Responsible marine wildlife watching

Encounters with marine animals like whales and dugongs can be profound, even life-changing experiences for divers, benefit local economies, and provide opportunities to educate people about wildlife and the environment. But unless done right, these encounters can negatively affect the animals. Read how to do them right. 

Tracking whales to prevent ship strikes

 Collisions with ships are a leading cause of death for large whales worldwide. Whale Safe, a technology created by the Marine Mammal Center and UCSB’s Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, can let ship crews know when whales are present so they can slow down, which dramatically reduces the risk of fatal collisions. Read more here. 

The Gulf of Mexico

11 things you might not know about this body of water, also known as The American Sea. Some cool facts and some alarming ones. Read it here. 

How whales avoid the bends

Beaked whales can spend two hours beneath the surface. Dolphins descend down to 1,000 feet and ­routinely make as many as 20 dives in a row to 300 feet. Research shows how these mammals avoid getting hit with decompression sickness. Read more in my piece in Scuba Diving magazine. 

Watching wildlife from space

Scientists are using photographs taken from space and a tracking antenna installed on the International Space Station to learn more about the lives and travels of wild animals such as whales, sea turtles and birds. Read more in my Alert Diver article.

Photo courtesy Kate Mansfield, University of Central Florida

Meet the teams rescuing entangled whales

The U.S. had 123 confirmed entangled whale cases in 2016, probably only a fraction of the actual total. Read why entanglement is a problem for whales and how scientists are trying to solve the problem in my piece for Mental Floss. 

What do sharks do during a hurricane?

When 2017's powerful hurricanes roared across the ocean, did sharks and other marine life know what was coming? And, if so, what did they do about it? Find out in this piece for Men's Journal online. 

Tagging Wildlife for Science

Scientists use a variety of tagging methods to track wild animals and learn more about them. Read more in my piece for Mental Floss, 10 Animals We Tag - and What we Learn From It.

10 Citizen Science Projects to Try

Scientists need your help - citizen science projects add many hands to the workload. Here are ten projects involving a variety of activities from sticking a gps on your cat to cataloging photos of penguins and the Earth at  night, tagging fish, reading old ship logs, and listening to whale calls. Find out more in this piece for Mental Floss.

Ten Reasons to Visit South Africa

Incredible diving, wildlife watching, scenery, wine, and more - ten of the many reasons to visit South Africa, my piece for Sport Diver magazine.