Today's Catch

  • Jun 8, 2011

    World Ocean Day 2011 'Splash' Mob

    It was a typical summer day in the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History. Visitors were examining the giant squid and marveling at the life-size replica of Phoenix, the right whale. The only thing odd was the high number of blue-clad people milling about. 

    And then surfing-music filled the gallery. 

    Sant Ocean Hall, World Ocean Day
    CREDIT:

    Smithsonian Institution
  • Jun 3, 2011

    Celebrate World Ocean Day

    June 8th is World Ocean Day- a great time to celebrate all that the ocean does for us and focus on keeping it healthy for future generations. Visit the Ocean Portal's Find Your Blue page to start learning today about how your personal actions affect the ocean and how you can make make small changes to your daily routine to help protect it.

    NOAA, World Ocean Day
    CREDIT:

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • May 23, 2011
    Sea star in a tide pool

    Tide Pools and Adaptations

    Adaptation is the key word if you are looking to survive in a tide pool, a space that some scientists describe as the most competitive real estate in the ocean.

    Tide pools are exposed to the water's ebb and flow, and plants and animals must adapt to survive wave turbulence, desiccation stress, predation, and competition for space and food. Not enough real estate on the rocks? Barnacles, sponges, bryozoan, and other animals live on top of whatever or whomever they can latch onto.

    Adaptations, Coasts, Echinoderms
    CREDIT:

    Flickr user ianredan
  • May 18, 2011
    A whale shark swimming in the water.

    Tagging Along With Whale Sharks

    The sea's largest fish has been a mystery until recent decades. Thanks to electronic tags, researchers are uncovering some of the secrets of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828). One tagged animal, dubbed "Rio Lady," swam some 5,000 miles during a span of 150 days. Another dove to a depth of 6,324 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. These sharks are attracting scientists and tourists alike to places like the Yukatan Peninsula.

    Gulf of Mexico, Tagging
    CREDIT:

    Flickr user Paul Cowell
  • May 11, 2011

    The Dumbo Octopus: An Underwater Dance

    This short video takes you two hundred miles off the coast of Oregon and some 6,600 feet below the water's surface to observe the Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis bathynectes). Little is known about this deep-sea creature, but if this footage doesn't inspire a whole cadre of budding teuthologists, we don't know what will.

    Cephalopods, Octopuses, Underwater photography
    CREDIT:

    Produced by Nancy Penrose, Music courtesy of Bryan Verhoye
  • May 10, 2011
    A photo of the puffer fish Lagocephalus cf. suezensis

    A Library of Puffer Fish DNA

    Some fish you can fry up in the pan, no questions asked. Others require a bit of research. Case in point: the puffer fish. Commonly known as fugu, some species contain toxins more deadly than cyanide. The Indo-Pacific puffer Lagocephalus cf. suezensis (pictured here) is among the more toxic. Ensuring that only the safe puffers make it to market is of concern to the U.S.

    DNA barcoding, Fisheries, Genetics
    CREDIT:

    Jeffrey T. Williams/Smithsonian Institution
  • May 9, 2011
    A photo of calligrapher Myoung-Won Kwon writing an ocean-themed message.

    Calligrapher Celebrates the Ocean

    "The ocean is essential to all" is one of the Ocean Literacy Principles, and it seems to look more arresting when written in Korean calligraphy than it does in any computer font. Artist Myoung-Won Kwon shared his talents during a visit to the National Museum of Natural History.

    Ocean art, Smithsonian exhibits
    CREDIT:

    Smithsonian Institution
  • May 5, 2011
    An artist sketches the preserved bones of a specimen in the Smithsonian's collection.

    Flippers, Jawbones, and Blowholes: Marine Specimens Inspire Artists

    Rachel Caauwe was one of a dozen artists who spent a recent Saturday sketching specimens from the Smithsonian's musky-scented marine mammal collection. Here she's shown drawing the remains of a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). The workshop, organized by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, focused on larger whales.

    Cetaceans, Ocean art, Smithsonian collections
    CREDIT:

    Mary Parrish
  • Apr 26, 2011
    red paper lantern jellyfish

    Red Paper Lantern Jellyfish: One Species at a Time

    The Encyclopedia of Life and Atlantic Public Media bring us a new installment of the podcast, One Species at a Time. Vacuumed up from its habitat a mile down in the ocean, the red paper lantern jelly may not look like much. Mostly water, it’s so fragile that once brought to the surface it’s reduced to a tattered blob in a jar. But this unassuming jellyfish has lessons for scientists.

    Encyclopedia of Life, Jellyfish
    Embed code of this video:
    CREDIT:

    Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
  • Apr 13, 2011
    A poem titled "The Whale" written in magic markers with a drawing of a whale.

    Kids' Ocean Haiku Highlights

    Kids wax poetic in the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History. To celebrate National Poetry Month, visitors on April 9, 2011 were invited to pen a haiku to the ocean blue. Seven-year-old Christine Meng--a true poet--took some creative liberties and expanded the form in a visual direction.

    Ocean art, Sant Ocean Hall
    CREDIT:

    Christine Meng