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During the fall semester at the University of South Carolina, I was enrolled in a course called Marine Science 311. This course included a lab that met once each week. My favorite lab that I was able to partake in was one entitled Sea Urchin Fertilization. I had never really taken the time to consider how such alien looking organisms would be able to reproduce until I was involved in this study. As it turns out, I learned that sea urchin egg fertilization actually happens outside of the body in open sea water. In order to recreate this in a lab setting, my classmates and I had access to several sea urchins, their genders unknown to us. In order to determine the genders of the organisms, we had to inject each individual with .5 M potassium chloride.  Once injected, we were…

It is strongly believed that cetaceans, which consist of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are some of the more intelligent species that exist alongside human beings on this planet. Naturally, due to this high level of intelligence, they are more likely to have interactions with other individuals. These individuals can be members of their own species,…

A common belief among many people is that humans are the smartest creatures on Earth, but is that really the case? Multiple studies have shown that humans are not the only intelligent animals on the planet. Cetaceans are known to be very intelligent animals, especially Bottlenose Dolphins. This cetacean species is often seen living in small groups, also called pods, that hunt and mate together. Within each pod, dolphins communicate with each other through whistles that can be individualized and assigned to different dolphins (Oceana). To summarize, the pod of dolphins can act as one unit. They communicate, mate, and hunt together. Image 1. Displays multiple dolphins in their respective pods. More than one pod is present and they swim with their own pod. Photo taken by Elyse Vick for the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center.  Along with…

Not long ago was plastic almost completely absent in the day to day lives of the average American. Now, it has essentially reached ubiquity. Not surprisingly, its proliferation was initially a reflection of the fertility of American economics during the mid twentieth century. A material referred to as Bakelite, first synthesized by a Belgian chemist named Leo Baekeland in 1907, marked the beginning of what has been rightfully coined “The Polymer Age”. (Meikle, J. L. 1997). It was even marketed as “the material of a thousand uses”, and the infinity symbol was its trademark. (Meikle, J. L. 1997).  A newspaper ad for Bakelite in the early 1900’s. Fast forward to today, and the amount of plastic being produced annually stands out at two hundred and forty five million tons. (Andrady, A. L. 2011). One of the main reasons that the…

Underwater or ocean noise can have natural/biological sources or anthropogenic sources, otherwise known as human-made noise. Ocean noise is very important to monitor due to its impact on the environment and the organisms within. Natural sources of ocean noise have physical/geophysical, atmospheric, and geological aspects. These aspects can include wind and precipitation at the ocean…

Researchers have found changes in stress levels and also reproductive health in whales and dolphins, however, this information is hard to collect.  Teaching Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University, Jason Bruck, wants to understand just how much influence people have on the overall health of dolphins.  He and his colleagues are currently creating a type…

Seagrasses are known for supporting an extremely biodiverse ecosystem, including the charming but endangered manatee. It is also the home of many fish used in commercial fishing. Therefore, when considering conservation of these species, it is very important to note that seagrass populations are declining overall worldwide. While factors such as physical mechanical damage, coastal development, and pollution no doubt play a role, climate change may be a new rising factor that is certainly worth more consideration. Underwater oceanic plants are affected the most by extreme temperature increases, which corresponds to future predictions that seagrass populations will experience range shifts out of their normal distribution and begin traveling to higher latitudes, according to the IPCC Climate Change Report for 2018 (IPCC, 2018).  Figure 1. This diagram from the IPCC illustrates the effects of global average surface temperature change relative to…

As the abundance of marine debris in the form of plastics and other trash increases, we have also seen a great increase in community efforts to minimize this trash. It is easy to visualize the damage done in the piles of trash on the beach, mylar balloons floating at sea, and the famous pictures of…

Recently, the United States of America celebrated 224 years of being a free nation. A large part of that is a thanks to our Armed Forces, whether human or not. But while most people associate animals in the Armed Forces with dogs and horses, the Navy has employed some familiar faces we see off our…

Since 1896, when a Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius, described the detrimental effects of carbon dioxide on our climate, we have known the effects of our actions.  Since humans took over planet Earth, our global temperatures have been rising because of our CO2 emissions.  Within the past 100 years, the temperature has increased at a much…

A variety of processes contribute to the changing appearances of New Jersey’s beaches. Each year, some beaches grow while others shrink as a result of longshore drift gradually pushing sand from one shore point to the next. Nor’easters, hurricanes, and rising sea levels can exacerbate the process, removing massive sections of the beaches along the…

  It’s no secret that every summer, thousands of people from numerous different areas will flock to New Jersey beaches to enjoy the weather and take advantage of all the state has to offer.  NJ’s vast coastal areas are one of the state’s greatest resources and the source of plenty of revenue each year.  But…