![Carnival Of The Blue logo, a blue sphere half-filled with water. [100x100, 7K]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1148/531775421_125285bc74_t.jpg "Carnival Of The Blue")
The latest Carnival of the Blue is up at James Hrynyshyn’s Island of Doubt blog. I submitted my last podcast for consideration. New to the CotB is Ocean of Island Rambles with a number of orca photos. I also found out that NOAA should not exist.
Next month’s festivities will be back at the mother fish.
![Cartoon Malay Tapir curled up on top of a globe [250x335, 12K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tapirdaydotorg-mascot.jpg "tapirday.org mascot,")
Today is World Tapir Day. I know, it’s the kind of celebration that can just sneak up on you out of the woods without you even knowing it. Which is the same kind of problem facing these creatures. They are disappearing from the forest without enough people noticing it.
I met a tapir once. It was at the Belize Zoo, and the tapir was kind of famous, if mostly locally. Her name was April. And profits from the sale of merchandise from the first Tapir Day celebration are going towards the Belize Zoo’s tapir conservation and education programs.
So what is a tapir? They are odd-looking herbivorous mammals that inhabit Central and South America and South-East Asia. In Belize they call them mountain cows, which seems apt if not exact. There are four species left in the world and all face threats from shrinking natural range.
As large herbivores, tapirs are invariably the first species affected by human encroachment into their territory, and amongst the last to return to regrowth forest. They require substantial tracts of undisturbed land to maintain a genetically-diverse population. Tapirs inhabit jungles, grasslands, swamps and cloud forests, yet each is threatened by human activity - be that mining, palm oil plantations, roads or settlements. They form an important part of the ecosystem as seed dispersers, and form one of the oldest surviving genera in the animal kingdom.
Despite their size, history and ecological importance, tapirs remain one of the least recognised species of animals. In comparison with other animals, tapirs feature little in the collective consciousness and are frequently misidentified by zoo visitors. Even in their home ranges, tapirs receive little attention, with exotic species featuring more prominently in zoos, children’s books and the media.
by Elizabeth Royte. by Miriam Moss (Author), Adrienne Kennaway (Illustrator). A story set in a South American tropical rain forest for PreSchool-Grade 3.![Logo for the FMSEA 40th anniversary conference, a grouper with a snorkel and mask [300x225, 104K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/fmseaconferencelogo.jpg "FMSEA 2008 Annual Conference: A Wonder-Water Discovery")
I’ll be giving a presentation tomorrow during the Florida Marine Science Educators Association 2008 Annual Conference. Presentation materials will be posted here.
Presentation description:
From the depths of the oceans to the tops of the waves, scientist, teachers and students are using blogs, podcasts and other new media to raise awareness of ocean issues. Unlike static Web-based content, this new media revolution allows for real-time conversations and discovery. This session explores the emerging environment of ocean blogging and shows how you can get on board. Case studies of building understanding through new media at the intersection of science, education, and conservation will be examined. Join us for a lively and interactive session and explore the new virtual frontier of ocean education.
![Earthcast Web badge/logo, planet with headphones and microphone, speach balloons, 24 hour webcastathon, 22 April 2008, edtechtalk.com/earthcast08 [250x285, 84K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/img/earthcast08.png "Earthcast 2008")
This is just a quick reminder about the upcoming Earth Day webcast on 22 April 2008. My hour of programming will be about ocean conservation and starts at 10:00 p.m. GMT (that’s 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 3:00 p.m. Pacific).
I will be joined by three fellow ocean enthusiasts and science bloggers, including Dr. Karen James, director of science for the The HMS Beagle Project. The Beagle Project is an international effort to celebrate Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday by building a sailing replica of his ship and retracing his 1831-1836 voyage of discovery. Also joining me will be Kevin Zelnio, author of The Other 95% Web site and co-blogger at Deep-Sea News. Kevin’s scientific training is in invertebrate zoology and marine ecology at Penn State University where he studies the ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities. And rounding out the panel will be Rick MacPherson, Director of Conservation Programs with the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and author of the Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets blog. CORAL is a member-supported, non-profit organization, dedicated to protecting the health of coral reefs by integrating ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and community partnerships.
I hope you can join us in the discussion. And my thanks go out to worldbridges.net for hosting and coordinating these events.
I’ll be heading up to St. Petersburg sometime tomorrow to the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute*. They are having their annual open house, called MarineQuest, and their should be a lot of events and activities for anyone interested in marine biology.
I also got my little Belkin TuneTalk working again, so I hope to record a little sound-seeing tour along the way to share later.
