MARINE BIOLOGY CURRENT EVENTS |
blog containing information about marine life & current events
MARINE BIOLOGY CURRENT EVENTS |
Recently, a researcher from Nova Southeastern University has spent most of his career learning the most about lion fish that he can. "I've been studying this specific invasive species for many years and it's clear the threat it poses to our reefs and marine environment is real,". In his latest study Johnston stated that lion fish now take shelter in most of the warm watered oceans. The way that scientist study these fish is by examining the contents of their stomachs. They've concluded that these fish have no predators and their stomachs contain all different types of reef fish, which is why they are so plentiful. Areas like Texas and Florida are experiencing this invasive species first hand, because these fish are eating many reef fish, not leaving food for other large reef predators.
In my opinion, I think this fish is one of the worst things to happen recently to these waters. Invasive species are horrible creating a lot of destruction. This article seems very credible, because the researcher has a PH.D. . This should be publicly addressed, because most people don't actually know about these creatures. States like Florida have been under attack by invasive organisms for many years now, some of these organisms include pythons and wild boars. I think that we need to start trying to reduce the numbers of these fish before they ruin our oceans. Lion fish started out from the aquarium trade, and have been expanding like crazy. This relates to what we've been learning in class, because we've been learning about the impact of invasive species on the ecosystem. It's scary to see that these fish have no predators, because of their poisonous spines that they have. Some precautions that I would take to help reduce the numbers of these fish are organizing competitions to fish these organisms, stop the sale of them in the aquarium trade, report sightings to fishermen. Other steps can be taken, and I hope that soon these invasive species can be reduced drastically so that we can help restore the original beauty of our waters.
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Recently, researchers have known that soft-shells clams have a contagious cancer that is similar to leukemia, but now more recently they have found out that mussels, cockles, and golden carpet shell clams have these similar cells. They concluded that these species all have these cancer, because they are nearly identical to the host cells. This disease was transferred by a soft shelled clam, and was spread to other species. Studies show that species that resided in the same region & even in the same bed share similar genetic structure, which is why this is disease is so easily transferable. However they have concluded that this disease isn't contagious to humans, because we have distant genetic information, but this is bad for local economies. The shellfish industry has predicted that with the rise in this cancer, they will lose a significant amount of revenue. Scientist are starting to create ways to help these bivalves beat this cancer.
My initial thoughts on this are, how is this just more recently being discovered? Humans have been eating these bivalves for a long time. I hope that they will find a cure soon so that our species don't become extinct. This relates to class material, because last semester we learned about bivalves, and how simple they actually are. This is saddening, because they can't do anything about the cancer, because the organisms are too simple to process what is happening. I think this should be broadcasted, because we might loose species that are vital to the economy. We should warn our local fisherman to stop harvesting these species so that they can heal. This might be a good thing, because if scientist find a cure for this bivalve cancer then this might give them a lead to find a cure for human cancers. Something that I would do to help stop the spread of this is harvest the contaminated bivalves so that they do not spread, and plant a new crop of organisms that are clean. I hope that they find a cure soon, so that our oceans don't become a breeding ground for cancerous organisms, that might soon spread to other species that share similar genetic structure to these bivalves. Source: http://marinesciencetoday.com/2016/12/14/origin-stories-cancer-in-bivalves/ Recently, students from the University of Washington posted their findings about Alaska's most plentiful freshwater fish species, and how it's altering its breeding patterns in response to climate change. This change will impact the relationships in the northern lakes. The data shows that stickleback fish breeds earlier, and more frequently each season in response to earlier spring ice breakup and longer ice-free summers. These organisms aren't the only one breeding earlier each year, scientist are doing studies on other organisms in the same area. Scientist have also noted that the fish are also growing larger than normal, because the allowed time to grow and develop. This warmer climate also allows fish to produce more than once, when they usually only lay eggs once a year due to the cold temperature. Scientist are worried for the ecology of the rivers and lakes, because too much of one fish can deplete the resources, and take away from other, more important species like sockeye salmon.
