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Researchers Discover Remarkable Reproductive Mechanism in Whale Sharks
Sep 29th, 2010 by Mikey

Photo credit: PRETOMA (CR)

Turns out that whale sharks  have an in-built sperm bank which allows them to fertilise hundreds of eggs at different times within their body and then stagger the births after mating just the once.
Perth researcher Brad Norman explains a new scientific discovery about one of the world’s threatened species – the whale shark.
Mr Norman was one of six researchers led by Chicago-based geneticist Jennifer Schmidt who analysed 29 preserved embryos from the first pregnant female whale shark ever to be caught.
He says varying the development of the embryos could be a way of protecting the species.
“By staggering the delivery of pups, the strategy serves to reduce the risk of losing an entire litter at any one location.

Molas and Jellies at the Marine Room
Sep 27th, 2010 by Mikey

Video:


An unusual sighting of Mola Molas in La Jolla Canyon......what appear to be a cluster of red tentacles sitting on the bottom at the very end is some type of red algae.

© Michael Bear 2010

Julie Lorenzen: Fried Egg Jelly
Sep 26th, 2010 by Mikey

Used with Permission/All Rights Reserved

Beware the Marine Room Steps!
Sep 26th, 2010 by Mikey

Video:


Always check the tide tables before diving here!

Video of Mola Molas at the Marine Room, La Jolla, CA
Sep 26th, 2010 by Mikey

Dive Report:

Date: Sunday, September 26, 2010

Location: Marine Room, La Jolla, CA

Time: 10:05 AM

Dive length: 46 minutes

Maximum depth: 92 ft

Surf: 1-3 ft.  but manageable

Visibility: +/- 25 ft

Mix: 32%

Dive buddies:  NOAA Jim and Julie L.

Marine Life observed:  several Sunfish or Mola Molas [Classification:  Actinopterygiià Tetraodontiformes à Molidae], several Fried Egg jellies, several Cusk eels, several Tube-Dwelling anemones…..

Photos: see Julie’s gorgeous B&W photo of a Fried Egg Jelly above….

Highlights:

–Jim and Julie  and I had a nice, relaxing dive that the Marine Room today, the highlight of which was a brief but startling encounter with several Mola Molas near the top of the water column on our way out.

–They appeared to be juveniles, and fairly skittish, because they began moving away from me almost as soon as I approached.  However, I was able to get some video of the brief encounter  before they departed.  I must admit to being surprised at how fast they could actually swim when the occasion called for it.

–We also encountered several more fried egg jellies, further down in the canyon, and took some video of them as well.

–Julie appeared to be having fun with her new wide angle lens, and we all had fun coming back through the surf, up the narrow cement steps between the Marine Room restaurant and the neighboring houses  at high tide, forgetting as we always do, about the hidden hole in the sand just before you reach the steps.

I purposely allowed the video camera to keep a running as we fumbled our way up the steps, with a helping hand from Jim, so people can see what it’s like when you forgot to check the tide charts! I’ll post that video plus the Fried Egg Jelly ones later on You Tube.

Another great day in paradise, folks!

David Andrew: Fried Egg Jelly
Sep 24th, 2010 by Mikey

Used with Permission/All Rights Reserved

Carolyn Wang: Two Chromodoris leopardus nudis and a small Chromodoris geometrica
Sep 23rd, 2010 by Mikey

2010 All Rights Reserved/Used with Permission

Little Studied Fish: the Barracuda
Sep 22nd, 2010 by Mikey

Me and 'Bob' the Barracuda/Florida 2004/Photo Courtesy: Barbara Lloyd

Everyone in the Caribbean knows the barracuda, a big, tough predator that watches curiously from a short distance away when humans snorkel or dive around coral reefs.

Yet the big fish is a mystery. Does it swim long distances or stay at home? Where does it spawn? If you catch and release one, does it survive?

Carleton University student Amanda O’Toole of Ottawa found almost no one had studied the barracuda except for one guy from Miami in the 1960s. That’s unusual for a top predator in any ecosystem. People study lions, tigers, grizzlies. Why not barracudas?

So off she went to study the fish for her master’s thesis in biology.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Secrets%20barracudas%20revealed%20thesis/3556919/story.html#ixzz10HGbKtaG

NY Times: Higher Temps Bleaching Coral Reefs Worldwide
Sep 21st, 2010 by Mikey

This year’s extreme heat is putting the world’s coral reefs under such severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people.
Bleached and dying coral off the coast of Thailand.
From Thailand to Texas, corals are reacting to the heat stress by bleaching, or shedding their color and going into survival mode. Many have already died, and more are expected to do so in coming months. Computer forecasts of water temperature suggest that corals in the Caribbean may undergo drastic bleaching in the next few weeks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

This year’s extreme heat is putting the world’s coral reefs under such severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people.
Bleached and dying coral off the coast of Thailand.From Thailand to Texas, corals are reacting to the heat stress by bleaching, or shedding their color and going into survival mode. Many have already died, and more are expected to do so in coming months. Computer forecasts of water temperature suggest that corals in the Caribbean may undergo drastic bleaching in the next few weeks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

No ‘Silent World’: Study Shows ‘Noise’ Is Symptom Of Coral Reef Health
Sep 21st, 2010 by Mikey

RISTOL, U.K. — Healthy reefs with more corals and fish generate predictably greater levels of noise, according to researchers working in Panama. This has important implications for understanding the behavior of young fish, and provides an exciting new approach for monitoring environmental health by listening to reefs.

Contrary to Jacques Cousteau’s ‘Silent World’, coral reefs are surprisingly noisy places, with fish and invertebrates producing clicks and grunts which combine to produce cacophonies of noise. Each reef is subtly different depending on the size and composition of the resident community.

http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=74892136510

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