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Matt Bracken

@brackenlab

Marine biodiversity - https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/biodiversity/ - he/him/his

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Latest posts by Matt Bracken @brackenlab

#PhycoFashion #PhycologyFriday ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿฎ๐ŸŒŠ

07.03.2026 06:41 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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For #PhycologyFriday, some views from the annual Pacific herring spawn dive surveys Iโ€™m working this year, exemplifying the importance of seaweeds as fish habitat! Seen in Toquaht and Huu-ay-aht territories, west Vancouver Island

07.03.2026 00:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#PhycologyFriday

07.03.2026 05:59 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Bouquet of green seaweeds #SciArt #PhycologyFriday

07.03.2026 02:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 16 ๐Ÿ” 7 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
This view shows puffing dust bubbles and an erupting gas shell โ€” the final acts of a monster star.
It is about the star AG Carinae. The image showcases the details of the ionised hydrogen and ionised nitrogen emissions from the nebula (seen here in red). The blue demonstrates the contrasting appearance of the distribution of the dust that shines of reflected stellar light. Astronomers believe that the dust bubbles and filaments formed within and were shaped by powerful stellar wind .
The star is surrounded by an expanding shell of gas and dust โ€” a nebula โ€” that is shaped by the powerful winds emanating from the star. The nebula is about five light-years wide, equal to the distance from here to our nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

This view shows puffing dust bubbles and an erupting gas shell โ€” the final acts of a monster star. It is about the star AG Carinae. The image showcases the details of the ionised hydrogen and ionised nitrogen emissions from the nebula (seen here in red). The blue demonstrates the contrasting appearance of the distribution of the dust that shines of reflected stellar light. Astronomers believe that the dust bubbles and filaments formed within and were shaped by powerful stellar wind . The star is surrounded by an expanding shell of gas and dust โ€” a nebula โ€” that is shaped by the powerful winds emanating from the star. The nebula is about five light-years wide, equal to the distance from here to our nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

๐Ÿงต
#Hubble celebrated its 31st anniversary with this impressive view of AG Carinae, a luminous blue variable (LBV) 20,000 ly away in the constellation Carina.

Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, A. Nota, C. Britt ๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช โš›๏ธ

โžก๏ธ esahubble.org/images/potw2...

#universe #space #astronomy #stellarastro #science 1/3

07.03.2026 00:14 ๐Ÿ‘ 93 ๐Ÿ” 24 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 6 ๐Ÿ“Œ 5
Columbia Morningside Campus and NYC. Credit: Eileen Barroso, Columbia University

Columbia Morningside Campus and NYC. Credit: Eileen Barroso, Columbia University

๐Ÿ“ฃ Job Alert! Columbia Climate School seeks Lecturer in Discipline of Climate with expertise in climate change mitigation, adaptation, climate justice, and/or climate & food systems to teach within our interdisciplinary degree programs. โžก๏ธ Learn more/apply (and please share!): https://bit.ly/4ss3dJf

06.03.2026 21:49 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 7 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Time series plot depicting predicted Nino 3.4 region ocean temperature anomalies from the latest (Mar 2026) ECMWF ensemble. It depicts an extremely rapid rise in such temperatures, from modest negative anomalies to strong positive anomalies, by mid-summer 2026--indicative of a transition from weak-moderate La Nina conditions to moderate-strong El Nino conditions over just a few months.

Time series plot depicting predicted Nino 3.4 region ocean temperature anomalies from the latest (Mar 2026) ECMWF ensemble. It depicts an extremely rapid rise in such temperatures, from modest negative anomalies to strong positive anomalies, by mid-summer 2026--indicative of a transition from weak-moderate La Nina conditions to moderate-strong El Nino conditions over just a few months.

Whew.

All signs are increasingly pointing to a significant, if not strong to very strong, El Niรฑo event. I'll have more to say in coming weeks & months, but for now I'll just say that this is increasingly likely to become a major regional-to-global climate driver in 2026-2027.

05.03.2026 23:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 392 ๐Ÿ” 178 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 19 ๐Ÿ“Œ 30
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Reading an โ€œoldie but goodieโ€ with one of the best titles in the #seaweed literature rn. โ€œ*Pelvetia canaliculata*, a high-shore seaweed that shuns the seaโ€ (Rugg & Norton 1987) #PhycologyFriday #MarineLife ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿฆ‘

06.03.2026 21:51 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A set of shelves with at least 60 awesome games is against a wall with the sign โ€œBOARD GAMESโ€ in big, blue letters.