In my opinion this article is really scary, because it's exposing what climate change does. This relates to our class information, because once fishermen over fish the salmon they will go for a more abundant resource like the fish mentioned in this article. I think this should be broadcasted, because some people don't even believe in climate change. This article will help to expose them to it, and help them change their mentality. This relates to class, because we're learning about conservation, and this is a great example of how our ozone is being depleted, and an effect that comes from this. I hope that soon we can take a stand and help reduce this, because our organisms won't be able to grow and adapt as fast as our world is changing. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170119084102.htm Recently, researchers from the Institute's Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany has discovered that a newly found species of octopus; the Casper octopod might by at increasing risk of population damage, because of mining for precious underwater metals. These colorless, squishy octopods brood their eggs until hatch. The brooding process can take up to several years. The location where these eggs are raised are on the dead stalks of sponges that are approximately 2.5 miles deep. These sea sponge stalks are attached to sea floor nodules, which have an abundance of precious metals that are used in every day technology like cellphones and computers. If miners remove these breeding habitats, then the ghost octopod won’t have anywhere to hatch its offspring. Also these deep sea nodules take millions of years to develop by a process that requires layering of a mixture of minerals and sediment. Scientists don’t know much about these octopods, but there have been a few cases where these organisms have been observed missing appendages. Scientists predict that, because the marine organisms have been around for such a long time it will take a while for these arms to grow back. In my opinion these octopods are such an amazing creature. Deep sea mining is a big business especially, because these metals are being used for popular electronics. I think that if these findings were to be broadcasted that mining companies would not care much, because they think that their business is more important than a threatened species. This event is important, because it shows that scientists are still successfully discovering new organisms every day. This event relates to the class material, because we’re starting to learn more about conservation and protecting the environment. This also relates to class, because these companies can learn something from this event by reducing the amount of mining or trying to find different types of habitats to mine so they don’t harm this ancient organism. This is a problem, because these octopods are higher up on the food chain they eat a multitude of smaller marine organisms. I recommend that these researchers make a petition or inform the government that these mining companies are destroying precious breeding grounds for the octopods. This research is incredibly worthwhile, because these researchers are discovering a lot of information about an unknown species of octopod, and they are seeing an early problem before it gets too out of hand. I think the general public should be exposed to this, because it could open their eyes to an event that isn’t very popular, and could be potentially catastrophic in the end. I hope that these companies realize the damage that they are causing, and that these beautiful creatures can thrive again as they did back then. source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219134510.htm Recently, my marine bio class went to The Florida Aquarium for a field trip. I enjoyed this trip a lot. It was really nice to see some of the organisms that we learned about in class. It was really amazing to see all the unusual marine creatures that the aquarium had. My favorite part was the “garden of eels”, because all of the eels were so cute. The aquarium was very nice, and super clean which was a great plus, and it looked like a majority of the organisms were happy. Something that really made me sad was when I saw the sea turtle with no front flippers. I really loved this trip, and I hope that next semester we can do more things like this.
Recently, scientist from the University of Southampton have found that human forms of transport (shipping freighters) have a significant impact on marine organisms and the habitats that surround them. Researchers have observed that not only the noise from the shipping freighters disturb marine life, but they also can disrupt natural genetic patterns. Usually, populations of organisms that are geographically close to each others are more genetically similar than populations that are further away. Head scientist from Southampton said that activities produced by man promote artificial transport of species and making them migrate closer to each other, therefore crossing distant genetic material. With these migrations, scientist have concluded that the transport of genetic information can change the composition of some species that have been around for millions of years. My initial thought after reading this article was "why is this just now being discovered?". Humans have been transporting goods across oceans since the start of early colonies. Another question that I thought of is "How is creating different genetic information bad for marine organisms?". Wouldn't this support a healthy habitat with a large amount diversity. This article is significant, because it's showing another way that humans have once again effected their environment. This is a problem, because the movement of these large man-made objects disrupt life of some organisms. The noise also can be extremely disruptive for organisms, which can eventually lead to stress and ultimately death. I recommend that companies that produce ships to try and discover a way to silence noisy ships to help reduce the noise pollution. Another solution is maybe setting a new route with small populations of organisms, or making a schedule that reduces the amount