From: http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/academics/rock/bears_files/polar-ice-caps-melting.jpg
In this article I read that the arctic sea is vanishing faster and faster everyday. They predict that the sea will be ice free in about 3 years. Sc
ientists are seeing it happen quicker than what their models showed what would happen. The Canadian government provided $156 million in funding for the study of the impact of climate change. More than 300 scientists from around the globe spent last winter on the Canadian Coast Guard research ship the Amundsen in the Arctic. During the winter season this was the 1st time a research vessel had remained mobile in open water.
As quoted from the article “ ‘If you go into the rain forest and you cut down all the trees, the ecosystem in that rain forest will collapse,” he said. “If you go to the Arctic and you remove all the sea ice or if you remove the timing of the sea ice, the system will change.’ ” Before this expedition climate scientists were working under the thought that climate change would happen slower. It was assumed the Arctic would be ice-free in the winter by 2100, not in 3 years.
The impact of climate change has been major on people who live in the Far North. It’s changing their way of life as wildlife adapt to the warmer climate and traditional hunting patterns change. Scientists also think that killer whales could potentially be bringing diseases from other whale species they come into contact with from further south.
If all the ice melts in the arctic is 3 years what does it mean for the animal life up there?
If killer whales start to bring diseases up north what does it mean for the other species?
They say that the octopus is one of the most intelligent invertebrate. The octopus can solve some of the simplest maze, can tell the difference between shapes and patterns, use landmark navigation, use tools, and have individual personalities. People start doing tests for the octopus called “prey puzzles”. These puzzles have food inside child proof bottles and time the octopus to get it open. It was recorded that the octopus had opened the bottle in 55 minutes but they said that it was difficult to tell because of the eight tentacles.
Although the octopus may seem to be a smart animal but they may not be a super smart animal. A octopus does not have and use a lot of brainpower. The average human can about 100 billion neurons and an octopus has about 168 million neurons. I do think that this animal is pretty smart even though it doesn’t have a lot of brainpower. Who knows they might become smarter in the future.
What do you think will happen with the octopus in the future?
The article I read was about octopuses playing with toys. The scientists gave the octopuses 3 toys to play with. The 3 toys they gave them were a pair of pliers, a woven ball, and a cow with 3 things hanging off of it. They gave the toys to them several times a day and at least 2 hours apart from each other. They measured the amount of time they played with the toys and how many times they played with them.
In this study they found out that octopuses like the cow the most of the 3 toys. Through this study and other ones like it they found out that octopuses like toys with many moving parts and parts linked to other moving parts.
In this article, I learned about the mating techniques of Sepioteuthis squid in the Caribbean. Apparently, squid don’t think about mating until the end of their lifespan – and then they go all out. Squid orgies are best found in the early mornings and late afternoons as females test males and males compete with each other for attention. In order to stay safe from predators, squids mate in large groups from four to fifty.
Researchers have noticed that while mating, Sepioteuthis use various skin signals to communicate. Firstly, they usually match up into same-sized pairs and then the skin shifting begins. When a male is interested, they coloring changes to Stripe, which is “a pair of wide black longitudinal stripes on either side of the mantle, with paler areas in between.” If a female is interested, they reciprocate by changing their skin color to what observers labeled as Saddle, which is when the “mantle goes white, except for a thin line of dark brown on the very anterior like a saddle over her body.” When a male is intent to mate, he begins flickering. When competing with another male, they’re color takes on a sort of Zebra like pattern. Sepioteuthis males are even capable of isolating different parts of their body to send different signals. On one side they can attract a female while simultaneously warding off competitors on another part of their mantle.
What I found most interesting about the article is the way they mate. After laying on top of one another and rocking back and forth, “males pass spermatophores to the female by sticking them onto her skin just below her eyes.” Then, the female “takes them and puts them in her mantle cavity, where the sperm are stored for later fertilization of her eggs.” She can do this with many males, storing different sperm in different areas, before she chooses which one she really wants to use for fertilization. Imagine that!
A question I still have though is how do the squid know when they’re lifespan is nearing it’s end? You never know which day is your last, a squid could be swimming freely one morning and be dinner that same day.
In the article “The Perils of the Pearly Nautilus” by Dr. Neale Monks we learn of the severe and potentially species endangering market for Nautilus shells. These beautiful shells are found for sale all over the world. Unfortunately, the Nautilus itself lives only in deep waters (more than 150 m) in the small area known as the Indo West Pacific. In a few specific areas, such as the waters off of the coast of Indonesia, the exportation of Nautilus’ is illegal. However, in most places it is both legal as well as highly unregulated.
Because of this lack of fishery regulation, it is hard to know how the Nautilus populations are doing, or whether or not they are being over-fished. Also, because they reproduce and mature at a slow rate, it would be very difficult for the Nautilus to come back from a period of over-fishing. This is the same type of situation that we have faced repeatedly with many different animals such as whales and elephants. The Nautilus however has been around far longer than these creatures.
