Seas The Day

In 2022, we published three resiliency fables written by students participating in a Duke Engage summer program at Duke University Marine Lab. The fables — Ollie the Orca. Gilbert the Grouper, Terry the Tree and The Live Oak and The Wind — were an experiment, developed as part of a resiliency curriculum being co-developed by the Community Science Initiative and Carteret County middle school teachers. Little did the students know, the fables would go on to become the centerpiece of the Ready, Set, Resilience curriculum, and participating middle school students would write their own fables. Under the guidance of middle school teachers Robert Condie and Kayla Ipock, 8th grade students at Broad Creek Middle School wrote a total of 60 fables! This episode features 6 of our favorites.

In this episode, Alyssa Klim discusses the role of knowledge in shark and ray conservation in small local coastal communities in Indonesia. She looks at examples of conservation efforts that have failed to consider local context, and discusses how local knowledge can be incorporated into conservation practices and what this means for local communities. The episode features insights from Rafid Shidqi, co-founder and managing director of Thresher Shark Indonesia, an NGO dedicated to conserving thresher sharks in Indonesia. 

This episode features a recording of a live story telling event, “Fish Tales.” Hosted by Ally Kristan, staff at the Duke University Marine Lab, the episode features 5 stories, by Barbara Garrity-Blake, Dana Grieco, Brandon Letchworth, Ally Kristan, and Alexis Longmire. The live event was scheduled on the eve of Halloween, so you might note a ‘spooky' theme. Fish Tales is inspired by NPR's The Moth Radio Hour podcast, and it began in Santa Cruz in 2018, thanks to the amazing Dr. Melissa Cronin. Thanks to Crystal Coast Brewing Company for providing a venue.

This episode explores the topic of food sovereignty using the case study of Palestine. Tasneem and Porter examine the different elements of food sovereignty that can be seen in the Palestinian Keffiyeh and how they manifest in Palestinian's culture and their economy. Finally, they look at policies that currently restrict those elements of food sovereignty. Part of the Conservation and Development Series.

In this episode Juan Rebellon, Margaret Morrison, Jordan Scott, and Juliette Lee, students from Dr. Xavier Basurto's Community-Based Marine Conservation travel course in April 2022, explore cultural changes in the Comcaác Indigenous community and Kino Bay fishing community through the lens of food systems. Listeners will hear community members talk about topics such as their favorite foods, how they fish, and their cultural relationships from interviews conducted during the course in Sonora, Mexico.

In this episode, Aileen Lavelle and Sara Norton of the Duke University Bass Connections team “Belugas; Sentinels of Climate Change in the Arctic” share their experiences traveling to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, to see belugas in person and learn about the impacts of climate change on these charismatic species and the ecotourism industry in a small, isolated town that depends on them. They ask what the role of conservatives is in wildlife conservation and sustainability. Wally Daudrich, Owner and Founder of Lazy Bear Lodge shares his insights on beluga tourism and how he came to run a sustainable tourism lodge in Churchill, Canada.

The Duke University Marine Lab hosts a holiday party in early December, and students are encouraged to think about performing a skit, or song, or dance. Mostly, they don't. Classes are still in session, exams are coming up, they are contemplating moving back to main campus after a semester at the lab. It's a busy time. But in 2023 the undergraduates took up the challenge. Let by Sage Hirschfeld and Nicole Masarova, and assisted by Lara Breithaupt and Emme Ayers, the students wrote and performed "The 12 days of DUML." Check out the videos of the live performance (of the song and a line dance) below. We liked the song so much, we got Sage and Nicole to perform and record it separately as well. Enjoy!

The Duke University Marine Lab is home to second year students in the coastal and marine systems (CAMS) concentration of a Masters of Environmental Management (MEM) degree. During the fall of their first year when they are based on main campus in Durham, CAMS students visit the marine lab for a weekend to meet faculty, staff, and students and to see a bit of Beaufort. The Seas the Day team took the opportunity in fall of 2022 to ask students about their motivations and interests in a career as an environmental professional. In this episode, Jake Whisler weaves together their stories of inspiration, motivation, hope, and community.  Featuring: Maeve Arthur, Allison Barbaro, Isaac Benaka, Katrina Bernaus, Taylor Coleman, Laura Exar, Aileen Lavelle, Hugh Cipparone, Hayden Dubniczki, Jasmine Papas, Stephanie Pipas, and Amanda Sajewski.

