Brian Owens’s Contributions:
Environmental Protection, with a Side of Small Business
Conservation takes cash, and philanthropic funding is notoriously fickle. To secure the future of its environmental efforts, this Dominican nonprofit is trying something new: making booze.
Oct 16, 2024 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes
Can Green Hydrogen Production Help Bring Oceanic Dead Zones Back to Life?
Green hydrogen production makes a lot of extra oxygen. Could we put it to work revitalizing the ocean?
Apr 8, 2024 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes
Can Animals Evolve Fast Enough to Keep Up with Climate Change?
Maybe.
Jan 15, 2024 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
Marine Protected Areas, Explained
There’s nuance in how we protect our oceans; here are the details.
Jun 8, 2023 | 4,700 words, about 23 minutes
Rising Sea Levels Will Isolate People Long Before They’re Underwater
Time and tide wait for no man. Neither does sea level rise.
May 25, 2023 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
For Marine Species, Hidden Divisions Abound
The little sand lance is unexpectedly split in two, revealing a breadth of genetic diversity that could help it survive.
Feb 24, 2023 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Ship Noise Kills Crabs’ Libidos
For green crabs, ship noise is like an anti–Barry White.
Jan 4, 2023 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
How Increasing Wildfires Could Transform the Arctic
Wildfires, and the nutrients they bring, could make the Arctic Ocean more productive.
Nov 7, 2022 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
The Pandemic Changed How People Buy Fish—and Small Fishers Couldn’t Keep Up
Small-scale fishers, often overlooked by government aid, were less able to adapt to changing market conditions than large companies. As a result, many lost out to bigger players.
Jul 4, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
So Long to Open-Net-Pen Salmon Farms?
In British Columbia and Washington, legislators are simultaneously weighing whether to allow this controversial farming practice to persist.
Jun 22, 2022 | 900 words, about 4 minutes
Scientists Found a Nitrogen-Fixing Seagrass
Adopting a strategy that is all but unheard of in the sea, this seagrass produces an essential nutrient the same way peas do.
Jan 26, 2022 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
China’s Surprisingly Robust System of Marine Protection
China is not slouching on its marine protection efforts—domestically, at least.
Jan 5, 2022 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Scientists Are Running Out of Salmon to Study
With west coast salmon populations withering, these researchers are heading for the Great Lakes.
Dec 1, 2021 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Want to Save a Failing Fishery? Take the Long View
Half a millennium of fishing records shows Canada could have saved the Atlantic cod.
Nov 17, 2021 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
How Might Fish Farms Be Affecting Lobsters?
Let us count the ways.
Jul 19, 2021 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
How Aquaculture Is Spreading a Salmon Virus
A genetic analysis of Piscine orthoreovirus shows how it was repeatedly transported from Norwegian salmon farms to aquaculture operations around the world—and on to wild Pacific salmon.
May 26, 2021 | 900 words, about 4 minutes
Are COVID-19 Lockdowns Really Causing Nature to Heal?
It’s complicated.
May 26, 2021 | 800 words, about 4 minutes
US Fisheries Hit Hard by COVID-19
Demand for fresh seafood has plummeted as people avoid dine-in restaurants.
Jan 13, 2021 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Canada Gives BP Okay to Explore in Marine Conservation Area
How protected is a marine refuge, really, if oil drilling is allowed?
Nov 27, 2020 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
What Tear Gas Does to Fish
Previous work shows the main ingredient in tear gas can kill fish—but little else is known about how riot control agents affect the environment.
Sep 23, 2020 | 900 words, about 4 minutes
Overlooked Sea Louse May Be a Big Problem for Salmon
Most scientific research has focused on one species of sea louse—failing to account for the other, far more common, species.
Sep 16, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
COVID-19 Is Not All Good for Wildlife
Empty beaches are both a boon and a curse for endangered sea turtles.
May 6, 2020 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Kelp Rafts Are Bringing Invaders to Antarctica
Animals have long rafted around the planet, but the southern continent was considered too remote, too isolated, and too cold for that to be a problem—until now.
Feb 26, 2020 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Where Should the World Focus Its Ocean Conservation Efforts?
A new map shows areas of the ocean that conservationists agree are in need of protection.
Dec 4, 2019 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
Considering the Nuclear Option in Controlling Invasive Species
Rotenone: when you absolutely, positively have to kill every last fish in the lake.