MARINEQUEST 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 Eighth Avenue Southeast
St. Petersburg, Florida [Map and Directions]
*What is now the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute used to be called the Florida Marine Research Institute when it was part of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. But back in 1999, an amendment to the state’s constitution merged the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, the Marine Fisheries Commission and other elements, forming the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
The latest Carnival of the Blue is up at Zooillogix. Plenty of “hot, mollusk action” in this one. Sad to say, I completely missed the deadline (again), so no entries from me. Instead, enjoy apophallatic hermaphrodites from the Oyster’s Garter, plastinated squids from the Bleiman Brothers, or even suicidal pelagics from Rick.
And next month remind me to send a link to Mark before it’s too late.
The National Science Teachers Association conference is in Beantown this week (March 27-30). I have some familial priorities which kept me from even considering attendance. But I can follow along remotely via the NSTA conference blog.
I have an odd job that is a hybrid of edtech and science education. And yet, as an informal science educator, I am kind of not officially part of either. But there are still lots of talented and passionate people in both worlds and I am glad I can follow along virtually.
Anyone know of any personal blogs from NSTA attendees? I’d be curious if anyone is live blogging (or dare I hope, twittering?) these events.
UPDATE: Doh! I posted this quickly before dashing off to diner tonight. Turns out there is some new media coverage of NSTA in the form of the Lab Out Loud podcast. This looks like a great resource and is definitely going into rotation.
![Humboldt squid on the ground [300x199, 26K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/quest080318.jpg "source: www.kqed.org/quest/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/squid1.jpg")
QUEST is a savvy multimedia (TV, radio, web) series by KQED that explores the science, environment and nature of Northern California. On April 1st they start their second TV season with a feature on Humboldt squid and an interview with humble squid expert Professor Bill Gilly (Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station).
If you can’t tune into Channel 9 in the San Francisco area, then head over to iTunes to pick up the podcast.
Also, if you have a story idea germane to their series, they’d like to hear about it. Personally, I think it’d be neat if they did something on the recent (and rare) wolverine sighting in north California. Or better yet, it’d be neat if they did an animal face-off between a wolverine and a Diablo Rojo. Talk about compelling television! 
But I guess that’s the fare of a different kind of network.
Also, a quibble: they include the scientific name of the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) on the sneak peek Web site. They get the capitalization correct, which is exceptional, but not the italicization. Why is this matter of styling binomial classification always handled so poorly by journalist and editors?
UPDATE: Something mysterious is stirring in the waters of Half-Moon Bay. It’s a “web-exclusive premiere” and additional photos of the new KQED program.
![Best of Ocean Blogging [75x75, 4.8K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/pic-cotb95.jpg "Carnival of the Blue, The Best of Ocean Blogging")
Carnival of the Blue #9 is up at Kevin’s Other 95% blog. Billed as a “appreciation of the under-appreciated majority of life,” the blog is devoted to all the interesting things on earth that lack a backbone.
In addition to highlighting some of the best in ocean blogging this month, Kevin also reminds everyone to live blue in 2008.
I have an avatar in Second Life called Calamari Ricardo. He wandered into the lair of Grendel’s Children the other day and came across a new undersea option for avatars (see below).
Randy Olson cheekily suggested that the next Science Blogging Conference be conducted in Second Life. If so, maybe we could hold it on the newly expanded NOAA sim and all the ocean bloggers could go dressed up as Vent Nymphs.
Vent Nymphs
MiniHUD controls the black smoker effect & sound, and includes a unique skin and sculpted tubeworm growths! Both genders included. Created by Flea Bussy.
See also:
![Dr. Clyde Roper, courtesy of Mote [200x150, 36K]](http://isurus.mote.org/~jtacy/Graphics/Cfer_squid-jars-e.jpg)
Dr. Clyde Roper, world-renowned teuthologist will be giving a presentation at Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL this coming Monday.
Giant Squid: Who’s Chasing Whom?
Mote’s 2008 Special Lecture Series continues next week with the lecture “Who’s Chasing Whom? The Quest for the World’s Largest Calamari, the Giant Squid,” by Dr. Clyde Roper, Zoologist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. On Monday, Jan. 28, Dr. Roper will trace the historical legends and concepts based on the giant squid and present results of his deep-sea expeditions in search of the squid with National Geographic and the Discovery Channel in addition to subsequent attempts by colleagues.
Dr. Roper, an Adjunct Scientist at Mote, has had a long-standing relationship with the organization and was instrumental in obtaining the giant squid specimen that is on permanent exhibit at Mote Aquarium.
The Special Lecture Series will continue every Monday until March 10 and all lectures will take place at 7 p.m. in Mote’s Immersion Cinema located at 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy., Sarasota. Log onto www.mote.org/news for more information and brief speaker bios.
A photo of Dr. Roper and specimens jars is available for media to download.
Members of the media interested in attending any lectures should contact Jamie Tacy at 941-388-4441, ext. 228 or jtacy@mote.org.