In this episode, the students in the Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles travel class document their trip to Culerbra, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands in a kind of 'travel diary'. Reflecting on what they did, who they met, and how they felt, the students effectively capture the very essence of travel courses and the heady combination of experiential learning and personal development

Masters students Mariana Kendall and Nicholas Fairbairn sit down with Dr. Carter Smith to learn about her circuitous career path to research ecology. Carter explains how her non-traditional and non-linear path to the sciences has made her a better researcher and educator. We center our conversation on the topic of ecological restoration, a field that inspired EO Wilson to deem the coming era the “Age of Restoration” and the UN to declare a “Decade of Ecological Restoration.” What is the next frontier for this field and how has Dr. Smith seen the field evolve throughout her career? What techniques are most salient and what considerations should practitioners and managers keep in mind when restoring an ecosystem? Dr. Smith shares insights into these questions and, along the way, touches on imposter syndrome in the sciences, ecological grief, and the merits of failure. This episode was recorded in Fall 2022 as part of our Lab Notes series.

How can we bridge extremely localized, traditional knowledge with the “best available science” of Western knowledge? Students of Dr. Xavier Basurto's Community-Based Marine Conservation travelled to the Gulf of California in Sonora State, Mexico in April 2022, to find out. Brittany Tholan, Claire Huang, Grace Jennings, Jieyi Wang, and Zoe Wong explore how knowledge is passed down among the indigenous Comcaac people and local fishers, and how bridging knowledge types can help address local issues from sea turtle conservation to fisheries management.

What role do sea turtle hatcheries play in conservation? In this episode, Sarah Sevilla and Jessica Stevens dive into the background and various uses of hatcheries, compare the pros and cons, discuss their use in the US versus other nations, and explore improvements in and new technologies for sea turtle management. This episode features Airton Jesus, a field manager at the Turtle Foundation in Cape Verde, and Kartik Shanker, an ecologist with an interest in sea turtles, based in India. Part of our Sea Turtles series.

Restoration is a relatively new tool used for the conservation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. As such, a certain level of uncertainty surrounds what restoration actually is. Our podcast seeks to understand how restoration is defined, specifically as it pertains to Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by the the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2022. We are particular interested in artificial reefs and what role they might play in meeting Target 2, which aims to Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

In this episode, Duke Marine Lab students Claire Helgerson, Kendra Rentz, and Anna de Hostos explore the processes by which researchers tag sea turtles to track migratory patterns and learn more about their somewhat mysterious life histories. Through interviews with various researchers, they discuss the methods of managing, processing and sharing tagging data in several sea turtle databases.

In December 2022, world leaders at the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a proposal to conserve 30% of the Earth by 2030. This proposal was highly controversial and has met with varied reactions from Indigenous Peoples. In this episode, hosts Claudia Deeg and Devin Domeyer discuss the history of conservation's violence towards Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples' perspectives on the 30 by 30 proposal, and what happened during the negotiations. This episode features an interview with Jennifer (Jing) Corpuz, lead negotiator on conservation targets for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.

In this episode, the students in the Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles class from the Duke Marine Lab explore the past, current and future status of sea turtle conservation on St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. Based on interviews conducted during a 10-day immersive experience on St. Croix, the episode reviews the successes, challenges, and unknowns of conserving and managing sea turtle populations on the island.

What is algae biofuel? How do we make it? And how may it be used in the future? In today's episode of Lab Notes, Junyao Gu interviews the algae biofuel research team at the Duke University Marine Lab, including faculty, technicians, and current and previous students, to discuss the future of biofuel in the context of their research.

