Ecology & Zoology

Brazilian Giant Squid Makes Me Seasick

Just a couple of weeks ago, some Brazilian fishermen found two giant squid! Here's a video of one: They were longlining, so I'm not exactly sure how they got these squid--usually when fishermen catch giant squid, it's because they come up in ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 1 2011 - 12:08am

Protect The Colossal Squid!

Wait, what? Don't we know, like, almost nothing about colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltonii)? How could we have any idea whether they need protection or not? On the other hand, the fact that we've seen  so few individuals  rather suggests t ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 1 2011 - 7:48pm

Squid Oil Salesmen

Apparently, in the world of Omega-3 supplementation, squid is the new hotness. A Norwegian company producing "Calamarine" has struck deals to sell to a bunch of US food supplements. It's a nice example of using every part of the buffalo, sin ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 5 2011 - 7:46pm

If You Enjoy French Perfume, You Are Indebted To A Dead Squid

Ambergris is a weird and wonderful thing. It has been tremendously valuable throughout human history, but its creation and functionality have been shrouded in myth and superstition. To this day, no one has ever seen a whale actually excrete the stuff. But ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 7 2011 - 5:48pm

The "Away" Team: Alien Invaders, And How To Combat Them

It’s going to be a big day tomorrow when the Oregon football team comes to town.  This year, we meet the team that handed us our only loss last season – but on our own turf.  And although Stanford has played (mostly) with convincing dominance this season ( ...

Article - Holly Moeller - Nov 11 2011 - 12:30am

Squid Who Make Glue

I've mentioned the Littlest Squid before: the genus Idiosepius, which contains only a handful of very small, very adorable species. And I commented that they have this habit of gluing themselves to seaweed, to hide from predators. Well, today I'm ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Jan 10 2012 - 1:48pm

Delving Into The Nature Of Squid Glue

(That's glue made by squids, not glue made from squids. Don't be mean.) Yesterday I explained that the little pygmy squid Idiosepius'  glue gland produces two different oozes, and so it must be either a duo-gland or an epoxy gland. (By the w ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 10 2011 - 5:04pm

What Scientists Think About Conservation

Biodiversity is declining, and is likely to continue along the same path unless something is done about it. And to effectively do something about it, it appears that large investments are required. These substantial investments will probably result in a c ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Nov 12 2011 - 2:17pm

Southern Ocean = Squid Sanctuary

I've been to Tasmania a couple of times; it's certainly a hot spot for squid research. And also, it turns out, for the squid themselves. ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 12 2011 - 10:58pm

Another Banner Year for Market Squid

The California market squid fishery is about to be closed for the second time in its entire history. That may sound bad, but it's actually a sign of a booming business. The annual quota for market squid is 118,000 tonnes, a number so high that for yea ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 14 2011 - 10:07pm