Study reveals #ToolUse in tropical #fish species https://phys.org/news/2025-03-reveals-tool-tropical-fish-species.html

Tool use by New World Halichoeres wrasses https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-025-02633-w

"#Wrasses use hard surfaces, also called 'anvils,' to crack open hard-shelled prey such as #crabs and #mollusks... researchers gathered 16 new observations across five species of #Halichoeres wrasses... suggest the behavior is far more common than previously thought."

What a #mollusc shell and fiber optic cables have in common https://www.npr.org/2024/11/23/nx-s1-5199634/heart-shaped-mollusc-shell-resembles-fiber-optic-cables

Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight to photosymbiotic algae using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses: Dakota McCoy et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53110-x

"the structure of the #HeartCockle's shell operates as its own kind of fiber #OpticCables to channel light to the #algae living inside it"

Researchers uncover 500 million-year-old #mollusk ancestor https://phys.org/news/2024-08-uncover-million-year-mollusk-ancestor.html

A #Cambrian spiny stem mollusk and the deep homology of lophotrochozoan scleritomes https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado0059

The new #fossil, called Shishania aculeata, reveals that the most primitive #mollusks were flat, shell-less slugs covered in a protective spiny armor.

Two-thirds of the world's #biodiversity lives in the soil https://phys.org/news/2023-08-two-thirds-world-biodiversity-soil.html

Enumerating #SoilBiodiversity https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2304663120

"The group with the highest proportion of species living in the #soil is #fungi—90% of them live there. They are followed by #plants and their #roots with 86%. #Earthworms and #mollusks such as #snails make up 20%."

The clear #corruption of #DeepSeaMining is hinted at in this #DW #PlanetA #report.

The #SecretRace to #BuyTheOceanFloor:
https://youtu.be/HUrjVf5boRU

This #PBS #ChangingSeas report, #Mollusks: #MoreThanAShell, includes a small (stunningly beautiful) bit on what deep #sea #mining will disrupt and destroy, including the largest #migration of this #planet, which happens in the dark twice every day.

#BlackWaterDiving

https://www.pbs.org/video/1501-mollusk-tx8ngr/

My #firstpost on #Mastodon:

I am an Earth/climate scientist at the University of Arizona in #Tucson (southwestern US) focusing on the areas of #climate change, #paleoclimates, and #paleoceanography, with an emphasis on #ENSO, #monsoons, & #variability.

Our group uses #inorganic #geochemistry incl. measurements of #stableisotopes & #tracemetals in #carbonate rocks & #fossils (e.g., #foraminifera, #mollusks, & #speleothems) alongside climate #observations as well as #simulations to advance understanding of how the Earth's #climate & #oceans have changed in the past and can change in the future.

Some of my hobbies include:

#music: I am a fan of #metal and heavy music of all sorts, but tend to migrate towards #black, #death, #doom, #drone, #sludge, & #thrash. I also have a soft spot for #carnatic/#hindustani #ragas, #darkambient, oldschool-ish #hiphop, #triphop, and various forms of #electronicmusic.

#birds & #birding #photography bring me joy. Right now, I feel v lucky to be briefly back in my hometown of #Bengaluru, southern India, after three long years being able to see #oldworld birds I grew up with.

#GTD, #mindfulness, #organization, and (vs?) #producivity are things that I enjoy thinking about. Of late, I've been using #Things3, #Streaks, #Hobonichi w a #Lamy Safari, #Obsidian, #Overleaf, & #Bookends to get things done.

Thanks for reading!