I find it amazing that not only were these animals swimming in the oceans while dinosaurs walked the Earth, but that they were around far before that as well. They have been a part of this world for over 500 million years! I also wonder why we, as humans, have not been able to recreate their natural habitat in a captive situation well enough for them to be able to breed. It would be interesting to know what different variables have been tried in the creation of captive habitat for the Nautilus.
It is sad to think of creating a captive version of the Nautilus, but perhaps if we could, then we would be able to save the wild species. If we were able to create a habitat that the Nautilus would live and breed in comfortably, then we would be able to not only raise and harvest the captive Nautilus to supply the demand for their shells, but also save the original wild Nautilus as well.
There are a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the study of Ammonites. A common organism millions of years ago, we see many fossils of them today. These fossils are what provide the base of information that we do know about these ancient creatures. They were mollusks with spiral shaped shells separated into chambers. These chambers found in the shell may be indicators of the age of ammonites. The more chambers and hence the bigger the shell, the older the ammonite was. Much of the things we do know about ammonites comes from our knowledge of a similar animal that still exists today as well as during the existance of ammonites – the nautilus.
In fact much of what we know about ammonites comes from animals other than the ammonite itself. Animals that grew on and with the ammonite like tube worms can be compared to find growth rate and other aspects of the ammonite’s pathology. For example the tube worms still exist today and can be used to note the development of the ammonite that fossils show to be the host of these worms.
I thought the oxygen isotope indicators in the ammonites shell is really interesting. Not only can researchers use these isotopes to predict how long it took and the way in which each chamber in the shell formed but they also serve as an indicator of the conditions of the water that the ammonite lived in or was exposed to. Different patterns in the shell when compared to these isotopes suggest warmer and cooler water.
What other kinds of organic chemicals or isotopes found in their shell can be used to gather more information about ammonites?
In the article that I read, I learned that octopuses are considered one of the most intelligent invertebrate animals. Octopuses can learn very simple mazes between shapes and patterns. This article that I read was mainly about their intelligence and the way they live and move. Also there was a lot of talk about how they were an enrichment to the environment. Octopuses are also able to unscrew lids off of jars.
There were many facts that I learned that I have never heard about when I read this article. I learned that Octopuses have about 168 million neurons in their brains compared to us with having about 100 billion neutrons. I also learned that octopuses use their brains more efficient than we do. I thought that it was very cool have they tested a female giant pacific octopus unscrewing a lid off of a child proof container. The octopus was able to unscrew the lid in 55 minutes.
I think that its a good idea that scientists are testing these animals because it could show us that there are some creatures our there that are very smart and can think differently that we do. They should just keep on testing these octopuses so that we can learn more about them.
There were many cool facts about theses octopuses, but how long have they been testing theses octopuses? Also what other tests have they been giving theses octopuses?
The blue ringed octopus is one of the most deadly marine animals on the planet. A bite could kill a person in several minutes. The venom comes from the saliva and when bitten the victim starts to feel the symptoms in minutes, symptoms like numbness, muscular weakness, nausea, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. The toxin found in the blue ringed is very similar to the extremely deadly toxin found in puffer-fish. One milligram of the TTX toxin could kill a person making it one of the most potent natural toxins on the planet. No antidote has been found for the toxin, I wonder what kind of medical discoveries could be made with the study of the blue ringed octopus.
I read the article about an octopus biting a driver, that caught the octopus for a demonstration. While he was handling the octupus it bit him and he did not notice still a minute later. He tried to suck the venom out but that did no good, so he called the Aquarium and asked what to do. They told him to put hot water on it, it made the swelling go down.
I don’t understand how such a little bite could make so much pain, but then I found it interesting that octopus have venom. How many species of octopus have venom in them? I don’t really understand why the water had to be hot, was it to kill the venom that the octopus released?
The blue-ringed octopus, an exquisite example of nature’s beauty, and an amazing example of lethal power, The blue-ringed octopus are three or perhaps even four species of octopus that live in tide pools in the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Australia. After reading the article by Dr. Roy Caldwell on his experience with the blue-ringed octopus I decided to do more digging on one of the most venomous animals on the planet. And as a notice to all divers: there is no antivenin for their bite!
I’ve learned that the blue-ringed octopus can be a very sneaky creature often hiding in natural niches throughout tide-pools. Dr. Caldwell’s experience with the blue-ringed octopus was a prime example not paying attention to your surroundings and could have led not only to his own death but even to his teenage daughter who had accompanied him on this trip to Australia. The blue-ringed octopus is very easily identifiable both visually and just from hearing it’s name. As the name suggests, the Blue-ring’s entire body is covered in blue and black rings with a yellowish tint to the skin. The one thing however I was unable to uncover is how deadly this venom is when compared to the toxin of the box jellyfish. Which is the quicker killer?
