Radio Program
Our regular Science and the SeaTM radio program presents marine science topics in an engaging two-minute story format. Our script writers gather ideas for the radio program from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute's researchers and from our very popular college class, Introduction to Oceanography, which we teach to hundreds of non-science majors at The University of Texas at Austin every year. Our radio programs are distributed at to commercial and public radio stations across the country.
When it comes to getting along, we could all take a lesson from the Portuguese man-of-war. Despite its fearsome sting, it’s really a “let’s-all-get-along” kind of creature. That’s because it’s really a cooperative — a collection of several different organisms that come together to make a single critter.
More than five centuries ago, powerful tsunamis roared across parts of New Zealand, Australia, and surrounding islands — waves that reached hundreds of feet up the mountainsides. Native peoples abandoned these regions, and legends of island-killing waves were born.
Whales and walruses might not seem like they have much in common. But for a couple of centuries, they shared a common fate: They were hunted to near-extinction by whaling fleets. Walruses were prized for their blubber, which was rendered down to make oil; their tough skins; and their ivory tusks.
The next time you visit one of the sparkling white beaches of South Florida, you might want to take a few precautions when you leave. Make sure you empty the sand from your shoes and shake it out of your swimsuit and towel, and don’t let the children carry off a bucket of sand — because several counties are running out of the stuff.
The box jellyfish doesn’t look very threatening. Its delicate cube-shaped “bell” measures only a few inches per side, while its tentacles look like long strands of spaghetti. Yet in some species of box jellyfish, those strands contain some of the deadliest venom on the planet — powerful enough to kill an adult in minutes.
Doctors tell mothers-to-be that a healthy diet helps ensure a healthy baby. That same rule applies to other creatures as well. A recent study of red drum, for example, found that spawning fish need a diet rich in fatty acids at the right time to produce healthier eggs. The findings could help operators of fish farms know just what and when to feed their broodstock.
Essential fatty acids are needed for normal development and body function. An example in the human diet is omega-three fatty acids, which are found in fish oil and other sources.
When Benjamin Franklin crossed the Atlantic Ocean, he was no idle passenger. Among other tasks, he plotted water temperatures by dropping a thermometer over the side of the ship. That helped him devise an accurate map of the Gulf Stream, the current of warm water that flows along the Eastern Seaboard and across to Europe.
In the oceans, one organism’s trash may be another’s treasure. Bits of plastic that wash into the sea can choke or entangle birds, turtles, and other large creatures. But they may also be perfect homes for microscopic creatures, who can turn a plastic chip into a thriving colony — an ecological niche known as the plastisphere.
Millions of tons of plastic trash float atop the oceans. Although plastic doesn’t degrade very easily, it does break up into smaller pieces, which can float for decades.
Grand Cayman Island is a popular spot for divers. The small Caribbean island offers clear waters, and it’s surrounded on all sides by sheer walls — rock faces that drop hundreds of feet.
We’re surrounded by alarm clocks these days. They’re on our bedside tables, our computers, and our phones — electronic reminders to get up and get going. But perhaps our most important clock is a biological one — an internal system that regulates how our bodies work, tied to the 24-hour rhythm of night and day.
The creatures that live along the shore appear to have two internal clocks. One is linked to the cycle of night and day, but the other is linked to the tides — a cycle that lasts about 12-and-a-half hours.