Today is National Peguin Awareness Day. The official declaration is over at the Peguin Geek blog.
Unfortunately, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Penguin Cam is currently offline, so you can’t celebrate that way. But they are working on a new exhibit which should be open in March. In the meantime, try the other links below.
Penguins are birds. They have feathers, beaks and wings, and they lay eggs. Their closest relatives are other fish-eating seabirds: albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.
There are currently 17 species of penguins. They range in size from the small two-pound (1 kg), 16-inch (41 cm) little blue penguin to the large 84-pound (38 kg), 51-inch (130 cm) emperor penguin. They’ve adapted to environments as different as Antarctic ice fields and the tropical Galápagos islands. Yet all penguins share their ancestors’ trait: they’re at home in the ocean.
UPDATE: I composed this post rather quickly and did not do as much link research as I had hoped to do. If I had, I might have also discovered these other remarkable penguin Web sites:
I’ll be headed up to where it’s colder this weekend for the NC Science Blogging Conference. I will be participating in one panel discussion during the conference, Real-time blogging in the marine sciences from 9:50-11:00 a.m. (ET).
Moderated by Kevin Zelnio of The Other 95%, Peter Etnoyer of Deep Sea News, Karen James of the Beagle Project, Rick Mac Pherson of Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets and Jason Robertshaw of the Cephalopodcast.
Our discussion will be initially be focused on the following:
- Using blogs as a tool in Science, Conservation and Marine Education
- Blogs as filters of novel research and synthesizers of concepts
- Communicating Marine Science to the public via blogs (including podcasting and video blogs) to increasing public awareness of Ocean Science and related issues (i.e. who reads marine biology blogs and why).
- Blogging from the field as a method to communicate the scientific method, how research is done and what its like to be a scientist
- The multifaceted constraints of blogging in the field and to what extent blogging does or does not represent the organization you work for.
This is in an unconference format, so everyone who attends the event is encouraged to be an active participant in all of the sessions and discussions.
Also, depending on the bandwidth capabilites available, I will attempt to stream the presentation.
Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria, California has a number of workshop opportunities for educators this year. One in particular caught my eye:
Jumbo Squid Dissection, Teacher In-service February 1-3, 2008
The naturalist staff at Camp Ocean Pines have invited Dr. Bill Gilly, professor of Marine and Organismal Biology at Stanford to lead a study of these amazing squid. This is a great opportunity for hands-on experience with a 30-pound giant Humboldt squid. You’ll be studying under an expert who has researched the behavior and biology of squid for more than three decades.
Schedule
Friday, wine and cheese social and dinner before Dr. Gilly presents research and insights on the Humboldt Squid. Overnight accommodations available in straw bale cabins (with bathrooms and showers).Breakfast Saturday morning, when Dr. Gilly will lead a dissection of Humboldt Squid. After this expert instruction, we share our experiences leading squid dissections in the classroom with students. Lesson plans and other handouts will be provided.
Lunch on Saturday and opportunity to join naturalist staff for a kayaking tour of the Morro Bay Estuary or a tour of the local elephant seals.
Saturday night join the staff for a relaxing campfire or visit the local attractions.
The weekend ends Sunday after breakfast and closing ceremony.
Open to science teachers, naturalists, docents, and marine science
educators.Cost
Option 1 is $195/person (some partial scholarships available). Friday-Sunday, 2 nights lodging, wine reception, five great meals, instruction, kayak rental.Option 2 is Saturday only $100/person for locals. Includes squid, instruction, lunch and dinner, evening lecture (either Friday in Cambria OR Saturday in Avila Beach).
Things have been pretty dry here at the cephaloblog. My apologies, but tis the season for distraction. I didn’t even have a post worth forwarding on to this month’s Carnival of the Blue. But you can moisten up with the latests submission from other fin folk. Carnival of the Blue #7 is now up at The Natural Patriot.
And I have a long overdue interview with Mark Powell to post on this very matter shortly. Stay tuned.
![[200x240, 24K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/sid-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Today is Steve Irwin Day. It has been over a year since the charismatic, animal-loving Aussie passed away in a freak stingray encounter. There are a number of ways you can remember, appreciate and celebrate Steve’s influence and ethic. The most obvious one is to wear some khaki pants. Or just get outside and enjoy nature.
Steve Irwin Day on November 15 will be a day for remembering the one and only Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. The day will represent the many things Steve was passionate about; family, wildlife and FUN. You can get involved in a number of ways including visiting Australia Zoo for an action packed day, having a Backyard Campout or donning your khakis for Khaki Day.
All proceeds raised from these activities will go to Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide.
![I'm a sucker for the Cephalopodcast, science edu+ocean info, cephalopodcast.com [180x150, 39K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/cephalobanner1.jpg "Cephalopodcast Fans")
