Apneist

Hold your breath

92 notes &

rhamphotheca: CO2 Makes Fish Dumb by Sara Reardon To survive the complex, often-dangerous environment of a coral reef, the colorful reef fish Neopomacentrus azysron has to be a clever fish. Like many intelligent animals, it uses the right and left hemispheres of its brain for different purposes, which allows for quick problem-solving. But this reef fish could be in danger of losing its smarts as levels of CO2 in the ocean continue to rise due to human activity, according to a new study. Researchers raised one set of reef fish larvae in normal seawater and one set in water containing twice as much CO2—the level that the Pacific Ocean is expected to reach by 2100. When the fish grew up, the team put them in a maze. Each fish that had been spawned in the normal water consistently preferred to turn either right or left every time it reached the barrier, a sign of “handedness.” But fish that had been spawned in high CO2 didn’t have a favorite hand: they turned right or left at random each time they hit the barrier. This loss of handedness, the researchers report today in Biology Letters, may be a sign of other, more subtle developmental brain dysfunctions that might hurt the ability of this fish, and other marine species that could be similarly affected by CO2, to survive in a high-carbon future. (via: Science NOW)   (photo: João Paulo Krajewski)

rhamphotheca:

CO2 Makes Fish Dumb

by Sara Reardon

To survive the complex, often-dangerous environment of a coral reef, the colorful reef fish Neopomacentrus azysron has to be a clever fish. Like many intelligent animals, it uses the right and left hemispheres of its brain for different purposes, which allows for quick problem-solving. But this reef fish could be in danger of losing its smarts as levels of CO2 in the ocean continue to rise due to human activity, according to a new study.

Researchers raised one set of reef fish larvae in normal seawater and one set in water containing twice as much CO2—the level that the Pacific Ocean is expected to reach by 2100. When the fish grew up, the team put them in a maze. Each fish that had been spawned in the normal water consistently preferred to turn either right or left every time it reached the barrier, a sign of “handedness.”

But fish that had been spawned in high CO2 didn’t have a favorite hand: they turned right or left at random each time they hit the barrier. This loss of handedness, the researchers report today in Biology Letters, may be a sign of other, more subtle developmental brain dysfunctions that might hurt the ability of this fish, and other marine species that could be similarly affected by CO2, to survive in a high-carbon future.

(via: Science NOW)   (photo: João Paulo Krajewski)

Filed under fish ocean climate conservation

30 notes &

Mad as a Marine Biologist: Acid oceans turn 'Finding Nemo' fish deaf

Our effects on the environment are often well-understood, but sometimes some really surprising stuff surface…

mad-as-a-marine-biologist:

Clownfish, the spectacular tropical species feted in the movie Finding Nemo, appear to lose their hearing in water slightly more acidic than normal.

At levels of acidity that may be common by the end of the century, the fish did not respond to the sounds of predators.

In this experiment,…

(Source: BBC, via mad-as-a-marine-biologist)

156 notes &

unconsumption: ‘The Coastodian’: One Man’s Eco-Message in an Oversized Plastic Bottle | TakePart - Inspiration to Action For the past year, Richard James, an IT specialist turned nature photographer, has been plucking discarded plastic bottles from the picturesque beaches of Point Reyes, California. … showcasing the collected trash in an over-sized sculpture series titled ‘Message in a Bottle.’ James told the Marin Independent Journal he wants the people viewing his bottles to reflect on their own personal plastic consumption habits. “These bottles are so big that it’s like putting a magnifying glass on the problem,” James said to the Independent Journal. “All of a sudden, the problem is in your face and you’re thinking, ‘That looks crappy. I’m going to do something about it.’” [Each bottle] stands eight feet tall and weighs between 35 and 40 pounds. Follow James’s trash gathering travails on his blog, ‘The Coastodian.’ Via Book of Joe.

unconsumption:

‘The Coastodian’: One Man’s Eco-Message in an Oversized Plastic Bottle | TakePart - Inspiration to Action

For the past year, Richard James, an IT specialist turned nature photographer, has been plucking discarded plastic bottles from the picturesque beaches of Point Reyes, California. … showcasing the collected trash in an over-sized sculpture series titled ‘Message in a Bottle.’

James told the Marin Independent Journal he wants the people viewing his bottles to reflect on their own personal plastic consumption habits.

