Mason Posner teaches anatomy and physiology, marine and vertebrate biology at Ashland University in Ohio. He does research on the evolution and function of the vertebrate eye lens and has interests in undergraduate research and teaching technology. He leads a Biology capstone course on science communication.
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Fish eyes do the coolest things

Ed Yong over at Not Exactly Rocket Science beat me to the punch on this one.  You should check out his summary of a new paper by a group of excellent fish eye people on the spookfish, Dolichopteryx longipes.  Like many mesopelagic fishes that live in these low light conditions, the spookfish has tubular [...]

Collapsed bay fishery loses historic culture

 

Chesapeake Bay watermen

Pollution, nutrient runoff and overfishing have destroyed the crab and oyster harvest of the Chesapeake Bay.  Excessive algal growth from the overabundant nutrients produces low oxygen “dead zones” and prevents sunlight from reaching sea grasses on the bottom.  But another casualty has been the local watermen culture.  The uniqueness of [...]

Virginia to buy back crabbing licenses

 

Crabbing in Virginia

When the Chesapeake Bay crab fishery was declared a federal disaster the Comonwealth of Virginia was promised $10 million in disaster aid. Virginia has decided to use some of that money to purchase back crab licenses to ease the financial burden on local watermen.  The state had already planned to [...]

They don’t make shark cages like they used to

The classic white shark strike from below is chilling to watch.  What’s interesting is how the shark seems to accidentally crash into the cage, probably with its eyes rolled back after taking the bait.  At that point it’s just trying to get away, leaving the divers to safely get out of the water.  No crazed [...]