Seahorses living in the Thames

The discovery of a colony of short-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus) living in the Thames means that the London river is becoming cleaner, conservationists said today.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have discovered five seahorses during routine conservation surveys in the Thames estuary in the past 18 months, evidence which they say indicates that a breeding population exists.

The rare species, which is normally found in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands and also along the south coast of England, has been found at Dagenham in east London and Tilbury and Southend in Essex. The sea creatures thrive in shallow, muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds.

Scientists at the ZSL say the presence of the seahorses in the Thames estuary is a good sign that river quality is improving, but warned that any disturbance to their habitats could be disastrous.

The presence of a breeding population has been kept quiet to date as the species was not protected, the zoo said. But last month, the short-snouted and spiny seahorses, along with the water vole, angel shark and Roman snail, became the latest species to gain legal protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

From The Guardian: Read more

Freediving with Beluga whales

This is the moment a ‘free-diver’ hitches a lift with a Beluga whale in freezing waters under Russia’s White Sea.

The diver – Julia Petrik, 36 – plunges into -2ºC (28ºF) water after cutting through ice up to 1ft thick on the country’s north-west coast.

Julia, one of the world’s best free divers, swims underwater with no air tanks and can hold her breath for up to two minutes.

After diving into the freezing sea she grabs hold of a passing Beluga whale and is captured gliding through the water by British photographer Dan Burton.

Beluga Whales only live in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters and are protected from the sub-zero temperatures by a thick layer of blubber.

The elusive whales are an unmistakable all white in colour with a distinctive melon-shaped head and can grow up to 5m (16ft)in length.

From The Telegraph Read more

In Octopus’s Garden, Sex Is Sleuthy

Marine biologists studying wild octopuses have found a kinky and violent society of jealous murders, gender subterfuge and once-in-a-lifetime sex.

The new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who journeyed off the coast of Indonesia found that wild octopuses are far from the shy, unromantic loners their captive brethren appear to be.

The scientists watched the Abdopus aculeatus octopus, which are the size of an orange, for several weeks and published their findings recently in the journal Marine Biology.

They witnessed picky, macho males carefully select a mate, then guard their newly domesticated digs so jealously that they would occasionally use their 8- to 10-inch tentacles to strangle a romantic rival to death.

From Discovery News: Read more

Turtle survives after dentist filling

A rare turtle that survived being bashed against rocks when he washed up on a Cornish beach has had his shell patched up using dental paste.

The half-metre-long loggerhead turtle was underweight, malnourished and dehydrated when he was found stranded at Widemouth Bay near Bude eight weeks ago by a woman walking her dog. Since then the turtle has been nursed back to health by staff at the Blue Reef Aquarium, Newquay, where he was nicknamed James Bond after being allocated the number 007 by the marine strandings network.

The staff were unsure of what to do about black lesions on the turtle’s shell, damage that was caused when he was tossed against the rocks. A local pharmacist and a dental surgery came to James Bond’s assistance by donating a protective paste called Orabase to provide an extra layer of protection while the injuries heal. Bond is now doing so well that he is on display at the aquarium and staff hope to release him back into the wild, possibly in the Canary Islands, in the next few months.

Form the Times Online

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Giant sea creatures discovered in Antarctica

Researchers aboard the Aurora Australis, an Australian vessel, have discovered a trove of strange creatures on the sea floor near East Antarctica.

Some of the video footage we have collected is really stunning — it’s amazing to be able to navigate undersea mountains and valleys and actually see what the animals look like in their undisturbed state,” said Aurora Australis voyage leader Dr Martin Riddle.

“In some places every inch of the sea floor is covered in life. In other places we can see deep scars and gouges where icebergs scour the sea floor as they pass by. Gigantism is very common in Antarctic waters — we have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates.

From Mongabay.com. Read more here

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