[via FCS]
The Alliance for Science is running an essay contest for high school students with the topic: Why would I want my doctor to have studied evolution? Essays are due March 31, 2007. First place prize of $300 to the winning student. And the teacher of the first place student gets $250 to “purchase laboratory equipment, supplies, or other teaching materials.”
![Pineapple-upside-up Birthday Cake [150x200, 4K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070212b_pineappleupsidedownbirthdaycake.jpg "This is the pineapple-upside-up cake my wife baked to celebrate.")
On this day in 1809, a couple of significant figures were born: Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. And even though it’s still a couple years off, it’s not to early too start planning for their 200th Birthday celebration. It will also be the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species.
The objective of Darwin Day Celebration is to encourage existing institutions worldwide, such as municipalities, public and private schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums, churches, private organizations and individuals to celebrate Science and Humanity every year, on, or near, February 12, Darwin’s birthday!
There is also an effort afoot to build a recreation of Darwin’s famous brig, the HMS Beagle. His trip around the Galapagos while onboard provided much of the inspiration for his theory of evolution.
[T]he Beagle Project…aim[s] to provide the most compelling events of Charles Darwin’s 2009 anniversary by building a sailing replica of HMS Beagle and sailing in Darwin’s wake. The build and Beagle’s arrival in the Galapagos in 2009 will be two of the most striking, iconic media events of the 2009 celebrations, aimed at firing the scientific imaginations of a new generation and celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin, one of the greatest biologists ever.
[via JW, thanks!]
![[64x54, 4K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_060326a_pinktentacle.jpg "Rare goblin shark [via pinktentacle.com]")
A couple of weeks ago the world got to see stunning video of a rare deep sea frill shark. Another bizarre looking customer is the goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni). You can check out some amazing photos and videos of a live goblin shark at this website:
We eagerly await to see if the fine folks from Pink Tentacle can help with a translation. In the meantime, here is Google Translates robotic effort.
UPDATE: According to the Underwater Times, the shark did not survive for long.
A goblin shark — a rarely seen species often called a “living fossil” — was caught alive in Tokyo Bay but died after being put on display, an aquarium said.
The grey, long-nosed shark was caught in fishermen’s nets around 150 to 200 metres (500 to 650 feet) deep. It was discovered by officials of the Tokyo Sea Life Park when they took a boat with local fishermen on January 25.
But the shark died on the morning of January 27.
The Reuters report repeats the misconception that these deep sea creatures die primarily because of a sudden pressure change. Deep sea animals have bodies composed mostly of water, with no gas pockets. Because liquids are virtually incompressible, these animals seem to suffer little pressure-induced effects from dramatic depth changes. It’s far more likely that the change in temperature is more stressful (from 4°C to ~30°C).
via Plankton Forums (Izzy Dolphin)
Looking for more marine podcasts? Scripps Institution of Oceanography has started offering access to their digital audio and video content via iTunes.
They are also now producing a free monthly electronic magazine about Scripps research, called Explorations@Scripps.
Two film contests out there for all you new media science interpreter types:
The SB FLIX CONTEST is an open call now through March 1st for creative, funny, and otherwise crazy cool videos about the ocean or the environment/Shifting Baselines.
The Phylm Prize is an award aimed at spurring interest in physics and the educational use of new media. To be considered, entries must be posted as video responses to this YouTube posting.
![Download a White Shark Photo. Courtesy of MBA (c) 2006 [200x150, 4K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_060901a.jpg "Download a White Shark Photo. Courtesy of MBA (c) 2006")
Here’s some good news for a captive shark:
The young male white shark that has been part of our Outer Bay exhibit since September is back in the wild.
Our husbandry team tagged and released him shortly after sunrise today (Tuesday, January 16). It marks the second time in two years that we’ve exhibited a white shark and then returned it safely back
to the wild.He was released from a boat in Monterey Bay after our staff fitted him with an electronic data tag that will track his movements for the next 90 days. If all goes as planned, on April 16, we’ll get information documenting where the shark traveled, how deep he dove and the water temperatures he favored. The data will be relayed to scientists via satellite when the tag pops free.
We released him because he’d grown considerably–from an initial length of 5-foot-8 and 103 pounds when he arrived on August 31, 2006 to his current size of 6-foot-5 and 171 pounds. He was healthy and feeding at the time of release, but was large enough that to delay much longer could have posed more risks for both the shark and our staff during the move. We expect he’ll do well after release, just as our first white shark did.
