Category: Ocean Life

The economies of gratitude….

An November 2009 article in Nature looks at non-kin cooperation models in animal societies. It examines reciprocity, mutualism, and manipulation in economic terms – with future expectations, biological expense, and cheating included in some of the trade values. The overarching…

The Neutrino and the Whale

A nicely written article in the Dec. 3 2009 issue  Nature reveals how a how a neutrino detection experiment conducted in the Mediterranean Sea by nuclear physicists actually uncovered an abundance of sperm whales. The experiment involved placing hydrophones down…

New York Times article on human/whale relationships

This week New York Times features and article ostensibly about our relationship with whales, woven around a visit by the author to the “friendly whales” of San Ignacio Lagoon. The article (requiring a free NYT login) is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/magazine/12whales-t.html It…

This little blue marble

OCR Advisory Board member and ocean champion J. Nichols and “Her Deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle have founded an organization predicted on a delightful premise. The organization is called “Bluemarbles.org” from the metaphor of the earth seen from space being likened…

Reflections on “saving” whales

An indecent cited in the UK Independent highlights one of the tragic ironies of well-meaning citizens attempting to push stranded whales back out to sea. My speculative belief is that stranded marine mammals actually know what they are doing, and…

Google Ocean launches

Google Earth has added a very significant embellishment to their wonderful mapping application; “Google Ocean.” (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/science/earth/03oceans.html?_r=2&hp ) This new tool will allow anybody to explore the ocean at will, and free of charge. I believe that the introduction of…