Lagoons of New Caledonia named a UNESCO World Heritage site
July 11, 2008
Lagoons of New Caledoni (France), Pacific Ocean.
Part of a French-controlled island cluster located about 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of Australia, the lagoons of New Caledonia—including those around the islet pictured above—make up the third largest coral reef structure in the world.
The healthy, intact marine ecosystems are home to threatened fish species, turtles, and the world’s third largest population of dugongs, large vegetarian mammals related to manatees.
The lagoons were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008.
From National Geographic: Read more
Abrolhos Bank: Brazilian reef largest in South Atlantic Ocean
July 9, 2008
The largest and most diverse reef system in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Abrolhos Bank, is twice as large as thought and teeming with life, scientists now say.
“We had some clues from local fishermen that other reefs existed, but not at the scale of what we discovered,” said Rodrigo de Moura, Conservation International Brazil marine specialist and co-author of a study about the discovery. “It is very exciting and highly unusual to discover a reef structure this large and harboring such an abundance of fish.”
Home to a variety of marine species such as soft corals and mollusks found only in Brazil, the Abrolhos Bank is recognized as one of the planet’s most valuable coral reefs. And the most prevalent coral in this reef, the Mussismilia coral genus, represents the only remaining plants from a coral fauna with origins in the Tertiary period, which ranges from about 2 million to 65 million years ago.
Other creatures found at the reef include the dog snapper, black grouper, and adult and juvenile masked boobies.
From LiveScience.com: Read more
Video: underwater volcano eruption
July 4, 2008
More than 1,800 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, the eruptions of an undersea volcano have revealed themselves on film, including the ejection of glowing red lava and the sounds of exploding gases.
“It’s the first place where we’ve been able to observe an active volcanic eruption underwater,” said Bill Chadwick of the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, who led the group that observed the volcano with a remotely operated vehicle.
“Most of the geology that we probably eventually see, a large part of that has happened underwater,” said Michael Perfit, a marine geologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “We have to look backwards and try to figure out how it happened. By looking at this, you get a sense of how these very important processes take place.”
The team will return with the remotely operated vehicle next spring to make more visual observations. But the last expedition could be hard to top.
From Discovery Channel: Watch amazing video here
Census of Marine Life & the Yeti Crab
July 2, 2008
This new species of crab was discovered off the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge in the South Pacific Ocean.
It was named Kiwa hirsuta kiwa, after the goddess of shellfish in Polynesian mythology, but has become known as the “yeti crab” because of its hairy appearance.
With 120,000 species now on-line, the Census of Marine Life considers itself half-way to its goal of checking and validating the 230,000 marine species currently known to science. Once completed, the World Register of Marine Species, called WoRMS, will be the first source for descriptions on all marine life.
The World Register of Marine Life finds itself in good company. In fact both the Register and the Census of Marine Life are working with similar projects like Species2000, The Encyclopedia of Life, and ZooBank to create places for researchers and educators to find authenticated and up-to-date information on the globe’s total species.
From Mongabay.com: Read more
See also:
www.marinespecies.org
www.coml.org
Coral Trout recover after Australian Fishing ban
June 25, 2008
BB-Films: “Is it just us? or is there odd about ’scientists’ being surprised that fishing bans lead to recovery of fish stocks.???”
Australia’s coral trout have thrived under a fishing ban on the Great Barrier Reef, showing that no-take reserves can spur dramatic comebacks in overfished ocean habitats, new research suggests.
Coral trout is the common name of about a half-dozen fish species from the grouper and cod family targeted by commercial and recreational hook-and-line fisheries in Australia.
Scientists behind the new study found that the fish bounced back within two years after no-take reserves were established.
From National Geographic: Read more
