HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The recent saga of life on Ascension Island is a series of miscalculations. When the island was first settled, in 1815, it was a haven for millions of birds. But […]
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.
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
You might not think that the way an iceberg melts would matter much — but it does. As an iceberg melts, the change in ocean temperature and salinity can alter […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The longfin damselfish is a feisty little farmer. It’s only a few inches long, but it will attack just about anything that enters its territory — including people. Yet some […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The South Padre Island Convention Centre has hosted conferences, plays, concerts, and even basketball games. In February, though, it hosted an event like no other: a sea turtle rescue. A […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
For the humpback whales of Glacier Bay, Alaska, the early months of the COVID-19 outbreak may have been a blessing. Travel bans and cancelled cruises left the bay much quieter, […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The smallest fish in the oceans grow fast and die young. And that may keep coral reefs going. The little guys are known as cryptobenthic fish — crypto for “hidden,” […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Most islands don’t move around much. But for more than two decades, scientists and others operated from one that did. Known as T-3, the kidney-shaped island was seven miles long. […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
One of the most endangered groups of whales in the world hangs out in the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s down to fewer than a hundred members. […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
One of the adages of modern science is that if a butterfly in China flaps its wings, it might lead to a hurricane weeks later in the Atlantic Ocean. There’s […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
As its name implies, the icefish is cold-blooded. But it’s also clear-blooded. It’s the only known vertebrate in the world that doesn’t have red blood cells — or the protein […]