In this third installment of a three episode series, Spencer Moyle reads his story of Terry the Tree and Rory McCollum follows with The Live Oak and the Wind. Both stories were written as part of a Duke Engage program exploring concepts of social and ecological resilience. The program was run by Dr. Liz DeMattia, director of the Community Science Initiative, with the assistance of PhD student Laura Givens, who was the site coordinator for Duke Engage, in 2022. Following the 'reading', Laura interviews the authors on their experiences in the program and how they crafted their stories.

In this second of a three episode series, Andres Hernandez reads his story of Gilbert the Grouper. The story explores concepts of resilience and was written as part of a Duke Engage summer program at Duke University Marine Lab. The program was run by Dr. Liz DeMattia, director of the Community Science Initiative, with the assistance of PhD student Laura Givens, who was the site coordinator for Duke Engage, in 2022. Following the 'reading', Laura interviews Andres on his experiences in the program and the logic of the story.

In this first of a three episode series, Amy Buckalew reads her story of Ollie the Orca. The story explores concepts of resilience and was written as part of a Duke Engage summer program at Duke University Marine Lab. The program was run by Dr. Liz DeMattia, director of the Community Science Initiative, with the assistance of PhD student Laura Givens, who was the site coordinator for Duke Engage, in 2022. Following the 'reading', Laura interviews Amy on her experiences in the program and the logic of the story.

Seas the Day is back from a summer break! Summer at a marine lab is a busy time when many faculty and students take advantage of the weather and a break from teaching to do 'field work'. Field work is a core activity in many disciplines, sometimes described as a 'rite of passage' on the road to earning a PhD, and something many researchers look forward to throughout their careers. We asked Duke marine lab faculty, staff, and students to share their favorite (and often funniest) stories of field work. To kick off season 3 of Seas the Day , Lisa Campbell and Rafa Lobo weave together these stories of fieldwork fails and follies. Featuring Jillian Wisse, Brian Silliman, Dana Grieco, Stephanie Valdez, Matthew Godfrey, Xavier Basurto, Lisa Campbell, and Marty Smith.

For this episode of PhDeep, Becca Horan interviews Duke Marine Science and Conservation alumna and current postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Hillary Smith, to learn more about her research on gender equity in small scale fisheries and how she navigated the PhD while becoming a parent, mentoring undergrads, and facing the daunting task of dissertation writing with a buddy. 

In this episode, Cat and Jingyi discuss artificial islands and their role in ocean development. They examine some of the island nations in the Pacific Ocean, such as Kiribati, that are ‘sinking' due to sea-level-rise and explore how artificial islands might offer such places a solution to this imminent crisis.

In this episode, Lisa Campbell shares a story of sailing, science, and Sargassum. Based on a 3-day research cruise to the Sargasso Sea, the story was originally developed during a workshop with The Story Collider, a non-profit organization that “helps people of all walks of life -- from scientists to doctors to patients to engineers to teachers to firefighters -- tell their true, personal stories about science.” Not only did the workshop inspire this particular story, it motivated Lisa to think about podcasting as something she might do.

How old were you when you found out whales were mammals? It feels like an obvious fact now, but did you ever wonder who first decided to put these fish-like titans of the ocean in the same group as mice and foxes? In this episode, Brandon Gertz follows the story of how whales became mammals, from the birth of natural history over 2,000 years ago to modern genetics.

On this episode, Nora Ives sits down with faculty member Dr. Doug Nowacek to discuss his newly awarded Department of Energy funded WOW project, which stands for Wildlife and Offshore Wind. They explore some of the potential impacts of offshore wind on wildlife, mitigation measures, and goals of the WOW Project.

On this episode, Rafa Lobo introduces two new members of our team: Rebecca Horan and Junyao Gu. Junyao runs the show, exploring the ins and outs of a PhD program application process. She interviews five PhD students and our doctoral program coordinator, to learn about the biggest challenges, reasons to do it, tips for those wishing to apply, as well as some systemic inequalities inherent in the process - and how to potentially overcome them!

