Urchins in the LJER and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Been diving a bit in the La Jolla Ecological Reserve. Some of the lab's current research is looking at predation on urchins, both during the day and at night (which comes with a different suite of predators). Here are some cool pics!

















































In other news, I am leaving San Diego in just over 3 weeks! Ahh!!! I have a lot of my own research to get done before then, but I am looking forward to UC Davis.

Finally, my friend, office-mate, and future roomie is on a UCSD New Horizon cruise, on her way to the "Garbage Patch" in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean. Perhaps you have heard about this place on such shows as Oprah?

Due to our propensity to construct and litter non-biodegradable waste, and concentric ocean currents, there is a concentration of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to be from the twice the size of Texas to that of the entire continental United States! Hopefully she'll find lots of trash (her passion) although it makes me sad to think about all that waste that will be here for, in practical terms, forever. You can read about her very interesting research on marine debris and bioaccumulation of plastics here and the blog on the Garbage Patch cruise here.