A set of shelves with at least 60 awesome games is against a wall with the sign โ€œBOARD GAMESโ€ in big, blue letters.

An impressive collection of board games is available to be checked out at the @ucirvine.bsky.social Science Library! ๐Ÿ“š + ๐ŸŽฒ

06.03.2026 21:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Asparagopsis taxiformis (the red sea plume, or โ€œlimu kohuโ€ in Hawaii) is our seaweed of the week! #PhycologyFriday

06.03.2026 18:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Bouquet of brown seaweeds #PhycologyFriday #SciArt

01.03.2026 03:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 23 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#Kelp gown! #PhycoFashion #PhycologyFriday

06.03.2026 18:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#PhycologyFriday ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿฆ‘๐Ÿงช

06.03.2026 15:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#PhycologyFriday ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿฆ‘๐Ÿงช

06.03.2026 15:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Photo of a loch with mountains in the background and seaweed on the rocky shore in the foreground

Photo of a loch with mountains in the background and seaweed on the rocky shore in the foreground

Seaweed grows wild and is abundant across Scotland, so itโ€™s no surprise that it's been used here for millennia ๐ŸŒŠ

Today, research into historic seaweed harvesting reminds us how these types of food sources can help us build a more sustainable future: www.digitscotland.com/the-archaeol...

05.03.2026 14:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 17 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Same space, two harvests: Euronews visits the first seaweed farm at an offshore windย park Europeโ€™s offshore wind farms are being reimagined as multi-purpose sites. The first commercial-scale project has successfully harvested seaweed between turbines in the Dutch North Sea.

Same space, two harvests: Euronews visits the first seaweed farm at an offshore windย park

Europeโ€™s offshore wind farms are being reimagined as multi-purpose sites. The first commercial-scale project has successfully harvested seaweed between turbines in the Dutch North Sea.

05.03.2026 15:36 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Postdoctoral Associate Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. The Laboratory of Dr. Debashish Bhattacharya has an open Postdoctoral Associate position in the field of algal and seaweed multi-omics and metabolic engineering in support of multiple ongoing projects.Under the direction of Dr. Bhattacharya the individual will be responsible for the independent conduct of a significant element of a larger research activity in algal and seaweed biotechnology, computational biology, and genetics aimed at developing platforms for generating valuable bioproducts from the brown seaweed Sargassum with a focus on bioprospecting using microbiome data. This Postdoctoral Associate will identify carbohydrate active enzymes to be used for downstream applications by collaborators and design and conduct highly specialized and technical research and aid graduate students with their research programs.The Bhattacharya Lab at Rutgers University leverages many experimental approaches including multi-omics, physiology, live culture, and computational approaches to ask fundamental questions about algal and seaweed biology, adaptation, and conservation and algal plastid origin and evolution as well as algal extremophile biology. The candidate will have the opportunity to join a highly motivated and broadly trained laboratory that seeks to both generate basic knowledge and develop conservation tools.Among the key duties of this position are the following:Performs various research and technical operations independently or as assigned, relating to investigatory activities of a laboratory, followed by appropriate reports, recommendations and conclusions.Assists and conducts independent research relevant to the interest and field of algal and seaweed multi-omics and biotechnological research with living and preserved samples.Participates in the development of performance standards, selection of methodology and instrumentation and coordination of the analytical, biochemical, physiology, genetics, and instrumentation functions with the research areas to ensure conformance with the goals and objectives of the PIโ€™s lab.Conducts a continuous program of research and development regarding the analytical and instrumentation functions of the laboratory, constantly evaluating existing procedures where required to keep methodology and procedures current.Contributes to the supervision of the work performed by graduate and undergraduate students and other postdoctoral fellows.This is a grant funded position, continuation of employment in this position is contingent upon adequate grant funds.

