WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Kelp forests are some of the most important habitats in coastal waters around the world. They provide breeding grounds for fish and shellfish, and protect juveniles from predators. They absorb […]
Radio Program
Our regular Science and the Sea™ 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 to commercial and public radio stations across the country.
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Sharks and rays are in trouble. A study a few years ago found that the global population had dropped by more than 70 percent since 1970. And three-quarters of all […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The Japanese spider crab is harmless to people. But it might not look that way if you happened across it at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. It can span […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
For many native Hawaiians, the centerpiece of just about any New Year’s celebration is onaga, a fish that’s also known as ruby snapper or longtail red snapper. It’s served at […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The Franciscana dolphin has quite the schnozz. Its beak is longer in relation to the size of its body than that of any other dolphin or whale—up to 15 percent […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
A type of damsel fish from the other side of the world has invaded the Gulf of Mexico. But it doesn’t appear to be doing much harm to the fish […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The wolves on a small island in Alaska have a diet problem. They’ve wolfed down dangerously high levels of mercury—a result of eating sea otters. Pleasant Island is a mile […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
In July of 2022, two scientists descended to the Challenger Deep—the deepest spot in the oceans. The first thing they saw on the bottom wasn’t a new species of life […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Here’s an old saying about nature: Drown a salt marsh, drown a coastline. Okay, we made that one up. But it’s true. And you might hear it more in the […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The sei whale is one of the largest creatures on Earth. Adults can be more than 60 feet long and weigh as much as a fully loaded semi—the third-largest of […]