The Public Broadcasting Service wants U.S. viewers to choose a new science series:
Throughout January, PBS will broadcast three new science programs. Only one program will become a regular science series on PBS. We want you to help us decide. Watch the programs on your PBS station or, beginning January 1st, visit the companion sites below to watch each pilot show. Then tell us what you think!
- Wired Science, airs Wednesday, January 3
- Science Investigators, airs Wednesday, January 10
- 22nd Century, airs Wednesday, January 17
Personally, I vote for all three 8). What do you think?
![SeaScope Aquatic Activities from LaMER [200x150, 12K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_061226a.gif)
Continuing with our tour of supplementary material made available by your local Sea Grant College Program, we turn to Louisana’s Marine Education Resource Center. Their SeaScope Aquatic Activities section offers the following PDF handouts for free:
SeaScope activity folios are written by teachers for teachers. They use the video microscope nicknamed “Scope-On-A-Rope” (SOAR) in science lessons on aquatic organisms.
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An interactive virtual squid dissection demo is available from another site, Froguts.com.
In May, 2001, 5th graders at Lunalilo School dissected a squid and posted a video documentary of their experience.
![Link to the Balaenateuthia page (DB) [200x150, 12K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_061223a_db.gif)
Daniel Bensen is a scientific illustrator who, along with his cohorts, dares to ask the question:
What if the Chicxulub bolide had missed the Earth?
Some of the weirdest animals on Spec are the balaenateuths or baleen-squids, a diverse group of flippered cephalopods with highly modified tentacles. They range in size from small, mesopelagic gems to immense filter-feeding giants. Absolutely nothing like them exists or has ever existed on Home-Earth.
As with squid and cuttlefish, balaenateuths possess ten tentacles, two of which are greatly elongated and whiplike. The whips terminate in a cluster of finger-like appendages (giving rise to the term “digibrachia” or finger-arms) that are partially retracted into chambers beneath the mantle when not in use. Six arms are shorter, more conventional-looking tentacles that may be equipped with rows of suckers or hooks. The last two arms, one on the top and one on the bottom, are greatly broadened and often internally reinforced with calcite or cartilage. Only capable of vertical motion, they superficially resemble a set of vertebrate jaws and are sometimes referred to as “gnathobrachia” or jaw-arms.
![Link to the Grand Baleen-squid , Megacalamari grandis (DB) [200x150, 12K]](http://www.bowdoin.edu/~dbensen/Spec/SDsquid.jpg)
It seems to follow in the footsteps of Dougal Dixon, whose books New Dinosaur and After Man I cherished as a child and still thumb through to this day. A more recent approach was undertaken by Discovery Communications.
Much, much more can be found at The Speculative Dinosaur Project. Be sure to also read up on:
Strangely, all updates from Daniel’s site seem to end circa 2005. Anyone know what’s up with that?
Mark Isaak’s delightful site gathers together evidence of the perverse humor that lurks within many taxonomists.
Scientific names of organisms are not usually known for their entertainment value. They are indispensable for clarity in communication, but most people skip over them with barely a glance. Here I collect those names that are worth a second look.
A mere sampling of this trove of wonders:
I am sure it’s in there somewhere, but one of my favorites is the Jackknife fish (Equetus lanceolatus). There is also the recent classification of several slime-mold beetles named after Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld and another beetle after Darth Vader. Of course some folks argue that a little less frivolity and a little more serious abstraction is needed in regards to classification.
See also:
UPDATE: This just in from the folks over at TONMO:
The scientific name for the wonderpus is Wonderpus photogenicus From work that will soon be published by Hochberg, Norman, Finn.
The Delaware SeaGrant program produces short radio announcements on ocean topics called SeaTalk. They have material going back to 1998 in wav and mp3 formats. Wouldn’t take much to syndicate this stuff and turn it into podcasts. How about it Delaware? Don’t keep your content bottled up. Let me know if you need help. 
As a public service in conjunction with more than 35 area radio stations, Delaware Sea Grant produces SeaTalk, a bimonthly series of 30- and 60-second radio announcements on subjects ranging from sharks to sand dunes to current marine science research. The series has been in production at the University of Delaware for more than 30 years.
