatch get eaten as well. So the few species that do protect their young have an advantage. In fact, other fish sometimes try to profit from that protection by sneaking their own eggs into the nest. So their kiddos get free babysitting from the other parents. Researchers recently studied this behavior in damselfish living on c...
High-Flying Deputies
August 02, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBAn albatross is a perfect sentinel for watching the oceans. It’s big, it flies fast, and it can stay at sea for months, so it covers a large area. And it can sniff out fish from miles away. The combination could make the birds good deputies for tracking down illegal fishing operations. Such operations catch billions of dollars’ worth of fish. They sometimes fish in protected areas, take more than the limit, or use equipment that can damage the environment. And when they do so, the operator...
Old Sow Whirlpool
July 26, 2020 05:00 - 2 minutes - 4.59 MBAbout twice a day, more than half a trillion gallons of water flow into and out of Passamaquoddy Bay, on the coasts of Maine and New Brunswick. The massive flow creates eddies, currents, and troughs -- including the largest whirlpool in North America. The Old Sow has been measured at up to 250 feet wide, with an estimated depth of up to 12 feet. It’s not always a funnel-shaped hole in the surface, though. It often consists of several smaller funnels, along with walls of water, spouts, and ...