Harlequinmania

Click through to see the images. The heatwave resulted in fewer large cool-water seaweeds and increased numbers of tropical fish. In the paper ‘An extreme climatic event alters marine ecosystem structure in a global biodiversity hotspot' published in the journal Nature Climate Change, an international collaboration led by researchers from UWA's Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology compared the impacts of the heat wave on biodiversity in two Indian Ocean locations - Jurien Bay and Hamelin Bay, 500km further south. The coastal margins along Australia's western coast, including Jurien Bay, form a biodiversity hotspot and transition zone between tropical and temperate ecosystems. In the summer of 2010/11, the region experienced the highest seawater temperatures in at least 140 years when - for more than two months - temperatures peaked up to five degrees higher than normal. The event was driven by unusually strong La Niňa conditions that increased the flow of the region's main Leeuwin ocean current and moved tropical warm water southwards. Changes in fish and benthic (seabed organisms) communities in Jurien Bay following the heat wave were driven by reductions in large cool-water seaweeds and an increased abundance of warm-water species, such as western scalyfin (Parma occidentalis), west Australian butterflyfish (Chaetodon assarius) and lined dottyback (Labricinus lineatus). The ratio of tropical fish to other species after the heat wave increased from 5-10 per cent to up to about 20 per cent but there was no evidence of a decline in temperate fish species despite nearby deaths of fish and abalone during peak warming. This persistence of colder water fish to remain while warmer-water species moved in has also been seen for marine species in Europe. There was however a shift in the benthic community structure at Jurien Bay attributed to the reduced cover of habitat-forming seaweeds. This increased the amount of space and light to allow the proliferation of turf-forming algae and, as a consequence, a loss in encrusted coralline algae and sponges. In contrast, communities in the cooler region of Hamelin Bay did not exhibit a response to the heat wave. Previous research has shown that marine communities in California have an ability to recover rapidly from a heat wave, while the Mediterranean has shown variable signs of recovery since a 2003 heat wave. The question remains how Jurien Bay's marine organisms will respond in the long term. [via The University of Western Australia] View the full article

Click through to see the images. "The world needs less rats and more jellyfish, so I thought it would be cool to do a one-for-one swap," mused Kevin Kit Parker, Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Harvard, to Live Science yesterday. In all serious, though, what Parker's group created is a bioeengineered jellyfish medusa from a thin sheet of silicone and rat heart tissue. When the eight "pronged" apparatus is placed into an electrically conductive fluid in a container and an electric field is applied, it contracts like a real jellyfish medusa. "A big goal of our study was to advance tissue engineering," says Janna Nawroth, a doctoral student in biology at Caltech. "In many ways, it is still a very qualitative art, with people trying to copy a tissue or organ just based on what they think is important or what they see as the major components—without necessarily understanding if those components are relevant to the desired function or without analyzing first how different materials could be used." The researchers chose jellyfish as their prime target for their research as on a basic level their pulsing is similar to that of the human heart when it contracts sending blood throughout our bodies. "It occurred to me in 2007 that we might have failed to understand the fundamental laws of muscular pumps," says Parker. "I started looking at marine organisms that pump to survive. Then I saw a jellyfish at the New England Aquarium, and I immediately noted both similarities and differences between how the jellyfish pumps and the human heart. The similarities help reveal what you need to do to design a bio-inspired pump." "I was surprised that with relatively few components—a silicone base and cells that we arranged—we were able to reproduce some pretty complex swimming and feeding behaviors that you see in biological jellyfish," comments Dabiri. "I'm pleasantly surprised at how close we are getting to matching the natural biological performance, but also that we're seeing ways in which we can probably improve on that natural performance. The process of evolution missed a lot of good solutions." With the success of their bioengineered jellyfish medusa, their next steps are more ambitious. The group plans to enhance the current prototype with more function -- ability to pulse on its own and sense its environment. Long term it is hoped advances made with things as simple as a medusa might eventually translate into advancing biomedical technology. (via EurekAlert) View the full article

The number of basking sharks recorded in Britain's seas could be increasing, decades after being protected from commercial hunting in the late 20th century. The most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of basking shark sightings in UK waters shows a rise in the number of sightings from the 1980s through to the 2000s. It also suggests an increase in the proportion of medium and large-sized animals, suggesting an increase in the number of older sharks. View the full article

