Science Daily’s article “New Understanding of Marine Ecology Will Enable Better Management of Resources” discusses a recent discovery concerning life cycles. Dr. Frédéric Guichard, a McGill Biologist, found that “marine life can communicate over thousands of kilometers, calling into question current fishery management and marine preservation practices.” For example, if mussels in San Diego are killed the mussels in Seattle will be affected.
Through “mathematical modeling and data from natural populations” Guichard discovered that marine animals, such as mussels follow a pattern comparable to the ‘butterfly effect.’ Guichard learned that mussels are able to interact from miles away, by passing away or laying larvae. How far away exactly are they able to communicate from?
Scientists have been seeking this information for quite some time and now they are able use this discovery to ‘manage their numbers.’ This not only applies to mussels but many other species as well. What other types of animals does this pertain to?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503111752.htm
Recently NOAA and Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi scientists found that seamounts are “some of the most common habitats in the world,” according to Science Daily’s article, “Seamounts Identified as Significant, Unexplored Territory.” This newfound discovery refutes prior conjectures regarding the existence of seamounts.
Peter Etnoyer, NOAA’s main explorer and marine biologist says that even though not many people have seen seamounts, they are still “one of the predominant ecosystems on the planet.” This study shows that 200 seamounts have been researched and recorded, and 45,000 seamounts have been discovered globally. These results reveal that humanity still has many unknown variables to unearth concerning the oceans of the world.
The scientists were able to discover the data from this study by using “satellite altimetry (height measurement) data.” The scientists measured changes, which were small, in the surface height of the water.
Seamounts are the homes to many different marine animals. Science News says that there have been two-dozen new discoveries of species of corals and sponges since 2002 in the Gulf of Alaska.
How many seamounts are in the Gulf of Alaska? Which marine life species reside in seamounts?
Article – http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100430091605.htm
Science News discusses the normally still Arctic Ocean in the article, “Loss of Sea Ice Stirs Up Arctic Waters.” The Arctic Ocean usually does not mix because the wind, which would generally create internal waves, is foiled due to a shield of sea ice.
Strong winds are unable to trigger a response when the ocean is blanketed with ice. However, when the ice melts in the summer, the wind creates “large internal oscillations.” The area of sea ice that is present in the summer has dwindled recently because of internal waves. Due to this adaptation, the Arctic Ocean will experience changes. What types of changes will the Arctic Ocean encounter? How will this affect the already limited marine life?
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The Census of Marine Life has discovered 5,600 new species in the ocean (not counting microbes), since 2000. Thousands of researchers and scientists have been scouring the entire ocean floor from “pole to pole, surface to frigid depths” for a decade. How is a census set up and organized to explore the whole ocean?
The many benefits of this census include finding medical treatments, learning the effects of global warming and establishing marine preserves. I wonder how many researchers and scientist were involved in the study? In the study, researchers have discovered that deep-water sponges hold a chemical that is able to help treat herpes infections. Marine life may also be beneficial in painkillers and cancer treatments. Scientists are finding that because of climate change squid are no longer found in tropical climates but now in polar areas. Similar to the dwindling number of tigers, great white sharks are diminishing too. The research being conducted is persuading the government to allow reserve areas for marine life.
“Researchers near completion of ocean census, cite value of protecting marine life” By Randolph E. Schmid
Have you ever heard of an animal that can open jars? Well octopodes are able to open jars and do much more. According to Dr. Roland C. Anderson’s article,”Smart Octopus?” Octopodes are able to “learn simple mazes,” tell the difference between different shapes and patterns, and “navigate” by using landmarks while they are searching for food. They are also able to operate tools, play and have distinct characters. Since they are so smart, some octopodes are found in captivity for “environmental enrichment.” While in captivity they are supplied with food (crabs, fish, invertebrates) and have to locate it in complex habitats. Octopodes also do ‘prey puzzles,’ which are jars with a screw top that has crab or another animal inside.
The Seattle Aquarium hosts an Octopus Week, which display the talents of the octopodes. Pandora, a large female Pacific octopus showed off her expertise at opening a jar, the first time in 15 minutes, but she cut her time to about two minutes in later demonstrations. What a cut in time! I wonder what caused such a large slash in time?
It is interesting that octopodes only have 168 million neurons and we have 100 billion. They can do some pretty amazing things with this number, although it is likely that their neurons are more organized than ours are.