In this episode, former students Bo Baney, Victoria Grant, and Katie Ridgeway take on the controversial issue of wildlife poaching. Whether hunting is illegal or legal, for sport or for food, for sale or consumption, it is almost always controversial, particularly if charismatic wildlife are involved. Bo, Victoria, and Katie tackle the topic from a variety of angles, looking at history of the term ‘poaching', changing attitudes to hunting over time, the role of social media, and the lengths to which governments and organizations will go to combat illegal practices. Part of our Conservation & Development series.

This episode features an interview with Duke Professor Martin Smith by The Doorstep, a podcast by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Hosts Nikolas K. Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin interviewed Marty in April 2021, on topics of fisheries sustainability, food security, and ocean governance generally. Their conversation ranges widely, from new policy initiatives of the Biden administration to old policy legacies of the cold war. It is 'on topic' for Seas the Day and we are grateful to The Doorstep for permission to republish it here . Regular listeners may remember Marty from episode 3 of Seas the Day, when he was interviewed by Kendall Jeffferys and Lauren Mariolis on the future of aquaculture.

The Convention of Biological Diversity is set to meet in October 2021 and will discuss adopting a new target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. Over the last two decades, there has been a drastic increase in the number of large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) driven mainly by international MPA targets and a “bigger is better” approach to conservation. In this episode, Megan Swanson and Sage Riddick explore how these often remote ocean spaces can still have important social impacts by looking at two cases: the Chagos Marine Protected Area and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

In her 2007 book: The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein explores the ways in which institutions take advantage of natural disasters to promote capitalist, neoliberal agendas, under the bill of “build back better.” To illustrate her case, Klein describes how Sri Lanka and other nations tried to use the devastation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to “build back better,” introducing that phrase into development for the first time. In this episode, Colleen Baker, Crystal Franco and Claudia Meca take a look more than 15 years after the disaster, and review what actually happened after the tsunami, how the recovery and development process worked, and whether there are ways to build back better, better.

With a focus on "Memorializing the Middle Passage on the Atlantic seabed in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction” (published in the journal of Marine Policy in October 2020), episode host, Stephanie Hillsgrove interviews two of the authors from the paper - Dr. Phillip Turner, Duke University Alumni and Dr. Cindy Van Dover, Professor of Biological Oceanography at Duke University.

Deep-sea mining is a topic of hot debate as groups argue over whether it will be good or bad for the countries where deep sea resources are found. On this episode, Masha Edmondson and Brandon Gertz explore the risks, rewards, and resistance deep-sea mining has sparked in three pacific island nations: Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, and Fiji. Along the way, deep sea experts Dr. Cindy van Dover and Ph.D. student Elisabetta Menini from Duke University help explain the environmental and human impacts of deep-sea mining and the actions that can be taken to avoid them.

In this podcast, Maddie Paris and Maya Lytje discuss how COVID-19 has influenced marine plastic pollution. They explore the marine conservation, human health, and international equity implications of plastic pollution through the lens of the ongoing pandemic. In exploring these issues, the pair interviews Dr. Dan Rittschof, a professor at the Duke Marine Lab, and John Hocevar, the Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director, to get their perspectives.

In this episode, Rafaella Lobo and Jessica Zhao explore the role of non-government organizations (NGOs) in promoting conservation in developing countries. They focus in particular on the role of and relations among Big International NGOs (BINGOs) and small, local NGOs, the strengths and weaknesses of each.

On this episode, Lillian Dukes, Haoyang Tang, and Franny Oppenheimer address the current status of the North Atlantic right whale and the threats they face like entanglements, ship strikes, and climate change. The episode also explores management measures that have been taken to protect them and considers the future of this critically endangered whale.

On this episode Bree Collins and Erin Sullivan speak with Dr. Andy Read and Dr. Randy Wells about their past, present, and future efforts to save the critically endangered vaquita.