The number of basking sharks recorded in Britain's seas could be increasing, decades after being protected from commercial hunting in the late 20th century. The most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of basking shark sightings in UK waters shows a rise in the number of sightings from the 1980s through to the 2000s. It also suggests an increase in the proportion of medium and large-sized animals, suggesting an increase in the number of older sharks. View the full article

Update 1) Tunze wave box 6215 ( Come with original box ) - $ 350.00 ( Price reduce ) - come with controller and magnet - Power adapter just replace not long ago still with warrenty from RD. 2) DD Multi Test kit set ( mg , ca, KH ) - $ 40.00 - KH and ca left about 50% , MG still have about 90% since just replace. 3) ELOS Potassium Test kit - $ 25.00 - still have about 80% , use only few time. 4) Salifert P04 test kit - $ 10.00 - about 50% left - will throw in Sera N02 and ammonia test kit 5) Kent marine dosing box - $ 15.00

Another new week !

When one observes a jellyfish pulsating through the ocean, Greek mythology probably doesn't immediately come to mind. But the animal once was known as the medusa, after the snake-haired mythological creature its tentacles resemble. The mythological Medusa's gaze turned people into stone, and now, thanks to recent advances in bio-inspired engineering, a team of researchers have flipped that fable on its head: turning a solid element -- silicon -- and muscle cells into a freely swimming "jellyfish." View the full article

Scientists have turned inanimate silicone and living cardiac muscle cells into a freely swimming "jellyfish." The finding serves as a proof of concept for reverse engineering a variety of muscular organs and simple life forms. View the full article

i tried it myself also, by changing the bigger wood block the performance of the skimmer improve tremendously.

Click through to see the images. From NPR.org: Florida's Aquarius Reef Base is the only working undersea lab left today. But now that federal funds have dried up, it may be forced to surface. Oceanographer Sylvia Earle joins Science Friday from inside Aquarius, 60 feet underwater, to talk about sponges, corals and other life she's observed on the reef. Either tune in to your favorite NPR station or listen to the broadcast online at NPR.org: http://sciencefriday.com/playlist/#play/segment/8870 For a bit of background information on Aquarius, check out OneWorldOneOcean's Youtube video about the undersea lab: (via National Public Radio) View the full article

Maybe you can try checking out with reef depot

Click through to see the images. I caught up with Sean on the Makerbot Operators Google Group and asked him about this amazing print called the OctoPod Underwater Salvage Vehicle or O.P.U.S. V for short: I was working on a grad degree in 3D modeling and animation when I took a one-off class on rapid prototyping. It combined my love of digital design and hands-on mechanical design and I was hooked. I'm a toy collector and wanted to build something that I would want to buy with lots of working features and at the time I was thinking of doing a lighting assignment with an underwater scene. That led me to looking at a lot of underwater creatures and it hit me that an octopus vehicle would be great with articulated arms and would be visually striking. I took a lot of inspiration from the Nautilus in Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", I wasn't necessarily going for Steampunk but wanted a real nuts-and-bolts feel. I designed and built the model over the course of two semesters while working full-time so it ate up any free time I had. In the end it was worth it. He documents the entire design and build process on his blog at http://opus5.complex88.com/. The model was printed on an Objet Connex500â„¢ Multi-Material 3D Printing System which has the ability to print with 107 different materials and his final model shows it. It's a 3D printer's dream! The level of detail on this model is amazing! All eight of the arms are completely articulated and the suckers reportedly are cupped enough that they will actually stick. The body comes apart and is completely decked out on the inside with all sorts of things one might find inside an underwater vehicle. Tiny lights mark a doorway. A fully operational hoist raises and lowers a hook through an iris doorway. Tiny chains hold up a shelf. The cockpit in the octopuses head is plastered with buttons, captain's chair, and lit sonar displays. Tiny port holes line each side of the cabin. The deck is ribbed. Sean made a video highlighting these and other features of the O.P.U.S. V in a 4 minute video: Here are some additional photos showing the incredible attention to detail: Front shot of the head and tentacles. A side shot of the head showing the view ports from the control center and propellors that help steer the vehicle. A side view with the outer panels removed exposing the interior layout. A close-up of the insides of the working area showing the hoist and iris door. Another close-up of the insides. The cockpit showing the vast array of buttons, lit sonar panels, and captain's chair. One of the propellers on the front of the vehicle. A close-up of the underside of the vehicle showing the articulated suction cup arms. There was a huge amount of clean-up involved before the assembly of the model: Finally the assembly could happen: If you would like to see even more of this build, head over to Sean's blog and check it out. View the full article