SeaTalk Sampler
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute produces a short format podcast called Science and the Sea™:
The goal of Science and the Sea™ is to convey this understanding of the sea and its myriad life forms to everyone, so that they, too, can fully appreciate this amazing resource. We do this through magazine articles, a radio program, and activities on our website. In all of these, we provide entertaining stories and activities that teach about the marine world and even convey how scientists approach, and ultimately solve, some of the oceans’ mysteries.
Tip of the tentacle to my Dad for the link!
Students in Florida must now selected a career path in the 8th grade, choosing from a list of 440 occupations. Oceanographer does not appear to be one of them nor does marine biologist. (Granted that some argue that there is no such thing.) But if there were a listing perhaps the selection could include some of the images recently posted by Dr. Steve O’Shea over at TONMO.com (WARNING: bloody whale carcass vs. backhoe). It might also include this quote to describe the day-in-the-life of such a researcher:
We flew down, rented a car, got covered in blood, rented a motel unit to wash up, and then had to fly back up again that evening….
Scientist can learn a lot from a dead whale. Some of what we know of giant squid has come from the stomachs of their predators, the sperm whale. The sucker scars on the whales have also given us clues. But disposing of 60+ tons of animal is no small task. Officials in Scotland are currently faced with a such quandry. Some have infamously tried to blow them up. Others have towed them out to see and sunk them in an effort to better understand the recently discovered whale fall communities:
Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales. In the July 30 issue of Science, the researchers describe these worms, whose bodies and feeding strategies differ from those of any other known animal. The worms have no eyes, legs, mouths, or stomachs, but they do have colorful feathery plumes and green “roots.” They use the roots to infiltrate the bones of dead whales, digesting the fats and oils inside with the help of symbiotic bacteria.
In the U.S., if you come across a dead marine mammal of any kind, it’s probably best to contact your local wildlife officials. Or you can try the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has ultimate jurisdiction over protected marine mammal species.
It seems that the fine folks at GIANTMicrobes.com have branched out from selling plush microbes of human maladies and have added an Aquatics section.
I am especially smitten by Alexandrium tamarense, the harmful algae species known to cause Red Tide in the Gulf of Maine. Too bad they don’t have a version of the Florida dinoflagellate. In addition to this harmless algal plush, there are these other planktonic beasties:
Even more delightful than stuffed microbes is my discovery of the MicrobeWiki, edited by students and monitored by microbiologists at Kenyon College. You can read more about Alexandrium tamarense there.
Tip of the tentacle to Kasey for the lead.
Back in May 2006 I came across Hackshaven Harford and the early efforts to bring NOAA/ESRL into Second Life. Since then, NOAA has purchased its own Second Life island and it’s almost ready for the public. Exhibits on the sim were developed by Aimee Weber Studios and include a demonstration of tsunamis, glaciers and undersea life.
If you are wondering why NOAA is in Second Life, you can find the FAQ here:
Second Life (SL) provides a unique ability to create an immersive simulated learning experience. It is a cost effective way of reaching large numbers of people that otherwise would not have access to the wealth of knowledge that NOAA and ESRL possess. Currently, NOAA/ESRL are exploring SL as a way of visualizing the vast amouts of educational material and data at their disposal.
The Science Center in Second Life will get a sneak peek at NOAA/ESRL’s Meteroa Sim. The beta-test tour will be on Wednesday, Decemeber 6, at 8:00 AM PST. You must be part of the Science Center to take part.
UPDATE: The tour was great. I got to ride a weather balloon. Hacks says the sim will be open to the public “soon.”
In the Womb is a new special airing on National Geographic next month. I have not seen it yet, but share PZ Myers’ reservations about the show. From the comments at The Daily Mail, it certainly seems to draw out the sappy sentiments.
So far it seems like they will be showcasing dogs, dolphins and elephants. I would have much preferred that the producers had also added some non-mammalian viviparity, like the sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus). Their babies develop functional teeth while in the mother’s uteri. She does not provide direct nutrition to her young. Instead, the pups feed on each other while developing1. Now that would make for some compelling television!
![I'm a sucker for the Cephalopodcast, science edu+ocean info, cephalopodcast.com [180x150, 39K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/cephalobanner1.jpg "Cephalopodcast Fans")