Nov 7, 2019 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Hatchery Fish Are Less Successful at Reproducing in the Wild
Genetic experiments show hatchery escapees that breed with wild fish have fewer offspring.
Apr 25, 2019 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Aquaculture Doesn’t Reduce Pressure on Wild Fish
If anything, the rise of farm-raised fish has increased our desire for seafood.
Mar 7, 2019 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
Fish Parasites Are on the Rise
The number of parasitic worms in ocean fish has increased as much as 90-fold.
Dec 21, 2018 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Near Fish Farms, Lobster Catches Plummet
Proximity to open-net-pen aquaculture seems to have a big influence on the lobster catch in southwestern Nova Scotia.
Nov 1, 2018 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
Virtual Reality Preserves Disappearing Land
Coastal communities are capturing their cultures and landscapes in virtual reality before sea level rise steals them for good.
Jun 18, 2018 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Unmasking a Salmon Virus
The previously unknown cause of a common chinook salmon disease has turned out to be a familiar foe.
May 18, 2018 | 600 words, about 3 minutes
How Island Bats Took Over the Mainland
South America’s short-faced fruit bats are the descendants of “reverse colonists.”
Feb 20, 2018 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
Saving Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy
Canada already has a forward-thinking salmon management plan on the books. Now it just needs to implement it.
Sep 8, 2017 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Quiet Please, the Fish Are Flirting
Fish that fart together stay together.
Jun 21, 2017 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Fish Farms Can Be Disease Accelerators
Much like terrestrial animal farms, fish farms are incubators for disease.
Apr 7, 2017 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
The Effects of Invasive Pythons Slither through the Everglades
Pythons may be setting off a cascade of ecosystem changes.
Feb 15, 2017 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Competition Pressured Killer Whales into Menopause
Selfish daughters, not altruistic grandmothers, could explain the evolution of menopause.
Jan 12, 2017 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Florida’s White Ibises May Be Spreading Disease
The increasingly urban birds are carrying salmonella.
Dec 14, 2016 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Is This the Year Governments Protect Antarctica’s Seas?
The odds world governments will finally agree to establish marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean are looking better than ever.
Oct 25, 2016 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
Making Monster Waves in the Lab
Rogue waves are rare in nature, but new research is making them perfectly common.
Oct 13, 2016 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
Keeping Track of Deep-Sea Mining
A new website uses ship location data to track deep-sea mining exploration.
Oct 5, 2016 | 650 words, about 3 minutes
Brexit Vote Will Likely Cause Problems for UK Fishers
Fishers were part of the “Leave” push, but it may not work out as they’d hoped.
Jun 29, 2016 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
This Scientist Is Making Batteries Out of Recycled Crab Shells
Shellfish chitin is a starting material ripe for chemical modification.
Jun 21, 2016 | 550 words, about 2 minutes
Clawing Their Way to Victory
Research suggests fiddler crabs with regenerated claws have distinct fighting strategies.
Apr 13, 2016 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
No, Britain Isn’t Naming a Ship RRS Boaty McBoatface
Never let the Internet name things.
Mar 21, 2016 | 350 words, a quick read
The Ghosts of Fishers Past
Lost fishing gear keeps on doing the job it was designed for long after its owners are gone.
Jan 22, 2016 | 2,100 words, about 10 minutes
When Good Fish Die Young
Rising temperatures are suppressing survival rates for young fish.
Jan 12, 2016 | 450 words, about 2 minutes
A Fishy Plan
Canada’s new government says it’s going to expand the country’s marine protected areas. Scientists worry the government is cutting corners to hit its goal.
Dec 7, 2015 | 700 words, about 3 minutes
The Living Lice Comb
Aquaculture adopts integrated pest management techniques for water-borne pests.
Nov 9, 2015 | 750 words, about 3 minutes
Oil Sands Dilbit Causes Developmental Problems in Fish
Scientists have very little idea what the environmental effects of an oil sands “dilbit” spill would be.
Jul 22, 2015 | 950 words, about 4 minutes
Blood in the Water
Proteins from salmon blood can stop bleeding and alleviate pain.
Jul 14, 2015 | 900 words, about 4 minutes
Repelling a Hunter
Scientists are still not really sure if, or how, magnetic shark repellents work.
Jul 6, 2015 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes
Fish Fight
In Maine, indigenous tribes have severed ties with the state.
Jun 3, 2015 | 650 words, about 3 minutes