tagged w/ Sea creatures
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It is hard to put into words the environmental devastation taking place in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Thousands upon thousands of sea creatures have died from the oil already, and the ultimate death toll could be in the millions. In addition, as BP uses "burn boxes" to burn off some of the oil floating on the surface of the Gulf, thousands more sea creatures are literally being burned alive. The tragedy is unspeakable. Not only that, but scientists are now warning that the massive amounts of methane escaping into the Gulf could potentially create massive underwater dead zones in which nothing can live. Meanwhile, massive amounts of oil are coating American coastlines and beaches. And unfortunately, all of this is just going to get even worse as more oil continues to gush violently into the Gulf of Mexico each day. It is like a really bad dream that we just can't wake up from.It is hard to put into words the environmental devastation taking place in the Gulf of... more
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By Nikolas Kozloff:
To the degree that Americans are paying attention to the environmental plight of marine wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico, they may focus most upon dolphins and whales.
However, the U.S. public is much less familiar with another marine mammal, the manatee, which could also be placed in jeopardy as a result of the BP oil spill. One of the most outlandish creatures on the planet, the shy and retiring manatee, which gets its name from an American Indian word meaning "Lady of the Water," is one of my favorite animals.
First described as a cross between a seal and hippo, the manatee has a wonderfully round body, mostly black skin the texture of vinyl, a bright pink belly, a diamond-shaped tail and a cleft lip. Manatees belong to the biological order Sirenia which includes dugongs and Steller's Sea Cow, the latter hunted to extinction in the Bering Sea during the 1700s.
"Sluggish, squinty-eyed and bewhiskered," notes the New York Times, the manatee "is more likely to have its rotund bulk compared to a sweet potato." Living life in the slow lane, manatees are fond of doing nothing much at all. When they're not eating, they take frequent naps. An exclusive vegetarian that feeds on water lettuce and hyacinth, the animal eats 10 percent of its body weight in a single day. Not surprisingly manatees are robust -- they can grow up to ten feet long and weigh nearly a ton.
In the wake of BP's disaster, the manatee could be in for a rough patch. Indeed, oil could ultimately result in death or significant injury in the event that manatees are exposed to petroleum.
The docile sea creature, which can be found along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, could ingest oil-damaged sea grass beds and other vegetation. If the marine mammals come into contact with surface oil, this could irritate their eyes and mucous membranes while clogging the animals' nostrils.
The manatee is already endangered and the BP spill poses yet a further problem for the animal. Because manatees need to surface to breathe air, they could become exposed to oil on the water. If they ingest oil, manatees could develop lesions and erosions of the esophagus, liver toxicity and kidney problems. Ingestion could kill the organisms in manatees' stomachs which aid in the digestion of sea grasses consumed by the animals.
Of particular concern is the plight of Bama, the first Alabama manatee to be tagged by scientists. From mid-May to mid-November, Bama and at least a dozen other manatees call Alabama home. Currently, Bama is migrating back home to Alabama from Florida. Though manatees don't tend to travel in pods or herds, it's likely that Bama represents the advance guard of manatees making their way back towards the northern Gulf.
In murky waters, the manatees' acute sense of touch and vibrissae, located on the face but also all over the body, come in handy. These bristly vibrissae serve to transmit information to the brain via nerve fibers. Though other animals such as dogs have vibrissae, they don't have them in such large numbers and typically only on the face.
"For now," notes the Times, "the question of how intertwined the sensory abilities of manatees might be remains unanswered. Yet even what is known reveals a degree of complexity that argues against labeling them as sweet but dumb -- peaceable simpletons."
Long derided as stupid by humans, the manatee will now have to steer clear of man's environmental folly in the Gulf. Though Bama and other manatees have poor vision, perhaps their other extra sensory abilities will alert them to danger. It may be the only tool they have at their disposal as the animals seek to survive the despoliation of their habitat.
http://www.nikolaskozloff.com/blog.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikolas-kozloff/bp-and-the-perilous-voyag_b_584267.htmlBy Nikolas Kozloff:
To the degree that Americans are paying attention to the... more
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whoa this thing is wicked..check out the eyes on this bad boy
Armed with giant tentacles, swiveling hooks, and the world's largest eyes, the colossal squid is thought to be the biggest squid species and the source of centuries-old sea monster myths.
But the largest squid ever caught was "a giant, gelatinous blob," sluggish and highly vulnerable to predators, a squid expert who dissected the specimen said last week.
whoa this thing is wicked..check out the eyes on this bad boy
Armed with giant... more
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I took a high resolution photo last month about 1 mile offshore on Lake Superior with a weird image at the very bottom - read this article I posted on Gather.com
It's not blurry but it's still not clear what it is - one expert says glare.
What do you think?I took a high resolution photo last month about 1 mile offshore on Lake Superior with... more
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Are aliens attacking the Sea of Japan? Not exactly. But these gigantic blobs are unwelcome visitors from another place. Called Nomura's jellyfish, the wiggly, pinkish giants can weigh up to 450 pounds (204 kilograms)—as heavy as a male lion—and they're swarming by the millions.
The supersize sea creatures—normally found off the coasts of China and North and South Korea—occasionally drift east into the Sea of Japan to feed on tiny organisms called plankton. But now one hundred times the usual number of jellyfish are invading Japanese waters. And local fishermen are feeling as if they are under siege.
The fishermen's nets are getting weighted down, or even broken, by hundreds of Nomura's. The jellies crush, slime, and poison valuable fish in the nets, such as the tuna and salmon that the fishermen rely on to make a living.
No one knows for sure what's causing this jellyfish traffic jam. It's possible that oceans heated by global warming are creating the perfect jellyfish breeding ground. Another theory is that overfishing has decreased the numbers of some fish, which may allow the jellies to chow down without competition for food. For now, all the fishermen can do is design special nets to try to keep the jellies out. Some of them hope to turn the catastrophe into cash by selling jellyfish snacks. Peanut butter and jellyfish, anyone?
Fast Facts
Baby Nomura's jellyfish change from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a washing machine in six months or less.
Jellyfish are 95% water.
Jellyfish aren't actually fish, they're invertebrates—animals without backbones.
Text by Ruth A. MusgraveAre aliens attacking the Sea of Japan? Not exactly. But these gigantic blobs are... more
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National Geographic has a very neat photo gallery of translucent sea creatures by Chris Newbert of Minden Pictures. Aww, Pikachu does exist!National Geographic has a very neat photo gallery of translucent sea creatures by... more
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devo64
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added this
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3 years ago
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