Blog

I did not hesitate to go when my friend Don and his family invited me on one of their trips to a tiny fishing island, El Pardito. The island was charming and the fishermen welcoming. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

The earth is in its sixth mass extinction— the worst since the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs and 50% of other species.

“Brainy, colorful, fast, sophisticated, strange, inspiring – cephalopods have been on the planet for about 500 million years and have fascinated humans for thousands of year.” Octopus, Squid & Cuttlefish: A Visual, Scientific Guide To The Oceans.

By Nancy Burnett, Founder of Shape of LifeWhile working on the original PBS Shape of Life series, I learned about the discovery of fossil animals that first appeared during the Cambrian Explosion. When I realized that the most famous Cambrian site is in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, I knew I had to visit it. 

All animals, whether birds that fly, beetles that scurry, or worms living in the ocean depths, interact with the earth’s environment. We all live on the same planet with the same soil, water and air. We all require oxygen and water, and we all must eat to obtain organic molecules to build our bodies and stay alive. All animals move at least a part of their bodies through the environment or move the environment through their bodies to obtain oxygen and food; that movement may not be the same for all animals, but we do share commonalities.

Food webs are key to understanding how an ecosystem functions. The webs are just that: networks of complex feeding relationships, not just the linear food chain we may have learned about in a biology class. More, food webs illustrate the energy flow and predator/prey interactions within an ecosystem.    Pelagic predators from deep sea food web

Worldwide coral reefs are suffering from the impacts of climate change. Around the world researchers are pioneering ways to protect and restore coral reefs that have already bleached. Between these efforts and the amazing capacity for corals to adapt to healthier environments, there seems to be  some hope.   Corals can be attached to reefs piece by piece with cement, zip ties, and nails. (Photo: Reef Resilience Network)

Think about the biggest, most powerful predators in any system. These are called apex predators. Some that come to mind are obvious— wolves in Yellowstone, lions on the Serengeti and orcas in the Pacific Northwest. There are others in many different ecosystems, like the sunflower star in nearshore waters off Alaska. Often the large predators at the top of the food web in a particular ecosystem. But, humans are the ultimate apex predator.

From where we stand on land or on a boat deck, we may think the ocean is silent; but it most definitely isn’t. In the ocean where there’s little light, many marine animals rely on sound to communicate, navigate and find food. Sound travels far and fast in the ocean: it can travel about a 1000 times farther than light underwater, and more than four times faster in water than in air. 

Planarians are small flatworms known for their amazing ability to regenerate. As the naturalist John Graham Dalyell wrote in 1814, planarians could “almost be called immortal under the edge of the knife. They can tear themselves in half and regrow complete bodies. They can retain memories despite decapitation. And if you chop them into little pieces, each piece will start acting like a perfectly intact worm.“