On this episode, the host, Rafaella Lobo, talks to five current and former students, as well as a faculty member, about their experiences leaving their home countries to pursue higher education in the US. For more information, visit https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/seastheday/?p=792

In this episode, Maggie, Lily, and Savannah explore the intersections between ecotourism and Indigenous tourism. Using the lens of agency, they use specific cases to highlight how the agency of Indigenous peoples within tourism ventures varies, and with what consequences.

Ecotourism has been touted as a way to limit the destruction of natural habitats caused by mass tourism, while supplementing income of local communities in developing nations. While good in theory, how successful has ecotourism been at empowering the people who live in the beautiful places ecotourists want to visit? In this podcast, Cindy Pan, Melissa Baldino, and Virginia Pan investigate the impacts of ecotourism initiatives on local communities, with the help of Duke University Marine Lab assistant professor Dr. David Gill.

Tourism in the Bahamas In this episode, Emily Melvin and Katrina Rosing delve into the complexities of tourism in the Bahamas. The two discuss how tourism affects Bahamian identity and promotes colonial legacies even today. In exploring these issues, they interview Tarran Simms of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism’s sustainability department, who discusses his views of Bahamian identity, the interplay of that identity with tourism, and the emergence of new forms of tourism in the Bahamas.

In the last episode of 2020, the Seas the Day team reflects on the work done to date, and plans for 2021. The first episode of 2021 will be available on January 20th.

On this episode Rand Alotaibi, Lauren Mahoney, and Madena Mustafa talk about the negative impact that noise from ships and seismic surveys has on whales, with a special focus on the blue whale, the largest animal to ever live. Rand, Lauren, and Madena consult marine mammal experts to learn why sound in the ocean is such a big deal, and to identify what we can do to help.

On this episode Marissa Garcia, Uma Govindswamy, and Connor Johnston discuss the past, present, and future relationship between human beings and the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales who inhabit the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.

This week’s episode focuses on the Taiwanese white dolphin. It was produced by Duke undergraduate students Pavel Pivarshev and Tony Garcia in the summer of 2020. Pavel and Tony explore the history of humpback white dolphins in Taiwan and assess the threat these small marine mammals are facing, particularly through fisheries interactions. They ask experts from the Wild at Heart, Legal Defense Association in Taiwan and Florida International University to weigh in on the magnitude and complexity of these issues and discuss ways we can all act to protect endangered species such as these charismatic dolphins.

Why did Japan leave the IWC and why do we care? Contention between whaling nations and non-whaling nations allied with conservation groups helps to explain Japan’s departure from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In this episode, Andrea Kolarova, Emma Shannabrook, and Colyer Woolston explore the geopolitical history leading up to this moment, discuss competing arguments surrounding commercial whaling, and pose the question: “now what?” The episode features an interview with Dr. Andrew Read of the Duke University Marine Lab, an expert in cetacean conservation with long-term involvement in the IWC.

With images of garbage clogging up the Pacific and straw bans popping up from city to city, it’s fair to say that marine plastic pollution has caught the public’s eye. But how do we solve the plastic problem– do we stop it at the source, place blame on consumers, target big corporations, or figure out the best technology to remove it once it enters the water? In this episode, Ali Boden and Cass Nieman explore the plastic burden as it is passed along the supply chain. Part of our Conservation and Development Series.

With the world population projected to reach 10 billion in the next 30 years, it is reasonable to wonder: What will the future landscapes of food production look like? Or should we say... Seascapes. In this episode of Conservation and Development, Kendall Jefferys and Lauren A. Mariolis discuss the potential and pitfalls of aquaculture. They also dive into the environmental, cultural, political, and economic implications of expanding aquaculture in the United States and what role aquaculture might play in the future of food production.

On this episode, the host, Rafaella Lobo, talks to four other students to understand how the covid-19 global pandemic has affected their lives and research, and how they have learned to cope with these new challenges.

Seas The Day is a podcast produced at the Duke University Marine Lab, in Beaufort, North Carolina. In this episode, the pod cast team of Lisa Campbell, Stephanie Hillsgrove, Rafaella Lobo, and Janil Miller introduce the Duke University Marine Lab, share their vision of the podcast, and describe upcoming episodes.