MarineBio Contributors

The success of MarineBio is largely due to the efforts of the core volunteer team and the following contributors who help make this site a leading source of online information for the marine life sciences. We sincerely appreciate your contributions and hard work. Your help is opening the door to a future full of possibilities to protect the ocean and marine life (and therefore ourselves).

We're always looking for volunteers and interns. If you're interested, please see our Volunteers & Internships page.

Our volunteers and contributors include amazing marine life photographers, marine biology students and several marine biologists (both academic and field biologists) who help out with the specific issues they specialize in (e.g. coral reefs, cephalopods, etc.). We also have marine biologists who help answer questions in the Plankton Forums.

Georgina Mills - Georgina is a Biological Sciences graduate, from the University of Reading, UK. She is currently working as an Editorial Assistant within science publishing in London. After having had experience in writing through the University student newspaper, she is keen to expand this experience and write about the topics that interest her: environmental biology, conservation and ecology.

Kerry Gildea Beck is a former aerospace and political journalist based in Washington, D.C. She is a volunteer interpreter at the National Zoo's Amazonia Exhibit and her current writing projects are heavily focused on animal conservation.

One of the best moments in her life was snorkeling off Hawaii's Na Pali Coast with a giant green sea turtle “honu.”

Peter Moyle, PhD – Essays on Wildlife Conservation
MarineBio is proud to present Essays on Wildlife Conservation written and edited by Dr. Peter Moyle, et al. for an introductory course on wildlife conservation taught at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Moyle's chapters provide an introduction to the history of wildlife in North America, biodiversity, natural selection, conservation biology, ecology, conservation legislation, alien species, wildlife and pollution, and things we can all do to save wildlife.

David Hall – Contributing Photographer
"It has always been my hope that my fascination with, and respect for, all living things would show in my work and help to inspire similar feelings in others." seaphotos.com

Wilhelm Bögershausen – Contributing Photographer
A wonderful collection of photos of many species from around the world: Clownfish underwater picture gallery

Massimo Boyer & Paola Bearzi – Contributing Photographers
Marine biologists in charge of the marine diversity laboratory: Edge of Reef in Manado, Indonesia.

Dave Harasti – Contributing Photographer
Dave is a marine scientist working for the NSW Fisheries Threatened Species Unit. Dave has a honors degree in Marine Science 1st class. He is an avid diver and an outstanding photographer. daveharasti.com

Roberto Sozzani (Scubabob Underwater Photography) – Contributing Photographer
Roberto lives in Milan, Italy and is an avid diver and outstanding photographer. robertosozzani.it

Rolf Hicker (Rainbow Productions) – Contributing Photographer
Rolf is a wildlife, travel, and nature photographer and owner of Rainbow Productions based in Canada. Rolf has traveled the globe and has had a number of remarkable experiences, including photographing Sir Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather, when they visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence to observe the Harp seals, a trip organized by the Humane Society of the United States.

Rolf Hicker Nature Photography

Peter Schulz – Contributing Photographer
Peter dives frequently off Boyton Beach, Florida and is an amazing photographer of Florida marine life. peterpeterpeter.com

Andy Murch – Contributing Photographer
Andy runs elasmodiver.com which is the only web-based field guide for diving with sharks and rays. He is also Shark Diver Magazine's Staff Photographer and is currently also working on an upcoming TV series called Shark Divers. "I don't think we're crazy, we just love diving with sharks and we want to show the world the sharks while there are still some left." - Shark Divers Trailer

Richard and Mary Field (Reef Fishes of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman) – Contributing Photographers
The Field's have been photographing and studying reef fishes since 1989 and have built a library of photographs of about 600 species present around the Arabian peninsula, which includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Southern Oman (Arabian Sea). richardfield.freeservers.com

Rob L. Suisted – Contributing Photographer
"With a background in zoology, a professional career in conservation management and quality management systems, along with an extensive experience in remote/back-country areas and photography, Rob has developed Nature's Pic Images into a quality provider of New Zealand Nature and Scenic Stock Imagery." naturespic.com

Clinton Bauder (The Metridium Fields) – Contributing Photographer
"When I'm not writing code for Apple Computer you're likely to find me underwater somewhere with my video camera. I've managed to get some good shots over the years and this is my forum for sharing them with you, the diving public." metridium.com

Alison Gill (The Marine Team) – Contributing Photographer
Alison contributes photographs of marine mammals to MarineBio as a member of The Marine Team's marineteam.com (now Intelligent Ocean) network of freelance professionals working in the marine environment who are dedicated to the conservation of marine species and their habitat.

