Olivia “Liv” Dixon, MSc’s Post

Did you know that you can help identify whales and help tell the stories of these magnificent ocean creatures? If you are lucky enough to take a photo of a whale or whale tail, upload your image to happywhale.com, a website that engages citizen scientists to identify individual marine mammals, for fun and for science.

In #scicomm, sometimes I like to ask my viewers questions instead of providing answers. This inspires the audience to think along. And: many questions in marine biology are not solved yet! This video introduces the #MuckDiving habitat, and asks about it. https://lnkd.in/gkaQ5Ct7

The #SESeamounts expedition, led by an international group of scientists, believes they have discovered more than 100 new species living on seamounts off the coast of Chile. The recent Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition resulted in identifying deep-sea corals, glass sponges, sea urchins,  amphipods, squat lobsters, and other species likely new to science. During the expedition, scientists used a 4500-meter-depth underwater robot to explore and collect data along ten seamounts, which scientists and policymakers will use to advance Chile’s marine protection efforts. Seen here is a cirrothauma (genus of deep water octopuses from the cirrate family Cirroteuthidae.)

If you need proof that there is still plenty to discover in our ocean, look no further than the recent Schmidt Ocean Institute deep-sea expedition in South America! In less than a month, the expedition documented 100 newly discovered deep-sea animals, including species of deep-sea corals, glass sponges, squat lobsters and more. Check out these astounding results. 🤯 👇 https://lnkd.in/eM3bBGf6

Amazing research coming out of the journal Nature! It highlights two important things: 1 - how little we still know about the ocean and these amazing animals 2- the massive problem caused by noise pollution in the ocean. In recent years, the increasing levels of noise pollution in our ocean has emerged as a profound threat to marine life, particularly affecting whale populations worldwide. Whales, known for their extraordinary acoustic abilities, rely on sound for communication, navigation, and feeding. However, the cacophony of human-made noises—from shipping traffic, seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration, to naval exercises—has begun to drown out the natural oceanic soundscape, leading to devastating consequences for these magnificent creatures. https://lnkd.in/dSxG5JPw

"More Whale Falls Found off LA than in the Rest of the World Combined" - 7/3/2024. Hakai Magazine: Two scientific surveys off the coast of LA find: 1. "tens of 1,000s of naval weapons", and 2. "the remains of whales....almost certainly more than 60 total skeletons... a phenomenon known as 'whale fall'". > Eric Terrill and Sophia Merrifield, oceanographers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography "set out to assess waste scattered across 350 sq. km of seafloor encompassing the San Pedro Basin and part of the Santa Monica Basin". (The area was a 1900s industrial dumping ground). > Greg Rouse at Scripps Institution of Oceanography: "..the remains belong to gray, blue, humpback, fin, sperm, and minke #whales. **The number of skeletons is 'higher than I would have expected, based on our regional calculations,' by a factor of 3 to 5"** - Craig Smith, professor emeritus of oceanography. > "Researchers think it’s unlikely that the toxic waste and weapons dumped here played a part in killing the whales, but the area is heavily trafficked by ships, and it’s possible that more whales die here by ship strike than in other places." > "The U.S. two busiest ports, in LA and Long Beach, are just NE of the study site, with #shippinglanes extending throughout the region... thousands of gray whales migrate through each year, and blue whales feed here regularly" - John Calambokidis, marine biologist at Cascadia Research Collective. Full article: https://lnkd.in/gpNbe4gv #supplychainsustainability #shipping

A PAIR OF SCIENTIFIC SURVEYS recently turned up a few surprises on the seafloor off the coast of Los Angeles, California. First, there were the tens of thousands of naval weapons. And then, researchers found the remains of whales—seven confirmed and almost certainly more than 60 total skeletons in the dark depths, a phenomenon known as “whale fall.” Eric Terrill and Sophia Merrifield, oceanographers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego who led the surveys in 2021 and 2023, had set out to assess waste scattered across 350 square kilometers of seafloor encompassing the San Pedro Basin and part of the Santa Monica Basin. Before this effort, scientists had found only about 50 whale falls in all the world’s oceans since 1977, when a deep sea naval vessel spotted the first specimen off nearby Santa Catalina Island. When these large marine mammals die and sink, they form biological oases on the resource-poor seafloor. Whale falls provide nourishment and even habitat for a wide range of creatures—from scavenging hagfish and sleeper sharks to microbes, mussels, clams, worms, nematodes, crabs, and members of the jellyfish family. #marinelife #biodiversityloss #globalwarming #climatechange https://lnkd.in/gMvXwb7v

I'll be giving a Power Point Presentation about my MUFON BOOKS: The ET Species Almanac and UFO Hotspot Compendium. #mufon #mufonla

SARGASSUM UPDATE: Will sargassum make its way back to Florida? Sargassum, the brown masses of smelly seaweed that bloom in the Atlantic Ocean, is not moving onto the Florida coast as heavily compared to 2023. See video here: https://lnkd.in/dvtRmDNe 2023 Context report: The creeping threat of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt See here: https://lnkd.in/e8hwtXBZ Visible from space, an explosion of harmful seaweed now stretches like a sea monster across the ocean. Could robots save us from it – and store carbon in the process? #sargassum #seaturtles #florida #coralreefs #tropicalmarineecology #marineecology #coastalecosystems #marinescience #marinebiology

A different approach to popularizing marine biology: I am telling you not what I know but what questions I have about the animals and the natural history I film. Enjoy! #scicomm #popularScience #ocean #marineBiology https://lnkd.in/gkaQ5Ct7