Loggerhead turtles current-riding 20,000km round-trip
March 16, 2009
A marine biologist has helped fill in the so-called lost years of Australia’s loggerhead turtles by discovering they are using ocean currents to undertake a 20,000-kilometre, round trip across the Pacific Ocean.
Dr Michelle Boyle, of the School of Marine and Tropical Ecology at James Cook University, Queensland, and colleagues used genetic testing to track the migratory behaviour of the Australian-born loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), which hatches in rookeries on the Queensland coast.
Boyle says it appears the endangered turtles use the ocean currents that make up the South Pacific gyre to travel across the southern Pacific Ocean to the waters off Peru and Chile.
In scenes reminiscent of the animated movie Finding Nemo, they then pick up the East Australian Current (EAC), which they “ride” down the coast of eastern Australia.
From ABC Science, Full Article HERE
38cm baby Whale Shark rescued in Philippines
March 12, 2009
A 38cm-long whale shark, the size of a forearm, was rescued and released last week by activists in the waters off Pilar in eastern Philippines. The World Wide Fund for Nature called it “arguably the smallest living whale shark in recorded history.” The group said the tiny whale shark was tied to a small rope on a beach and said the discovery is the first indication that the Philippines coastline may be their birthing ground. In this photo, biologist Embet holds the baby whale shark.
Click HERE for ABC News Baby Animals photograph library.
Diving the Twighlight Zone
March 11, 2009
In this video talk from TED.com, Richard Pyle presents thriving life on the cliffs of coral reefs and groundbreaking diving technologies he has pioneered to explore it. He and his team risk everything to reveal the secrets of undiscovered species.
A pioneer of the dive world, Richard Pyle discovers new biodiversity on the cliffs of coral reefs. He was among the first to use rebreather technology to explore depths between 200 and 500 feet, an area often called the “Twilight Zone.” During his dives, he has identified and documented hundreds of new species. Author of scientific, technical and popular articles, his expeditions have also been featured in the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, the BBC series Pacific Abyss and many more. In 2005, he received the NOGI Award, the most prestigious distinction of the diving world.
Currently, he is continuing his research at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, outside Honolulu, Hawai’i, and is affiliated with the museum’s comprehensive Hawaii Biological Survey. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Marine Exploration, of which he is a founding member. He continues to explore the sea and spearhead rebreather technology, and is a major contributor to the Encyclopedia of Life.
Click HERE to watch the video at TED.com
Creating Nitrogen from water, the natural way
August 26, 2008
Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates.
The team of Australian and US researchers says their findings could lead to a cheap and easy way of making hydrogen, which many experts believe is the green fuel of the future.
Although scientists have been able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for years, current techniques use expensive chemicals as the catalyst which prohibits any move to a commercial product.
This latest research is different in its approach to other water splitting research because it copies nature by using similar processes and chemicals to those used in plants.
The team plans to further that connection by using chlorophyll-like molecules to harvest light rather than an electric current.
From ABC Science
Video: The Goblin Shark bite, its just plain strange…
August 19, 2008
The goblin shark is a deep-sea shark with a most unorthodox shaped head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like snout, much longer than other sharks. Some other distinguishing characteristics of the shark are the color of its body, which is mostly pink, and its long, protrusible jaws, which basically means it look like an Alien…
Goblin sharks are found in the deep ocean, far below where the sun’s light can reach at depths greater than 200 m. They can be found throughout the world, from Australia in the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean.They are best known from the waters around Japan, where the species was first discovered.
Goblin sharks feed on a variety of organisms that live in deep waters. Among some of their known meals are deep-sea squid, crabs and deep-sea fishes and occassionally they’ll have a go at diver’s arm, mmmhh!
Cheers for the tip Limbic