Marcus Martin – Contributing Photographer
Marcus Martin maintains the web site photobirder.com featuring "Birds of the World by Marcus G. Martin." Marcus is based in New Mexico, US and generously provides photos to MarineBio of marine birds.

Dr. Jeremy Montague – Contributing Scientist
Barry University's Dr. Jeremy Montague submitted the fascinating article "Global Warming And Hurricanes: Only Heat, Or Is There Light?" to MarineBio to help our readers understand the remarkable increase in the number of severe hurricanes that struck the U.S. coasts and to help predict what lies in store for the 2006 hurricane season.

Interns/Volunteers:

Ashley Kurth, Biology student, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA (Submitted shearwaters...)

Benjamin Chen, B.S. Marine Science TAMU-Corpus Christi, RPCV - Micronesia 70 (2003-05), USA (Submitted corals, albatrosses, the Great Auk, boobies, penguins, ganets...)

Christine Bedore, Zoology student (concentration Marine Biology), Michigan State University, Jackson, MI, USA (Submitted reef fishes...)

Denise Perez, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA (Submitted petrels...)

Ellie Pelletier (turtle fan**), Marine Biology student at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, HI, USA (Submitted reef fishes...)

Fiza Nadeem, biology student at the University of Toronto, working towards a major in biology. (Helping with individual species home pages...)

Heidi Harding, Marine Biology Student - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Working on fishes...)

Jaclyn Mousoulias, Marine Biology student and works for the SCUBA department at the Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA (Submitted corals, sea horses...)

Kelly Woods, Marine Biologist, graduate of UNC Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA (Deep Sea content editor, submitted Phylum definitions...)

Kyle Scharkss, Aspiring Marine Biologist, high school student in Connecticut, USA (Submitted reef fishes...)

Lauren Admire is an aspiring marine biologist with a BA in Philosophy from Elon University and hopes to enter into graduate school in Fall 2011 for marine biology with a focus in teuthology. She writes a weekly science column for The Escapist. She currently volunteers in the Aquatics section of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and is training to work with rescued raptors and big cats.

Leigh-Anne Baller, Biology student - Linfield College, Oregon, USA (Submitted marine mammals introductory information...)

Lenny, Marine Science student (specializing in Marine Zoology) - National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland (Submitted the Sea lamprey...)

Mario Lebrato, Oceanography/Marine Biology student - Southampton Oceanography Centre, UK (Submitted photos and marine mammal information...)

Mary Bach - Mary has been interested in marine biology from an early age. Her main interest is cetaceans, particularly the lesser known ones such as the 20 species of beaked whales which she is currently helping MarineBio expand. Currently she is working full time in a non-marine science career. Although she is an aspiring photographer and would eventually like to try underwater photography, her dream job is tracking marine animals in the wild for research purposes. (Helped with beaked whale research...)

Tania Woodcock, Marine Biology and Oceanography student, University of Plymouth, UK (Submitted reef fishes...)

If you have changes or additions (photos?) to the above information, email us asap.

We always need interns and volunteers! If you're interested, please see our Call for Interns! page.

Feedback?

Something missing or incorrect in the above? Let us know!

MLA Citation: "". MarineBio.org. <http://www.marinebio.org/MarineBio/contributors.asp?>. Note: If no author is given under the main page title, simply cite MarineBio.org.

Marine Biology News   :: ScienceDaily

Lessons in coral reef survival from deep time

Lessons from tens of millions of years ago are pointing to new ways to save and protect today's coral reefs and their myriad of beautiful and many-hued fishes at a time of huge change in the Earth's systems. Today's complex relationship between fishes and corals developed relatively recently in geological terms -- and is a major factor in shielding reef species from extinction, say experts.

Carbon dioxide is 'driving fish crazy'

Rising human carbon dioxide emissions may be affecting the brains and central nervous system of sea fishes with serious consequences for their survival, an international scientific team has found. Carbon dioxide concentrations predicted to occur in the ocean by the end of this century will interfere with fishes' ability to hear, smell, turn and evade predators, says a professor.

