Blog

When the Shape of Life team was in Long Beach for the National Marine Educators conference, we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. We were admiring a giant clam when a guide heard us and said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had confiscated this clam, as well as some others, as they were coming into the U.S. illegally. Sadly, FWS often confiscates fresh and saltwater fish and invertebrates from all over the world when they come into the U.S., mainly for the illegal pet trade. Aquariums have stepped in to help; here are some examples.  Giant clam Tridacna gigas on a coral reef

I have always wanted to see flocks of migrating shorebirds on their way to their breeding grounds in Alaska. The Copper River Delta is the best place to see this spectacle, so I went there with my sister and two naturalists who have studied migratory shorebirds for decades. 

By Nancy Burnett   California is leaping for joy with all the water we received this winter.  Our ponds are full of water just waiting for our amphibian friends. I love visiting my favorite ponds to see what’s going on. In March the Western toads were already gathering. We could hardly drive at night there were so many crossing the road heading to the water.  

Let’s Fight for Our Planet!Our last blog by Jane Silberstein revealed the beauty of the coral reefs of Fiji (I wish I had been on that trip!) and how climate change affects those extraordinary reefs.Jane shared how changing ocean chemistry – ocean acidification – makes it more difficult for corals to build their reefs because they can’t absorb the necessary calcium carbonate. It’s our actions over the last 200 years that have changed the ocean: we have released about two trillion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And about a quarter of that has been absorbed by the oceans.Read more about how you can help slow ocean acidification…