“These bottles are so big that it’s like putting a magnifying glass on the problem,” James said to the Independent Journal. “All of a sudden, the problem is in your face and you’re thinking, ‘That looks crappy. I’m going to do something about it.’”

[Each bottle] stands eight feet tall and weighs between 35 and 40 pounds.

Follow James’s trash gathering travails on his blog, ‘The Coastodian.’

Via Book of Joe.

(via mad-as-a-marine-biologist)

404 notes &

Prawn trawling is by far the ‘dirtiest’ type of prawling there is; the bycatch is huge. Out of the ~20 encounters with Trachipterus arcticus, a deepwater fish, in Sweden one prawn trawling both caught two of them with just two years apart.  mad-as-a-marine-biologist: crookedindifference: kateoplis: A sample of the common bycatch species from an inshore prawn trawler. These are the different species of sea life caught in one three-hour tow. Corey Arnold for Ocean2012, calling for an effective reform of the EU’s common fisheries policy. Bycatch is fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. Basically, it’s the collateral damage of unselectively scooping wildlife out of our oceans while in search of one or a few commercially viable species.  For every 1Kg of shrimp caught in a trawl net, there is an estimated 15kg of by-catch! To me, this statistic has been the most shocking that I’ve come across. I just don’t see how we can abide it.

Prawn trawling is by far the ‘dirtiest’ type of prawling there is; the bycatch is huge. Out of the ~20 encounters with Trachipterus arcticus, a deepwater fish, in Sweden one prawn trawling both caught two of them with just two years apart. 

mad-as-a-marine-biologist:

crookedindifference:

kateoplis:

A sample of the common bycatch species from an inshore prawn trawler. These are the different species of sea life caught in one three-hour tow.

Corey Arnold for Ocean2012, calling for an effective reform of the EU’s common fisheries policy.

Bycatch is fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. Basically, it’s the collateral damage of unselectively scooping wildlife out of our oceans while in search of one or a few commercially viable species.

 For every 1Kg of shrimp caught in a trawl net, there is an estimated 15kg of by-catch! To me, this statistic has been the most shocking that I’ve come across. I just don’t see how we can abide it.

(Source: Guardian, via mad-as-a-marine-biologist)

511 notes &

Had to share this, as the Uroplatus are my favorite genus of gecko, followed by Rhacodactylus. I once concidered keeping these at home, but ended up with the Crested gecko, Rhacodactylus ciliatus, instead. rhamphotheca: His Infernal Majesty The satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) is the smallest of 12 species of bizarre-looking leaf-tailed geckos. The nocturnal creature has extremely cryptic camouflage so it can hide out in forests in Madagascar. This group of geckos is found only in primary, undisturbed forests, so their populations are very sensitive to habitat destruction. Large Uroplatus species have more teeth than any other living terrestrial vertebrate species. The gecko species was discovered in Mantadia-Zahamena corridor of Madagascar in 1998 during one of the Conservation International (CI) “Rapid Assessment Program” (RAP) surveys. The animal snagged a spot on CI’s “Top 20” list of animals discovered during these expeditions, which began 20 years ago today, April 14, 2011. (photo: Piotr Naskrecki) (via: Live Science)

Had to share this, as the Uroplatus are my favorite genus of gecko, followed by Rhacodactylus. I once concidered keeping these at home, but ended up with the Crested gecko, Rhacodactylus ciliatus, instead.

rhamphotheca:

His Infernal Majesty

The satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) is the smallest of 12 species of bizarre-looking leaf-tailed geckos. The nocturnal creature has extremely cryptic camouflage so it can hide out in forests in Madagascar. This group of geckos is found only in primary, undisturbed forests, so their populations are very sensitive to habitat destruction. Large Uroplatus species have more teeth than any other living terrestrial vertebrate species.