Multiple partners not the only way for corals to stay cool

For the first time scientists have shown that corals hosting a single type of zooxanthellae can have different levels of thermal tolerance -– a feature that was only known previously for corals with a mix of zooxanthellae. This finding is important because many species of coral are dominated by a single type of zooxanthellae.

Inventory lists 19,232 newly discovered species during latest count

More than half of the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, the most recent calendar year of compilation, were insects -- 9,738 or 50.6 percent -- according to the 2011 State of Observed Species.

Breakthrough model reveals evolution of ancient nervous systems through seashell colors

Determining the evolution of pigmentation patterns on mollusk seashells -- which could aid in the understanding of ancient nervous systems -- has proved to be a challenging feat for researchers. Now, however, through mathematical equations and simulations, researchers have used 19 different species of the predatory sea snail Conus to generate a model of the pigmentation patterns of mollusk shells.

Wandering albatross alters its foraging due to climate change

Wandering albatrosses have altered their foraging due to changes in wind fields in the southern hemisphere during the last decades. Since winds have increased in intensity and moved to the south, the flight speed of albatrosses increased and they spend less time foraging. As a consequence, breeding success has improved and birds have gained 1 kilogram.

Can we save the whales by putting a price on them?

Every year, anti-whaling groups spend millions of dollars on activities intended to end commercial whaling. And every year, commercial whaling not only continues, but grows. While protests, education, lobbying and dangerous confrontations on the high seas have saved some whales, the whaling industry shows no sign of shutting down -- or slowing down. Now, an economist and two marine scientists suggest a new strategy that they believe could save whales by putting a price on them.

Fish offspring grow best at same temperature as parents

Fish parents can pre-condition their offspring to grow fastest at the temperature they experienced, according to new research.

World's most extreme deep-sea vents revealed: Deeper than any seen before, and teeming with new creatures

Scientists have revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, five kilometers down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor. The undersea hot springs, which lie 0.8 kilometers deeper than any seen before, may be hotter than 450 °C and are shooting a jet of mineral-laden water more than a kilometer into the ocean above.

Bycatch-22: Protecting Butterfish

Scientists work to assist fishermen in ways to avoid accidentally hauling in butterfish, a species protected by fishing limits. The researchers develop models to predict where the fish will be.

Paddlefish sensors tuned to detect signals from zooplankton prey

Neurons fire in a synchronized bursting pattern in response to robust signals indicating nearby food.

Harp seals on thin ice after 32 years of warming

Warming in the North Atlantic over the last 32 years has significantly reduced winter sea ice cover in harp seal breeding grounds, resulting in sharply higher death rates among seal pups in recent years, according to a new study.

Fish mimics octopus that mimics fish

Nature's game of intimidation and imitation comes full circle in the waters of Indonesia, where scientists have recorded for the first time an association between the black-marble jawfish and the mimic octopus.

Salt water alone unlikely to halt Burmese python invasion

Invasive Burmese python hatchlings from the Florida Everglades can withstand exposure to salt water long enough to potentially expand their range through ocean and estuarine environments.

'Lost world' discovered around Antarctic vents

Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents. The discoveries include new species of yeti crab, starfish, barnacles, sea anemones, and potentially an octopus.

Molecular mechanism links temperature with sex determination in some fish species

Researchers have found the epigenetic mechanism that links temperature and gonadal sex in fish. High temperature increases DNA methylation of the gonadal aromatase promoter in females.

Sunlight and bunker oil a fatal combination for Pacific herring

The 2007 Cosco Busan disaster, which spilled 54,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay, had an unexpectedly lethal impact on embryonic fish, devastating a commercially and ecologically important species for nearly two years, reports a new study.

Sea cucumbers: Dissolving coral reefs?

Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef.

Ocean acidification: Some organisms already experiencing ocean acidification levels not predicted to be reached until 2100

Ocean acidification research is a relatively new study topic as scientists have only appreciated the potential extent of acidification within the last decade. As greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated in the past century, the oceans have taken up about a third of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities. That excess beyond natural levels increases amounts of carbonic acid in seawater. New research shows that some organisms are already experiencing ocean acidification levels not predicted to be reached until 2100.

Belize protected area boosting predatory fish populations

A 14-year study in an atoll reef lagoon in Glover's Reef, Belize has found that fishing closures there produce encouraging increases in populations of predatory fish species. However, such closures have resulted in only minimal increases in herbivorous fish, which feed on the algae that smother corals and inhibit reef recovery.