of contact with noise sensitive marine life. This research is important, because it shows one way that humans interact with their environment which is a big problem that faces the world today. I don't think that this event is extremely significant to the general population, because their isn't much they can do to help reduce shipping freighters. I think this event should publicized to large companies to help find a way to reduce this. This event is relevant to class, because the whole course is displaying ways that humans interact with their surrounding environment, and ways to help reduce it. I hope that in later years humans can find a way to reduce noise pollution from boats so that marine organisms can live their lives peacefully. Source: http://marinesciencetoday.com/2016/11/09/noise-isnt-the-only-problem-with-shipping/ Photo: http://marinesciencetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Humpback-whales-feeding-in-shipping-lanes-that-pass-through-a-marine-sanctuary.-Photo-credit-NOAA-NEFSC.-Copy.jpg Recently, The Turtle Island Restoration Network, Costa Rica’s National System of Protected Areas (SINAC), and the Cocos Island Marine Conservation Area (ACMIC), and the companies Alucia Productions II, Precision Integrated and Aeroval have created a force that is mainly focused on the conservation of sharks. This ‘task force’ have accomplished their studies by examining air, deep sea, and open oceans, “together we are taking to the air, the sea and the depths of the ocean to better understand and better protect the sharks, sea turtles and marine wildlife that surrounds Cocos Island, Costa Rica.” – ACMIC. They are using UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to 1st patrol the waters for marine organism’s such as pilot whales, humpback whales, manta rays, and whale sharks and 2nd to observe the UAVs ability to monitor the waters in areas where there is a fisheries-no-take policy. In the deep sea they used two small submersibles to sink to great depths. Scientist have mounted acoustic listening stations that ping whenever a tagged shark or sea turtle swims in the area. This audio technology has provided information on at least 100 sea turtles and sharks around Cocos Islands. In the open ocean scientist join together in large boats to humanly capture sharks to gather general information on the organism, and to place an acoustic tag on the organisms so that is can later be tracked by science teams in the deep seas surrounding Cocos Islands.
I think that this team is so incredible. Team work is vital to success, epically in the field of science. This project is an amazing idea, and it seems to be working out very well. This is very important, because sharks are one of the biggest predators in the ocean, and without these organisms the food web would get out of control. This is also important, because it shows that people can work together to protect a beautiful ecosystem. This event relates to the material that we learned in class, because going back to the beginning of the year we focused heavily on ways that scientist gather information on the vast ocean. This isn’t a problem, but it’s a great creative solution to help reduce and learn more about the loss of important marine species. Some other aggressive solutions that might speed up the study is having scientist in the field protecting areas that they are studying or doing more routine information gathering. This event is practical, because they can use the information that they gathered to make hypotheses and form logical questions on to why the population of sharks has been decreasing in the protected areas around Cocos Islands. I think that the general public should know about this study, because it will increase their knowledge about the subject it also might trigger other scientist to study the areas around them. These companies are incredibly smart and I give them a lot of praise, because studies like this take a huge amount of time to accomplish. Web: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/20/by-air-by-sub-by-sea-to-save-sharks/ Photo; http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2015/07/DSC_0935.jpg Photo: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2015/07/Picture-6-copy.jpg Recently 80 scientists from more than 12 countries have discovered that recent rising ocean temperatures have been a catalyst for harmful algal blooms and an increase of population in different types of tropical bacteria. The increase in temperature is making diseases like Vibrio vulnifucus, an often lethal disease-causing bacteria more common. This also increases the amount of Harmful algal blooms, which can contaminate marine life with toxins that cause diseases in both humans and marine creatures. Some harmful Algal blooms are known to create problems like gastric, neurological damage, asthmatic problems, and many more. Scientist have conducted experiments that support that idea that sub-tropical bacteria are being pushed towards area that have a milder temperature. Hypotheses show that in the future humans will be faced with a large amount of health problems that will be caused by these harmful unicellular bacteria. http://serc.carleton.edu/images/microbelife/topics/red_tide_genera.v3.jpg
Recently, scientist from The University of Maine Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences published their new found information on the topic of how the American lobster will be affected by climate change, but more specifically ocean acidity and warming. Their research showed that the rise of ocean acidity doesn’t have an impact on the survival of the American lobster larvae, but it did have an impact on the size of young lobster and the way that they act. Lobsters developed almost three times faster in water that was 3 degrees Celsius higher, but they noticed that the rate of survival was extremely low. Scientist predict that by 2100 water in the Gulf of Maine will become at least 3 degrees Celsius hotter. Scientist say that this event is quite uncommon, and that there is a huge gap in knowledge on the subject, but scientist at this lab are working incredibly hard to learn more about this event.
