Ocean Blog
Devoted Dads: From Seahorses to Sea SpidersPublished by: Nancy Knowlton - Jun 14, 2011If youngsters get cared for at all, the mother is usually involved. But in fish and a few other groups where eggs are not abandoned, fathers are the primary care providers. Males are sometimes such devoted dads that it takes longer for them to care for the young than it does for the females to produce the eggs. If potential fathers are in limited supply, stereotypical male and female roles get reversed, with males more interested in food and females more interested in sex. |
 Male leafy seadragons (Phycodurus eques) are among the ocean's more "devoted dads." They carry the developing eggs for about a month, until they hatch.
David Gray, FishWise Professional
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Saving Sharks and Dolphins, Near and FarPublished by: Alena Kuczynski - Jun 9, 2011Sophi Bromenshenkel is an unlikely shark-lover. She's eight years old and hails from Minnesota, a state that couldn't be further from the ocean. But a family vacation to Florida changed everything. When she saw a pregnant bull shark left for dead on a beach, Sophie knew she needed to help. |
 Shark-lover and Minnesota native Sophi Bromenshenkel poses with her hammerhead snow sculpture. The eight-year-old is one of Oceana's 2011 Ocean Heroes.
Courtesy of Neil Bromenshenkel
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Summer Beach ReadsPublished by: Tina Tennessen - May 26, 2011Memorial Day is nearly upon us. We thought it'd be a good time to think about our summer beach reads. And yes, we're taking the phrase literally. (A quick aside: As a Minnesota-native I'd argue that winter is an equally good time to embark on an ocean reading list. Especially if the subject matter veers in the tropical direction.) |
 Fiction or non-fiction, short or epic...what are your favorite books about the ocean?
By Álvaro Canivell (Flickr name oooh.oooh)
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Demystifying SeafoodPublished by: Maggy Hunter Benson - May 17, 2011Calling all fans of Bravo's "Top Chef" reality show: the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program is hosting Demystifying Seafood, a wine and dine event at the National Museum of Natural History on Thursday evening, June 9, 2011. "Top Chef" runner up Mike Isabella, fan favorite Carla Hall, season one contestant Sam Talbot, and over 30 other acclaimed chefs will be preparing "sustainable seafood" dishes for guests. |
 Guests enjoy American wines and seafood at the Smithsonian's 2010 sustainable seafood event. Learn more about this year's event, Demystifying Seafood.
Emily Hayes Photography
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A Plague of Sea StarsPublished by: Chris Mah - May 11, 2011Sea stars are important members of marine ecosystems, especially in the tropics. We may think of tropical coral reefs as being home mainly to fish and corals, but in fact these habitats are home to a huge diversity of ecologically important invertebrates. Sometimes, human influences can throw off the balance between these invertebrates, resulting in a cascade effect that negatively affects the entire coral reef ecosystem. |
 Scientists have been studying why populations of crown-of-thorns sea stars (Acanthaster planci) have mushroomed in recent decades. Coral reefs can suffer when the sea star's numbers explode; the echinoderm has a healthy appetite and few predators.
Klaus Jost, www.jostimages.com
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Menopausal Moms: A Mammal MysteryPublished by: Nancy Knowlton - May 6, 2011In honor of Mother's Day, the Citizens of the Sea blog salutes ocean-going mothers everywhere. Especially a 60 year-old albatross named Wisdom. She holds the seabird records for both oldest bird and oldest new mother. No stranger to motherhood, it is estimated that she has already birthed 30-35 other chicks. |
 Killer whales (Orcinus orca) have something in common with humans: early menopause.
Robert L. Pitman, NOAA Fisheries, USA
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So You Think You're Smarter Than a Cephalopod?Published by: WendyWilliams - May 5, 2011The blanket octopus can rip a poisonous tentacle from a Portuguese man-o-war and wield it like a sword to ward off enemies as it soars through the ocean trailing its webbed cloak behind it. |
 Like other cephalopods, the common cuttlefish (Sepia officials Linnaeus, 1758) possesses serious brain power.
Hans Hillewaert, WoRMS for SMEBD
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Your Ocean PoemsPublished by: Tina Tennessen - May 4, 2011May is here and that means National Poetry Month is officially over. As promised, we're going to highlight a few of the submissions we've received from our call for your ocean poems. Sailors, divers, and sunbathers all penned poems. Some praised the big blue's beauty. Others bemoaned its mistreatment. Coral reefs inspired some, aircraft carriers moved others (literally and figuratively). |
 Is the ocean your muse? Send us your poems that celebrate the Big Blue.
Photo by Flickr User Nattu
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What Lives in the Gulf of Mexico? Exploring Marine Collections on Google EarthPublished by: Maggy Hunter Benson - May 4, 2011When he was 10 years old, Stephen Cairns lived in Cuba where he kept a collection of butterflies and sea shells. When his family moved to Louisiana, he could bring only one of the collections with him. He chose the shells. He says that is when he knew he was going to be a marine biologist. |
 Google Earth lets you dive into the Gulf of Mexico and explore the Smithsonian's marine collections first-hand.
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Witness to a Plastic InvasionPublished by: LauriePenland - Apr 26, 2011It blew in for two solid days: a flotilla of plastic forks, soda bottles, rubber gloves, and other refuse. I tried to pick everything up off the beach, but when I turned around, you couldn’t tell that I had cleaned at all. When we went out in the boats, we had to go slowly in order to dodge the debris. Eventually the tide came in and swooped it all away. |
 Plastic trash floats in the waters off the Smithsonian's Carrie Bow Cay field station, in Belize.
Laurie Penland
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