The otoliths, or ear bones in fish are growing due to a rise in the carbon dioxide levels in the ocean. Science Daily says that the researchers conducting the study, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego hypothesized that white seabass’ otoliths growing up in ocean water with a normal amount of CO2 would grow faster than a similar group that was growing in more CO2 than usual. However, the fish’s otoliths proved the scientists wrong; the carbon dioxide had the opposite effect. Why did the otoliths in the CO2 grow faster?
The researchers do not know how the fish are effected because of their large otoliths. Although they do know, as well as us, that the increased acidity in the ocean, burning of fossil fuels and human activities are the cause of the increase of CO2.
One of the researchers says, “If fish can do just fine or better with large otoliths then there’s not great concern. But fish have evolved to have their bodies the way they are.” The otolith assists the fish in “staying upright, navigating, and surviving.” Also, the otolith grows like trees or onions – in layers, so the scientists learn their age by counting the rings. Will the otoliths continue to grow bigger and bigger as the ocean obtains more carbon dioxide or will they level out over time? Are their any other types of fish, or other marine life that grow due to carbon dioxide?
![california-kelp-forest[3]](http://blogs.cordovasd.org/marinebio/files/2009/12/california-kelp-forest3-150x150.jpg "california-kelp-forest[3]")
Who knew that southern California’s primitive kelp forests are “some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet.” Recently, Science Daily found in a study that the kelp beds are not flourishing like they were previously. Rick Grosberg, a professor at UC Davis, Michael Grahm (Moss Landing Marine Laboratory) and Brian Kinlan, a professor at US Santa Barbara conducted the study and say from about 20,000 to 7,500 years ago the kelp forests were thriving. Why are they decreasing now then?
The kelp forests are decreasing because the climate shifted in the kelp ecosystem causing people to use the kelp. Scientists normally reconstruct the history of a forest by examining the pollen or leaves, however kelp do not make pollen. The researchers were able to reconstruct potential kelp habitat in a nontraditional way by using depth charts and past knowledge from sediment cores on the accessibility of nutrients.
I found it interesting how the scientists pieced together the past and the reason the kelp was dropping by using depth charts and information on the nutrients. How exactly did they use this information to find out so much history on the kelp forest? Also, what kinds of effects come along with the dwindling kelp beds? What else has caused the kelp forest to diminish? How will they protect the kelp that is left?
Additional Information: Science Mag Article, UC Newsroom
The sea levels have been rising along the south coast of England according to the researchers at the University of Southampton. The water level has been rising at a rate of 1.3 mm per year at Southampton. Professor Robert Nicholls, a coastal engineer who is running the study says, “While these changes seem small, over a century they accumulate and substantially increase the risk of flooding during storms, unless there have been corresponding upgrades to flood defenses. A water level that had an average likelihood of occurring once every 100 years in 1900 now has an average likelihood of occurring on average every 10 to 25 years, depending on the site considered. As sea levels continue to rise and probably accelerate, this increase in the likelihood of flooding will continue.”
I thought this article was interesting because they do not mention a cause of the rise in the sea level. This is a large study. The researchers have collected data from Scilly Isles to Sheerness, which are places on the south side of England. As a group, they have added “150 years worth of historic data to the existing record of English Channel sea-level change.”
I am wondering, why the researchers not know what the cause of the rise is? Also, is this impacting their shorelines, and marine life?
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All noise underwater sounds different than it does above water. Passive Aquatic Listeners, created by Jeffrey Nystuen, allow us to hear these unusual noises below the water. The PALs permit us to hear man made and natural sounds, such as boat engines, submarines, anchors falling, rainfall, whale sand other marine life. Nystuen says, “By listening passively to the underwater sound field, we learn a lot about the environment.”
The PALs work from 10 meters to thousands of meters under water. They do not record every noise but do record a few seconds of sound every 10 minutes. It takes too much memory to record everything; how does it determine what to record? Does pick up high or low pitched sounds?
According to Science Daily, new software is in the works-by Nystuen-that will permit the PALs to “sift through the racket, identify and sort sound sources by frequencies as they are received.” Nystuen, a physical and acoustical oceanographer at the University of Washington has created a helpful system to make it less difficult for other oceanographers to classify different noises in the ocean. What new research have the oceanographers discovered in relation to harm of the marine animals?
I think this is interesting because I did not really think about how noises sound underwater. I find it exciting that Nystuen has invented Passive Aquatic Listeners to “study the impact of the noise on marine life.”
Additional Information: CDNN, Underwater Times, Marine Acoustics
![california-kelp-forest[3]](http://blogs.cordovasd.org/marinebio/files/2009/12/california-kelp-forest3.jpg "california-kelp-forest[3]")