New Benthic Underwater Microscope Described in the Journal Nature Communications

Today results from our work on the Benthic Underwater Microscope (BUM) were published in Nature Communications. The article Underwater microscopy for in situ studies of benthic ecosystems reports on the development of the BUM and its application to studying several important benthic processes in situ. The paper was authored by Jaffe Lab members Andrew D. Mullen, Tali Treibitz, Paul L.D. Roberts, and Jules Jaffe; as well as coral ecologists Emily L.A. Kelly, Rael Horwitz, and Jennifer E. Smith.

We would like to thank Dr. Amatzia Genin who provided support and critical guidance during the studies of coral polyp behavior, which were filmed at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. We also thank the Keck Foundation for their support funding the instrument development. Additionally we thank the National Science Foundation, Link Foundation, and Binational Science Foundation for supporting Andrew Mullen’s research.

Below are several videos and articles covering the work.

New York Times:

 

UCSD interview with Andrew Mullen:

 

Interview with Jules Jaffe

Nature Video:

 

NSF Science 360 Video:

https://science360.gov/obj/video/86e00b24-c628-4e9b-9ce0-67edd693dc82/nsf-science-now-episode-45

 

Written Articles, News Outlets:

The Conversation (great story about the evolution of the project) –  https://theconversation.com/underwater-microscope-provides-new-views-of-ocean-floor-sea-creatures-in-their-natural-setting-62265

New York Times (complement to the ‘ScienceTake’ video above) – http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/science/seafloor-microscope-coral.html

Washington Post (nice overview of the microscope motivation and coral videos) – https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/07/12/this-incredible-underwater-microscope-shows-stunning-corals-like-youve-never-seen-them-before/

LA Times (importance of the micro-scale perspective and collecting the coral videos in nature) – http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-underwater-microscope-corals-20160712-snap-story.html

PBS News Hour – http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/new-underwater-microscope-films-kissing-fighting-corals-like-never/

KPBS – http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/jul/12/san-diego-scientists-take-coral-reef-close-ups-new/

Time – http://time.com/4406312/coral-colonies-microscope-kissing-eating-fighting/

Wall Street Journal – http://www.wsj.com/video/underwater-microscope-reveals-secrets-of-deep-sea/48E793FD-7A53-424B-A21F-CAFFCDF3583A.html

BBC – http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36785883

The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2016/jul/13/scientists-observe-coral-polyps-fighting-turf-wars-and-kissing-video

Australian Broadcasting Company – http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-13/secrets-of-seafloor-captured-by-new-underwater-microscope/7621916

 

Written Articles, Science Outlets:

Nature Research Highlight – http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v535/n7612/full/535327b.html

MIT Technology Review – https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601892/underwater-microscope-uncovers-the-secret-lives-of-coral-reefs-in-danger/

Physics Today – http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/news/10.1063/PT.5.7286

National Geographic – http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/kissing-coral-reefs-filmed-in-wild/

New Scientist – https://www.newscientist.com/article/2096572-watch-the-first-ever-footage-of-wild-coral-kissing-and-fighting/

Popular Science – http://www.popsci.com/new-microscope-lets-scientists-see-living-corals-dancing-underwater

University of California – http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/underwater-microscope-provides-new-views-ocean-floor-sea-creatures-their-natural-setting

Scripps Institution of Oceanography – https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/researchers-develop-novel-microscope-study-underwater-world

Smithsonian – http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-corals-action-new-underwater-microscope-180959800/?no-ist

AAAS Science Update – http://www.scienceupdate.com/2016/07/corals-in-focus/

Australian Geographic – http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/07/video-corals-dancing-underwater

Consortium for Ocean Leadership – http://oceanleadership.org/underwater-microscope-uncovers-secret-lives-coral-reefs-danger/

Live Science – http://www.livescience.com/55371-underwater-microscope-sees-corals-kiss.html

Discover – http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2016/07/12/watch-wild-corals-caught-kissing-on-camera/#.V4VEGYffTlo

Engadget – https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/14/millimeter-scale-underwater-microscope/

Gizmag – http://www.gizmag.com/underwater-microscope/44321/

Wired – http://www.wired.co.uk/article/underwater-microscope

 

Non-English Articles:

Ynet (Hebrew) – http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4827321,00.html

SINC (Spanish) – http://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/Graban-corales-en-vivo-a-escala-microscopica

El Mundo (Spanish) – http://www.elmundo.es/ciencia/2016/07/12/5784b5e6e2704eeb578b45ab.html

ANSA (Italian) – http://www.ansa.it/scienza/notizie/rubriche/tecnologie/2016/07/12/il-bacio-dei-coralli-spiato-dal-microscopio-subacqueo_373fbf4f-9154-4317-8776-9e115e10900a.html

German National Radio – http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/aufnahmen-eines-unterwasser-mikroskops-mit-kamera.676.de.html?dram:article_id=360079