elasmobranch

If you want to find life beyond Earth, your best bet is to look for an ocean. In this ‪#‎ThrowbackThursday‬, meet a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory deep-sea probe that was tested in our Kelp Forest exhibit back in 1999. Primed to look for life in the most extreme of conditions, this probe was used to survey deep-sea hydrothermal vents off of Hawaii in preparation for an astronomical goal—a search for life in a global ocean tucked away beneath miles of ice on Jupiter’s moon Europa. That was a whole lot of awesome in a row just then. 

A mother knows!

Cracking the code of cuttlefish courtship was critical to the success of the “Tentacles” exhibition.

The Museum’s collections house many eye-catching items, from the towering Tyrannosaurus to striking totem poles. But there is also a whole category of significant specimens that are imperceptible to the naked eye. We’re talking microbes: single-celled organisms stored in petri dishes or on glass slides. 

The Museum first began collecting microbiological specimens and creating exhibitions about the roles of microbes in human health more than a century ago. Click here to learn more, or watch the most recent episode of Shelf Life:

Action shot - flamboyant cuttlefish extending its two feeding tentacles to capture a small crustacean *unedited*

Pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes)—also know as tuna crabs or langostilla—started washing up along Monterey Bay beaches yesterday! Typically found off of Mexico and southern California, these scarlet drifters are a favorite of tuna, whales, birds, and turtles. 

Pelagic red crabs are in the squat lobster family—a group of crustaceans midway between true lobsters and true crabs. While their “pelagic” description refers to their life in the open ocean, the largest and oldest crabs (about two years old) appear to be found only on the deep sea floor of the continental shelf.  

While these crabs do tend to mate in the winter, mass stranding events like these don’t closely correlate to the breeding season. Our recent beach parties of youngsters were simply swept up in the current.

Photo by staffer Patrick Webster

A rare sight in our area, tuna crabs are usually associated with El Niño conditions—the last time they made their way this far was in 1983. Warmer waters building with this winter’s El Niño—coupled with “The Blob” of tepid seas hanging off the coast since last year—could mean these crabs continue their current-driven journey even further north.

Photo by staffer Patrick Webster

Bill Nye Debunks Anti-Abortion Logic With Science

That’s what Bill Nye has to say in his latest educational video, “Can We Stop Telling Women What to Do With Their Bodies?” In the video, which you can watch above, Nye explains how the idea of “life at conception” simply doesn’t make sense – because many more eggs are fertilized than become humans, due to factors like failure to attach to a woman’s uterine wall.

Photo: Ron Eby

In the 1970s, researchers discovered that kelp forests are healthier and home to many more species with otters than without them. By keeping kelp-devouring sea urchins in check, otters promote kelp growth, which in turn supports a diverse community of algae, fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals.

If otter abundance is up, so is the kelp’s; if urchin abundance is up, the otter and kelp abundance will be down. This domino effect is called a three-step trophic cascade.

But wait, there’s more!

Photo: Ron Eby

Researchers from UC Santa Cruz monitoring sea otters living in Elkhorn Slough, an estuary in Monterey Bay, noticed something incredible: after otters moved into the area, the eel grass beds became healthier.  They took a closer look and discovered that otters are also a keystone species in the eel grass community!

We’ve been studying sea otters for over 30 years, and they continue to impress us every day. 

Simple actions—like protecting sea otters—can have drastic, surprising, and positive impacts throughout the environment. To find out how you—yep, you, right there—can help us continue our research, take a look at our Sea Otter Program page. 

Elbaite, Lepidolite