Awesome Oceans

Bay Ghost Shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis)

…is a species of burrowing shrimp endemic to the Pacific coast of North America. Like most burrowing shrimp, the bay ghost shrimp constructs and lives in extensive burrow systems; these large systems are often home to a slew of other different animals. The large tunnels made by the bay ghost shrimp have become a problem in oyster production as they can mess up oyster farms and oyster farmers deem them pests. Bay ghost shrimp are simple deposit feeders and despite their large claws feed mostly on detritus. Males have one claw that is bigger than the other, which, like in fiddler crabs, is thought to serve a function in mating.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Arthropoda-Crustacea-Malacostraca-Decapoda-Axiidea-Callianassidae-Neotrypaea-californiensis

Image Source(s)

Coccolithophores are microscopic algae that first appeared 220...

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:01:44 -0400

Coccolithophores are microscopic algae that first appeared 220 million years ago, and flourished during the cretaceous period. They produce peculiar plates called cocoliths out of calcium carbonate, and incorporate them into their shells. As they die and sink to the ocean floor, they remove carbon from the atmosphere and produce chalk. This biological activity is an important regulator the global carbon cycle.

astronomy-to-zoology: Synaptula lamperti …is a species of sea...

Sat, 04 May 2013 15:02:18 -0400

mad-as-a-marine-biologist:

Synaptula lamperti

…is a species of sea cucumber endemic to Indo-Pacific waters. Like most sea cucumbers S. lamperti is a detritivore and feeds on detritus, diatoms found on marine animals like sponges, mostly on the elephant ear sponge, and corals. Like other holothurians this species only feeds at night as its feeding tentacles are delicate and it is less risky to expose them at night.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Echinodermata-Holothuroidea-Apodida-Synaptidae-Synaptula-lamperti

Image Source(s)

griseus: Massive Die-off of Dolphins in Peru The Peruvian...

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:01:38 -0400

griseus:

Massive Die-off of Dolphins in Peru

The Peruvian government has released a report on the mass mortality of at least 900 dolphins along the coast of Peru that states that “natural causes” and “evolutionary forces” were the cause of death.

BlueVoice, which has funded extended and extensive research conducted by Peruvian veterinarian and marine mammal expert Dr. Carlos Yaipen Llanos, believes that conclusion is nonsense. We present here a narrative history of the mortality event and Dr. Yaipen Llanos’ hypothesis that acoustical trauma followed by rapid ascent leading to catastrophic decompression is the most likely cause of death. Dr. Yaipen Llanos makes no assertion that seismic testing for oil is associated with the dolphin mortality. However BlueVoice suggests that this form of extremely loud testing makes the seismic tests a primary “element of interest”. Seismic testing was taking place in approximately the same time frame and geographical location as the dolphin mass mortality.

via BLUE VOICE

yoccu: ifightformyfriends: sith-ari: Leopard Seal tries to...

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:01:28 -0400

yoccu:

ifightformyfriends:

sith-ari:

Leopard Seal tries to teach National Geographic photographer how to hunt.

Oh my god this is so adorable

“I think she thought the camera was my mouth, which is every photographer’s dream”

WARNING: includes a photo of a sort of mangled penguin so if you do not like looking at sort of mangled penguin be advised uwu

mad-as-a-marine-biologist: astronomy-to-zoology: Pfeffer’s...

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:01:36 -0400

astronomy-to-zoology:

Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) attempting to catch some prey.

Video Source

I’ve seen this in person and it’s insane!

ecocides: climateadaptation: Chinese ship runs into protected...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:01:45 -0400

ecocides:

climateadaptation:

Chinese ship runs into protected UNESCO reef in Philippines — while transporting 11 tons of illegal Pangolin meat

A Chinese vessel that ran into a protected coral reef in the southwestern Philippines held evidence of even more environmental destruction inside: more than 22,000 pounds of meat from a protected species, the pangolin or scaly anteater.

The steel-hulled vessel hit an atoll on April 8 at the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site on Palawan island.

Coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo said Monday that 400 boxes, each containing 25 to 30 kilograms of frozen pangolins, were discovered during a second inspection of the boat Saturday.

The World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines said the Chinese vessel F/N Min Long Yu could have been carrying up to 2,000 of the toothless, insect-eating animals rolled up in the boxes, with their scales already removed.

The boat’s 12 Chinese crewmen are being detained on charges of poaching and attempted bribery, said Adelina Villena, the marine park’s lawyer. She said more charges are being prepared against them, including damaging the corals and violating the country’s wildlife law for being found in possession of the pangolin meat.

The poachers posed as fisherman and now face up to 20 years in prison. Via NBC

Here’s a NatGeo video of the endangered pangolin.

~~Small victory.~~

astronomy-to-zoology: Elephant Ear Sponge (Ianthella...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:01:39 -0400

Elephant Ear Sponge (Ianthella basta)

Also known as the Scroll Sponge or the Paper Sponge, the elephant ear sponge is a species of demosponge found throughout the Indo-pacific and is most common in Indonesia and on the Great Barrier Reef. Like most sponges the elephant ear sponge makes its living by filtering the water around it and extracting any nutrients in it. It also is a host for a number of animals like crustaceans and a sea cucumber that make use of the nutrients that are exuded by the sponge.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Porifera-Demospongiae-Verongida-Ianthellidae-Ianthella-basta

Image Source(s)

kqedscience: ‘Living Fossil’ Fish Gets Its Genome...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:01:46 -0400

kqedscience:

‘Living Fossil’ Fish Gets Its Genome Sequenced

“The coelacanth isn’t called a “living fossil” for nothing. The 2-meter-long, 90 kg fish was thought to have gone extinct 70 million years ago—until a fisherman caught one in 1938—and the animal looks a lot like its fossil ancestors dating back 300 million years. Now, the first analysis of the coelacanth’s genome reveals why the fish may have changed so little over the ages. It also may help explain how fish like it moved onto land long ago.”

Last week we spent a moment making eyes with the oyster...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:01:23 -0400

Last week we spent a moment making eyes with the oyster (Spondylus americanus). This week well spend a moment with a diverse community of animals and plants that have colonized the upper shell of the very same oyster.

Music, Video, and Aquarium
MORPHOLOGIC STUDIOS

Chinese man puts eel in anus, turns out to be bad idea:

neurosciencestuff: Scientists reverse memory loss in animal...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:01:17 -0400

neurosciencestuff:

Scientists reverse memory loss in animal brain cells

Neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have taken a major step in their efforts to help people with memory loss tied to brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Using sea snail nerve cells, the scientists reversed memory loss by determining when the cells were primed for learning. The scientists were able to help the cells compensate for memory loss by retraining them through the use of optimized training schedules. Findings of this proof-of-principle study appear in the April 17 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

“Although much works remains to be done, we have demonstrated the feasibility of our new strategy to help overcome memory deficits,” said John “Jack” Byrne, Ph.D., the study’s senior author, as well as director of the W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the UTHealth Medical School.

This latest study builds on Byrne’s 2012 investigation that pioneered this memory enhancement strategy. The 2012 study showed a significant increase in long-term memory in healthy sea snails called Aplysia californica, an animal that has a simple nervous system, but with cells having properties similar to other more advanced species including humans.

Yili Zhang, Ph.D., the study’s co-lead author and a research scientist at the UTHealth Medical School, has developed a sophisticated mathematical model that can predict when the biochemical processes in the snail’s brain are primed for learning.

Her model is based on five training sessions scheduled at different time intervals ranging from 5 to 50 minutes. It can generate 10,000 different schedules and identify the schedule most attuned to optimum learning.

“The logical follow-up question was whether you could use the same strategy to overcome a deficit in memory,” Byrne said. “Memory is due to a change in the strength of the connections among neurons. In many diseases associated with memory deficits, the change is blocked.”