The gecko species was discovered in Mantadia-Zahamena corridor of Madagascar in 1998 during one of the Conservation International (CI) “Rapid Assessment Program” (RAP) surveys. The animal snagged a spot on CI’s “Top 20” list of animals discovered during these expeditions, which began 20 years ago today, April 14, 2011. (photo: Piotr Naskrecki)

(via: Live Science)

50 notes &

It would seem inappropriate to call an animal contaminated rather than poisoned, but truth is I havn’t found a whole lot of litterature researching the effects of these major POP groups. rhamphotheca: Contaminated Sea Turtles :( Here a close-up shot of a Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Gulf of Mexico’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, which is about 100 miles (179 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast. Two new studies are showing the turtles are being contaminated with so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which include banned substances such as DDT and toxaphenes, once used as pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), once used as insulating fluids; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), once used as flame retardants. The studies showed the turtles accumulate more of the contaminant chemicals the farther they travel up the Atlantic coast, suggesting their northern feeding grounds in Florida have higher POP levels. The turtles likely consume the POPs when they eat contaminated prey such as crabs, the researchers said. One of the studies was published online April 20, 2011 in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and the other will be published in a forthcoming issue of that journal. (via: Live Science)

It would seem inappropriate to call an animal contaminated rather than poisoned, but truth is I havn’t found a whole lot of litterature researching the effects of these major POP groups.

rhamphotheca:

Contaminated Sea Turtles :(

Here a close-up shot of a Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Gulf of Mexico’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, which is about 100 miles (179 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast. Two new studies are showing the turtles are being contaminated with so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which include banned substances such as DDT and toxaphenes, once used as pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), once used as insulating fluids; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), once used as flame retardants.

The studies showed the turtles accumulate more of the contaminant chemicals the farther they travel up the Atlantic coast, suggesting their northern feeding grounds in Florida have higher POP levels. The turtles likely consume the POPs when they eat contaminated prey such as crabs, the researchers said. One of the studies was published online April 20, 2011 in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and the other will be published in a forthcoming issue of that journal.

(via: Live Science)

42 notes &

Damn nature, you healing! zoo-logic: Nature has endless ingenious solutions to many of our unanswered medical problems, if only we know where to look. Latest in the line comes from this fantastic waxy monkey leaf frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii), from which a protein has been identified that could be a revelation in cancer treatment. In order to sustain rapid growth, cancerous tumours require an increased blood supply, which they engineer by angiogenesis - the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Despite an investment of $4-5bn, scientists and drug companies have so far been unable to develop a drug that effectively controls the growth of blood vessels. The newly-discovered protein, secreted on the frog’s skin, is therefore an exciting new development: it is an inhibitor of blood vessel growth, and as a result could be used to limit the size and spread of tumours.Contrastingly, a protein found in skin secretions of the giant fire-bellied toad (Bombina maxima) activates angiogenesis, which could aid in the repair of blood vessels required in conditions such as diabetic ulcers, wound healing, organ transplants, strokes or heart problems.Best of all, the secretions can be extracted without harming the individual, and the frogs or toads can be released straight back into the wild. Time will tell if the proteins will be able to be utilised in clinical therapy, but if all goes well we could gain more ammunition to the battle against over 70 major diseases affecting over a billion people across the world.Ref: Queens University Belfast (2011) Queens scientists unlock potential of frog skin to treat cancer. [link]

Damn nature, you healing!

zoo-logic:

Nature has endless ingenious solutions to many of our unanswered medical problems, if only we know where to look. Latest in the line comes from this fantastic waxy monkey leaf frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii), from which a protein has been identified that could be a revelation in cancer treatment. In order to sustain rapid growth, cancerous tumours require an increased blood supply, which they engineer by angiogenesis - the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Despite an investment of $4-5bn, scientists and drug companies have so far been unable to develop a drug that effectively controls the growth of blood vessels. The newly-discovered protein, secreted on the frog’s skin, is therefore an exciting new development: it is an inhibitor of blood vessel growth, and as a result could be used to limit the size and spread of tumours.

Contrastingly, a protein found in skin secretions of the giant fire-bellied toad (Bombina maxima) activates angiogenesis, which could aid in the repair of blood vessels required in conditions such as diabetic ulcers, wound healing, organ transplants, strokes or heart problems.

Best of all, the secretions can be extracted without harming the individual, and the frogs or toads can be released straight back into the wild. Time will tell if the proteins will be able to be utilised in clinical therapy, but if all goes well we could gain more ammunition to the battle against over 70 major diseases affecting over a billion people across the world.

Ref: Queens University Belfast (2011) Queens scientists unlock potential of frog skin to treat cancer. [link]