Rutgers University seeks a Postdoctoral Associate in algal and seaweed multi-omics and metabolic engineering. Apply by June 2026. More details: https://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/270143 #postdoc

05.03.2026 17:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#Seaweed #MarineLife #SciArt ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿฆ‘๐Ÿก

05.03.2026 20:33 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Hello! Hello!! Anybody home?? #stoplightparrotfish #parrotfishjungle #parrotfishcapitaloftheworld #parrotfish #coralcitycamera

05.03.2026 16:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 234 ๐Ÿ” 51 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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This week in our Deep Sea Round Up:
๐Ÿ”น๏ธVulnerable Marine Ecosystems at seamounts,
๐Ÿ”น๏ธHow scientific practices at sea influence ocean management,
๐Ÿ”น๏ธNutrient cycling sponge hotspots

๐Ÿ‘‰ www.dosi-project.org/dosi-deep-se...

๐Ÿ“ท Oblong Dermechinus urchins by ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

05.03.2026 19:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A quote by H. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-chief of Science journals, on a black background. The quote is: "โ€ฆ why curtail a program โ€ฆ that cultivates and grows the number of US graduate students and future researchers?"

A quote by H. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-chief of Science journals, on a black background. The quote is: "โ€ฆ why curtail a program โ€ฆ that cultivates and grows the number of US graduate students and future researchers?"

"There is perhaps no stronger evidence of the [Trump] administrationโ€™s objectives to reduce the quality of the US scientific workforce than its treatment of the [NSF]โ€™s flagship Graduate Research Fellowship Program," writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. https://scim.ag/4d0fi3N

05.03.2026 20:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 44 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments The opposition appeared overwhelming: Tens of thousands of emails poured into Southern California's top air pollution authority as its board weighed a June proposal to phase out gas-powered appliances...

They were going to pass rules to phase out gas stoves, until they received 20,000 public comments against the regulations. Except, oops, it turns out the comments were generated by AI.

27.02.2026 20:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 1338 ๐Ÿ” 542 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 37 ๐Ÿ“Œ 40
Professorship in population genetics in the field of evolutionary anthropology and medicine (W2) Faculties & Facilities

Leipzig U and the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) have an open faculty position (W2) in evolutionary population genetics! This position is tenured and comes with generous core funding. We are eager to welcome a new colleague! Deadline March 11.
www.uni-leipzig.de/en/newsdetai...

05.03.2026 16:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 50 ๐Ÿ” 80 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

A few years ago, Gary visited for a seminar. Our family was in Kernville the previous weekend, & the boys had picked up a bunch of #Corbicula (invasive freshwater snail) shells & stashed them in the car. Out of context & knowing that I study marine gastropods, it took Gary ~10 seconds to ID them. ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ’™

05.03.2026 17:09 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Felted nudibranchs!!!!!!!! ๐Ÿ˜๐ŸŒŠ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿฆ‘๐Ÿก

05.03.2026 16:54 ๐Ÿ‘ 21 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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A very large juvenile diamond squid - this one measuring in at a whopping 3โ€ - perhaps the 2nd largest Iโ€™ve ever seen!

Shot in the wild, using scuba, while out over the deep abyss, several miles offshore from Okinawa

#diamondsquid #thysanoteuthisrhombus #blackwaterdiving #gug #gugunderwater

05.03.2026 13:01 ๐Ÿ‘ 144 ๐Ÿ” 41 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

Geerat Vermeij is a gift

05.03.2026 16:41 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Some Cambrian mollusks (1-8) and a mollusk-like problematic fossil (9)
Source: https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app45/app45-119.pdf

Some Cambrian mollusks (1-8) and a mollusk-like problematic fossil (9) Source: https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app45/app45-119.pdf

It's not unknown that mollusks adapted to many environments, but the rate at which they evolved is uncanny. In the first 100 million years they were around, they developed a new traits about every 2 million years (which is relatively fast for multicelled organisms). ๐Ÿงช

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

05.03.2026 07:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 18 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Dec-Feb period globally was the 5th warmest on record.

05.03.2026 05:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 65 ๐Ÿ” 18 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Deadline soon! Registration is now FREE for graduate students and postdocs for the 14th Annual Yosemite Symbiosis workshop. THANKS to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation! Space is limited. Learn more and REGISTER here
snri.ucmerced.edu/form/symbios...

We've upgraded to a new conference location!

05.03.2026 01:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 12 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0