To test whether their strategy would help with memory loss, Rong-Yu Liu, Ph.D., co-lead author and senior research scientist at the UTHealth Medical School, simulated a brain disorder in a cell culture by taking sensory cells from the sea snails and blocking the activity of a gene that produces a memory protein. This resulted in a significant impairment in the strength of the neurons’ connections, which is responsible for long-term memory.

To mimic training sessions, cells were administered a chemical at intervals prescribed by the mathematical model. After five training sessions, which like the earlier study were at irregular intervals, the strength of the connections returned to near normal in the impaired cells.

“This methodology may apply to humans if we can identify the same biochemical processes in humans. Our results suggest a new strategy for treatments of cognitive impairment. Mathematical models might help design therapies that optimize the combination of training protocols with traditional drug treatments,” Byrne said.

He added, “Combining these two could enhance the effectiveness of the latter while compensating at least in part for any limitations or undesirable side effects of drugs. These two approaches are likely to be more effective together than separately and may have broad generalities in treating individuals with learning and memory deficits.”

(Image courtesy: UC Berkeley)

Chinese man puts eel in anus, turns out to be bad idea

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:19:01 -0400

A 39-year-old man from the Guangdong province in China found himself hospitalised this week after putting a live swamp eel up his arse. After taking the very sensible choice of seeking medical attention it turns out his doctor thought this was a story we’d all like to hear…..

Read more

astronomy-to-zoology: Pin-Cushion Starfish (Culcita...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:01:33 -0400

Pin-Cushion Starfish (Culcita novaeguineae)

…is a species of cushion star found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. Like all cushion stars this species sports extremely short arms and an inflated body, so inflated that the arms are barley visible, which makes the echinoderm look similar to a cushion. Cushion stats can often be seen on the bottom where they feed on small invertebrates, corals and organic materials. Like several other starfish species the pin-cushion starfish has a commensal relationship with several species of arthropods which live on the star and clean it. A species of fish has also been recorded living inside the starfish using it as shelter,

Phylogeny

Animalia-Echinodermata-Asteroidea-Valvatida-Oreasteridae-Culcita-novaeguineae

Image Source(s)

Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) are an abundant...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:01:44 -0400

Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) are an abundant creature on Floridian reefs, making their permanent homes encased inside the limestone skeletons of live coral. Found in a seemingly endless variety of colors and measuring 2-3 cm in diameter, dozens of these worms will typically adorn massive coral heads in local waters.

Using only the perception of light and vibration, these animals will retract at lighting speed at the first sense of something ominous approaching. Fortunately the worms come equipped with a a protective double-horned operculum that seals the worm safely inside the inpenetrable coral. A sharp, calcareous spike extends forward of the tube’s opening, acting as a further deterant to a would-be predator.

The spiraled, ‘branchial crown’ serves as both breathing and feeding apparatus for the worm, and is the only part of the worm’s body that is extended into the water column. The feathery appendages, known radioles, collect plankton that drift by in the current. The radioles are lined with cilia that direct the captured food down the spiral to the worm’s mouth.

Music, Video and Aquarium
MORPHOLOGIC STUDIOS

In this video a single Corynactis viridis corallimorph polyp...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:01:37 -0400

In this video a single Corynactis viridis corallimorph polyp (about 8mm in diameter) is seen capturing and digesting tiny plankton as they flow past in the current. As the tentacles capture food, they retract towards the animal’s mouth, located at the center of the polyp. The mouth is likewise transformable; capable of extending, expanding, and enveloping food items. The total elapsed time was roughly 12 minutes and sped up 1200% in order to demonstrate the hydraulic muscular contractions and contortions that the polyp goes through while feeding. 470nm LED light is used to highlight the fluorescent orange ring around the outer diameter of the polyp.

Music, Video and Aquarium
MORPHOLOGIC STUDIOS

The Penderson Cleaner Shrimp (Periclemenes pedersoni) shrimp...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:01:21 -0400

The Penderson Cleaner Shrimp (Periclemenes pedersoni) shrimp perched on its host colony of fluorescent orange Ricordea florida corallimorphs.

Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios