Ecology & Zoology

Southern Ocean = Squid Sanctuary

I've been to Tasmania a couple of times; it's certainly a hot spot for squid research. And also, it turns out, for the squid themselves. ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 12 2011 - 10:58pm

Another Banner Year for Market Squid

The California market squid fishery is about to be closed for the second time in its entire history. That may sound bad, but it's actually a sign of a booming business. The annual quota for market squid is 118,000 tonnes, a number so high that for yea ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 14 2011 - 10:07pm

Like Taking Squid From A Baby Seal

At the end of 2011, the second season in a row of a suddenly and mysteriously booming market squid fishery, Michael Vincent McGinnis of the Santa Barbara Independent offers a thoughtful commentary. He makes a particular point of the holistic value of marke ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 15 2011 - 7:11pm

Baby Squid Like It Warm

My thesis is now officially half published*! Can we have a party or something? Marine Ecology Progress Series has just put out my paper, "Effects of temperature on the embryonic development of the Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas." Or, as I said in ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 16 2011 - 7:20pm

Glycerol Mystery- Why Flies Love Beer

Why do flies like beer?  It's sweeter than you think.  Entomologists say the flies sense glycerol, the sweet-tasting compound that yeasts make during fermentation. The researchers examined the feeding preference of the common fruit fly for beer and o ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2015 - 5:32pm

In Which Children Ask Questions About Squid

Just got back from giving a presentation on Humboldt squid in Modesto. The audience had wonderful energy and the little kids had the BEST questions. Winners: Third place: "What is the smallest squid?" (It's like he knew I'd just been bl ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 19 2011 - 2:10am

I Really Don't Understand

What is the point of a fishery quota if, in the years when you actually reach it, you petition the government to increase it--because there are just so many darn fish, and it would be a shame not to catch them all? The annual quota for California market sq ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Nov 20 2011 - 11:48pm

Squidly Masters Of The Sea

I really enjoy getting squid stories from around the world in my daily google news alert. Keeps me from getting too obsessed with the Humboldt and market squid of California. Here's the latest:  ICAR scientists detect deep sea squids in Arabian Sea. I ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 22 2011 - 7:25pm

The Smallest Jumbo Squid

"How big is the squid?" the fifth-graders demanded when I showed up in their classroom with a cooler on Monday. "Humboldt squid can get up to five feet long--about as big as me," I told them. "But this one is small. It's only ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Nov 23 2011 - 12:01pm

Why Are Squid Attracted To Light, Anyway?

Extra-glowy squid lures are the new hotness, according to the UK's Western Morning News: Virtually all squid jigs [fishing lures] have luminescent sections, but now available in the South West are jigs made by Japanese companies like Yo-Zuri, where in ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Dec 1 2011 - 8:28am