Click through to see the images. World-first research conducted by Queensland University of Technology geologist Dr Scott Bryan indicates that yes, this is not only possible, but could be how the Great Barrier Reef formed in the first place. Dr Bryan and colleagues studied the westward flow or rafting of pumice after volcanic eruptions in Tonga in 2001 and 2006. Pumice forms when frothy molten rock cools rapidly and forms a lightweight bubble-rich rock that can float in water. Dr Bryan said his study found plants and tiny animals including corals latched onto pumice as it was swept by ocean currents towards north eastern Australia. "The pumice raft created after the 2006 Home Reef volcano erupted in Tonga initially formed at least a 440 square kilometre floating mass," he said. "This mass slowly broke up into streaks and millions to billions of marine organisms such as cyanobacteria, barnacles, molluscs, corals, anemones, and crabs began hitching a ride. "The pumice we observed travelled more than 5000 kilometres in eight months and for the first time we were able to document the more than 80 species of plant and animal life that made the journey with it. "Some biological cargo latched on in the waters around Tonga and Fiji while others came aboard elsewhere along the raft's 900+ day journey." Dr Bryan said when these tiny corals, coralline algae, anemones and other reef dwellers arrived in north-eastern waters they became part of the Great Barrier Reef. "This is good news because we know the reef is being replenished as a result of volcanic activity in the south-west Pacific and volcanic activity is frequent with eruptions in the area occurring every five to 10 years," he said. "On the downside, marine pests, for example some species of sponge or mussel, can also be carried along on the pumice. "While our research has not yet recognised designated marine pests, even if migration occurred at a very low rate in the future, pumice rafting could bring an invasion of millions to billions of pests that we don't yet know how to deal with." Dr Bryan said his research would be significant to ecologists. "Ecologists know the types of pests present in Pacific waters and their spawning patterns so when a future pumice rafting event occurs we can be in a better position to predict and suggest pest mitigation measures," he said. He said prior to his research, pumice rafting had not been considered a significant factor in the dispersal of marine life for either reef revitalisation or pest invasion. "We now have concrete proof that this is not the case," he said. Dr Bryan's research paper, Rapid, Long-Distance Dispersal by Pumice Rafting, is published online in PLoS ONE. [News release via Queensland University of Technology] View the full article

Click through to see the images. As a restaurant The top side is no slouch either! About Flashback Fridays: Every Friday, Advanced Aquarist will repost a blog article from this week one year ago. With all the content we publish, we want to share the timeless and interesting articles for our new readers as well as regulars who may have missed the origin via My Modern Met blog (thanks leftovers!) View the full article

200 !!

Just keep bringing up your mg and ca, and kh should start to fall. What test kit are you using?

A fish-population statistician has uncovered evidence of a potentially deadly virus in a freshwater sport fish in B.C. View the full article

A fish-population statistician has uncovered evidence of a potentially deadly virus in a freshwater sport fish in B.C. View the full article

Could the pumice that surges into the ocean once a volcano erupts in Tonga or elsewhere in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef? New research conducted by Queensland University of Technology geologist Dr Scott Bryan indicates that yes, this is not only possible, but could be how the Great Barrier Reef formed in the first place. View the full article

The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Starting in 1996, NOAA has carried out annual marine debris removal missions in the northwestern islands in an effort to restore coral. Although no debris from this year's removal was found connected to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami of Japan, over 700 tons of fishing gear and other plastics have been collected from these waters over the years. These annual collection trips have literally sparked change in Hawaii as abandoned nets are recycled to create electrical power for some of Hawaii’s residents [see Nets-to-Energy Program]. Carey Morishige, Pacific Islands regional coordinator for NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, states “This mission was a great opportunity to leverage activities that had already been planned and see what we might find. It’s also an important reminder that marine debris is an everyday problem, especially here in the Pacific." [via NOAA] View the full article

Click through to see the images. View the full article

Click through to see the images. View the full article

There is a Bali soft coral shipment today and tomorrow 8am Hawaii shipment @ Iwarna .

Iwarna just came in many tiny venatus and regal .