This Marine Biology current event is truly terrifying in my opinion. The idea that a whole species of lobster would be eliminated, because the temperature of the ocean rises 3 degrees. Maine relies heavily on Lobster, so if the population were to decline their economy would decrease significantly. Throughout history it has been proven that extension is deadly. A loss of an entire species can have detrimental effects on the complex food web in the ocean. I think it’s very important that society starts to learn about ways to help stop this epidemic. I think that we should reduce the amount of coal plants, because the pollution emitted from these factories tear holes in the ozone layer which make the temperature of the water increase. This current event is relevant to what we learned in class, because we learned about how organisms have to deal with different factors when living in the ocean, like salinity and temperature change. I think this event sets the tone for the future, because other organisms might have the same trouble with warmer water temperature. I don’t think this event has gotten ask much publication as it should, because this might scare Americans into thinking the world is going to end or people have opposing opinions might say that this research is fake due to the closely tied issue of global warming. This problem should be advertised more heavily, because an entire species existence is on the line. The research team that is studying this crisis is working very hard on creating a new system that helps reduce ocean acidity which will help slow down this event. I think this shines the light on global warming. This isn’t the first time that there has been an ocean warming crisis, for example a couple years ago Antarctica faced one of the warmest winter ever. Most of the icebergs were melted with raised ocean levels, and reduced shelter for animals like penguins, polar bears, and seals. I hope that this event gets publicized more and that the America can help slow the rising water temperatures to protect the American lobster and many other species living in the same area. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160926115343.htm Recently president Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National monument to nearly quadruple its size. This expansion took the monument from about 140,000 square miles to 582,568 square miles. This underwater national park was established in 2006 by our forty third president, George W. Bush. This monument surrounds The Midway Islands and parts of Hawaii. After this historic expansion this park is approximately two times the size of Texas. This expansion hit home for Obama, because he grew up in Hawaii. Obama made the decision to expand this monument to help counteract the threats of climate change, over fishing, and over all destruction of the local ecosystem. This expansion was accomplished using the U.S. Antiquities Act. This extension prohibits commercial fishing and new mining startups. While most conservationist were ecstatic, this growth was the catalyst of a debate between marine lovers, and fisherman who fished on the once unprotected waters. Seamen viewed the expansion of this monument as a great blow to Hawaiian culture and ecoconmy. Long-line Fisheries produces a great amount of Hawaii’s tuna, and about 85% revenue for many other fisheries, but with this enlargement 40% of the fisheries land was granted to the monument. Some Hawaiians believe that they got the short end of the stick, because they feel that their sacred land was taken away from them. Although most fishermen and some Hawaiian locals were outraged about the loss of scared land and territory for revenue it is important to note that this is one of the biggest and most recent expansion of a national park/monument. America as a country hasn’t always done the best with conservation of the natural land, so it’s truly incredible to see someone like President Obama finally take a stand, and set an example to citizens that there is more to nature than reaping the land for its benefits then leaving it a barren, polluted wasteland. This article relates to class material, because we just concluded learning about complex ecosystems of the ocean, and how if one organism goes missing or extinct it would throw the whole web off balance. I don’t think that this hasn’t been publicized as much as it should’ve been, because this is a huge step to try and reverse some of the damage that humans have inflicted onto a beautiful environment. Hawaiians have a history of over fishing their beautiful coral reefs of the fish that inhabit the area, this expansion will help fish populations thrive, and it will also help lessen the amount of pollution from fisherman. Obama really made a great choice by only working with himself on this mission, because generally stuff related to the conservation of the environment gets placed of the back burner and it eventually gets overlooked. Something that I would like for everyone to think about is without this conservation of this magnificent monument in twenty years what do you envision this pristine segment of the ocean will look like? Will Hawaiian natives value this sacred land once it is over fished? Hawaiians should not be upset or enraged by this enlargement they should accept the enormous gift that Obama (a Hawaiian native) has granted them with so that generations of Hawaiians to come can enjoy this vivid and ancient complex marine monument. Article source: Hsu, By Astrid. "Drawing the Line: The Expansion of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument." Marine Science Today., 06 Sept. 2016. Web. 22 Sept. 2016. Photos; http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/images/news_imgs/watt_ffs.jpg http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/embed/public/2016/08/26/papahanaumokuakea-marine-national-monument-expansion.png |
Robert LowerSenior, taking Marine biology in Florida Archives
January 2017
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