7/2/26
7/1/26
6/9/26
5/27/26
WHALE SWIMS 20 MILES IN RIVER -DEAD - FEAR FOR SPECIES : GRAY WHALE POPULATION HALF IN A DECADE
Siren here! I believe the whales are starving and humans are the reason.
I first heard this story via the Seattle Times:
BBC: Gray Whale Dies Days After Swimming River
Excerpt: The juvenile whale, affectionately dubbed "Willapa Willy" by locals, was first spotted last Wednesday in the north fork of the river, about 145 miles southwest of Seattle, the marine mammal research group said.
The whale, "although thin, was behaving normally," the group said at the time, with no sign of injuries.
Its teams had hoped the whale would find its own way out of the river but it failed to do so.
5/17/26
ARE YOU CONSIDERING BECOMING A MARINE SCIENTIST?
Once in a while someone tells me that viewing SIREN'S LINK TO SEA inspires them to consider a career in MARINE SCIENCE...
5/4/26
5/2/26
5/14/25
HEALTH TO THE OCEAN MEANS ... QUOTATION FROM SYLVIA EARLE
"HEALTH TO THE OCEANS MEANS HEALTH FOR US"
- Sylvia Earle
Sylvia is a Marine Biologist who was named Time magazine's first Hero for the Planet in 1998
1/28/24
YES ALASKA DOES HAVE A SEALIFE CENTER : MARINE BIOLOGY EDUCATION
Excerpt: The overall goal of our Science Program is to develop an understanding of the role of marine mammals, birds and fish in the arctic and subarctic marine ecosystems, and to generate scientific knowledge relevant to resource management and policy. Our projects focus on Alaska marine life and environments, but reach globally with international collaborations. The Center’s unique geographic location, marine cold water research facilities, live animal collections, and specialized staff allows us to use a combination of experimental and field research to:
- Investigate physiological and ecological processes affecting marine animal population dynamics.
- Conduct controlled experiments to understand factors affecting reproductive success and fitness in marine species.
- Monitor marine animal responses to environmental variability and stressors.
- Evaluate human impacts on our marine environment and animal populations.
- Develop tools to support recovery and restoration of marine resources.
6/29/23
MALE SEA LIONS HAVE GOTTEN BIGGER OVER THE LAST FIFTY YEARS! UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA MARINE SCIENCE
Usually as a population grows, the sea lions get smaller. However just published in Current Biology, is a report from University of California at Santa Cruz.
Excerpt: It's counterintuitive. You would expect that their body size would decrease as dietary resource competition intensified," said coauthor Paul Koch, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UCSC.
The number of California sea lions has increased dramatically since the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972. In parts of their range, the sea lions may now be approaching the ecological "carrying capacity," the largest number of animals an ecosystem can support.
NEWS-UCSC EDU : 2024 SEA LIONS
Excerpt: "We found that the male California sea lions have expanded their ecological niche, which means they are now foraging on a more diversified group of prey and expanding the places where they are foraging on a more diversified group ogf prey and expanding the places where they are foraging," Valenzuela-Toro said. "Apparently they are now going farther north than they used to.....
**** Scientists looked at the skulls of sea lions...
2/12/23
10/2/21
GLOBAL CORAL REEF ALLIANCE
GCRA is a worldwide coalition of volunteer scientists, divers, environmentalists and other individuals and organizations, committed to coral reef preservation. We primarily focus on coral reef restoration, and cuttings edge research on impacts of coral bleaching, global warming, marine diseases, global sea level rise, and pollution on corals.
6/9/21
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
FWS GOV : ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
EXCERPT: The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commerce Departments National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
There's a video to watch at this site.
5/7/21
IS SEA GRASS THE NATURAL SOLUTION TO PLASTIC POLLUTION?
PHYS ORG SEA GRASS and PLASTIC
EXCERPT: There are some 70 species of marine seagrass, grouped in several families of flowering plants that - originally on land - recolonized the ocean some80 to 100 million years ago.
Growing from the Artic to the tropics, most speies hae long, grass-like leaves that can form vast unerwater meadows.
They are more than just pretty, however.
They play a vital role in improving water quality, absorb CO2 and exude oxygen, and are a natural nursery and refuge for hundreds of species of fish.
5/12/20
8/3/19
WHALE MOMS WHISPER TO BABES TO AVOID PREDATORY ORCAS
7/21/18
LISTEN TO THE BOWHEAD WHALE MAKE JAZZ MUSIC UNDER THE SEA!
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC : BOWHEAD WHALE JAZZ MUSICIAN OF SEA by Carrie Arnold
EXCERPT: New recordings of the little - studied bowhead whale show that the mammals sing intricate and variable songs - more like jazz musicians than Beethoven or Bach.
Other whale songs are predictable and simple ditties repeated over and over throughout seasons or years, says study leader Kate Stafford, a marine biologist at the University of Washington.
"With bowheads, there are lots of different songs. Every year, it's just completely different."
