Harlequinmania

Polar bears will be affected by climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic, but so will India's iconic tigers and elephants. Researchers are working to understand what is happening in polar oceans -- and what can be done. View the full article

Fish quantities off the Norwegian coast fluctuate widely from year to year. For 150 years, scientists have tried to figure out why -- and now they are nearing an explanation. View the full article

As climate change causes temperatures to rise, the number of herbivores will decrease, affecting the human food supply, according to new research. View the full article

As climate change causes temperatures to rise, the number of herbivores will decrease, affecting the human food supply, according to new research. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Earlier today we covered the news that the Center for Biological Diversity settled with the NOAA about listing 82 species of coral on the Endangered Species List. In that post we mentioned that there were currently only two corals listed in U.S. waters, those being the elkhorn and staghorn corals (both listed as "threatened"). As an interesting addition to that post, Morphologic posted a video showing how scientists are currently culturing these threatened corals for relocation onto existing coral reefs. It's a relatively short video and is an interesting look at how aquaculture is being used to regrow these threatened corals. One of the most innovative, practical, and functional coral nurseries on the planet can be found just a few miles off the shores of Key Largo. The nursery consists of thousands of neatly organized colonies of the critically important staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) grown by the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) for the purpose of transplantation back to the reef. Staghorn corals have been decimated by disease and extreme weather here in Florida over the past 30 years, resulting in a seriously degraded reef ecosystem. Fortunately the CRF has developed methods that maximize the growth potential of these corals in their nursery, demonstrating that coral aquaculture is a realistic and effective way to restore beleaguered wild populations. Film + Original Soundtrack: MORPHOLOGIC 2011 See http://coralmorphologic.com/b/2011/10/03/a-floating-forest for more details. View the full article

The ability of marine reserves to replenish fish stocks has been studied extensively, but evidence of their ability to benefit shallow-water communities to thrive remains a mystery. A team of scientists recently tested whether 10 years of reserve designation has translated into positive impacts on coral communities in Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, Belize. Results from their surveys of 87 patch reefs both inside and outside the marine reserve showed no clear indication of reserve implementation benefiting coral cover, colony size or the abundance of juvenile corals. View the full article

The ability of marine reserves to replenish fish stocks has been studied extensively, but evidence of their ability to benefit shallow-water communities to thrive remains a mystery. A team of scientists recently tested whether 10 years of reserve designation has translated into positive impacts on coral communities in Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, Belize. Results from their surveys of 87 patch reefs both inside and outside the marine reserve showed no clear indication of reserve implementation benefiting coral cover, colony size or the abundance of juvenile corals. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Contact: Cindy Yeast cdyeast@earthlink.net 720-542-9455 Stony Brook University Historical reconstruction reveals humans contributed to both degradation and recovery of coral reefs IMAGE: This photo demonstrates several colonies of Montipora sp coral located in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, that are being overgrown and smothered by the alien invasive algae Gorilla Ogo (Gracilaria salicornia), and... Click here for more information.STONY BROOK, NY and STANFORD, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011–Changing human activities coupled with a dynamic environment over the past few centuries have caused fluctuating periods of decline and recovery of corals reefs in the Hawaiian Islands, according to a study sponsored in part by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University. Using the reefs and island societies as a model social-ecological system, a team of scientists reconstructed 700 years of human-environment interactions in two different regions of the Hawaiian archipelago to identify the key factors that contributed to degradation or recovery of coral reefs. "Historical reconstruction reveals recovery in Hawaiian coral reefs," which was published online today in the journal PLoS ONE, concludes that historical changes in human societies and their relationships with coral reef ecosystems can explain whether these ecosystems exhibit patterns of sustainability and resilience or decline and degradation. Dr. John N. Kittinger, lead author of the study, was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow in the Department of Geography at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa when the reconstruction was conducted. He is now an Early Career Social Science Fellow at Stanford University's Center for Ocean Solutions. "Our reconstructed ecological changes included an intensive review and assessment of archaeological deposits, historical observations of ecosystem conditions, and modern ecological and fishery data," said Dr. Kittinger. "Using these data sets, our findings demonstrate that we can't always view environmental degradation solely through the lens of simplistic cause-consequence relationships. In the historical recovery periods we uncovered, we found that human agency is partly responsible for environmental recovery, which shows that not all human-environment interactions lead to irreversible deleterious outcomes and that degraded ecosystems may still retain the adaptive capacity and resilience to recover from human impacts." IMAGE: This photo shows Hawaiian chubs (Kyphosus species) and other reef fish swimming near the healthy Acropora cytherea species coral reefs found at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.... Click here for more information."This reconstruction shows that human-environment interactions need to be included when considering the factors that contribute to the degradation of an ecosystem," said Dr. Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Institute for Ocean Science and Professor at Stony Brook University. "Understanding past interactions can be crucial in determining best practices for present-day management of coral reef ecosystems." The analysis suggests that in the Main Hawaiian Islands marine exploitation was highest in the early period after Polynesian settlement more than 700 years ago. By 1400, however, reef-derived protein sources became less important than those derived from domesticated animals, and a suite of coral reef resource conservation strategies was implemented by Native Hawaiian societies, allowing reefs to recover. This recovery continued as traditional reef-fishing subsistence practices were abandoned through the post-European contact period after 1778 due to the introduction of epidemic diseases to the Native Hawaiian population. By the early to mid-1800s, however, reefs again went into decline due to overexploitation, land-based pollution, and other factors associated with changes in demography, economic systems, and new technologies. The analysis shows that negative impacts continued and intensified to the present day, exhibiting only a brief reprieve in the 1940s due to the closure of nearshore marine areas during World War II. "Reefs in the Main Hawaiian Islands have been declining for more than 150 years, and similar degradation that has occurred in other reef ecosystems indicates that we may be approaching a tipping point or threshold, beyond which recovery is doubtful," said Dr. Kittinger. "If we look at historical ecosystem recoveries, reversing this decline will require protection of a broad range of habitat types over large areas, such as marine no-take reserves. Additionally, appropriate institutions and policies will need to be in place to effectively engage the diverse community of ocean-users in Hawai'i in collaborative marine ecosystem stewardship." IMAGE: Taken during a biennial survey of the Northwestern Hawaiian Island coral reefs, this photo shows healthy cauliflower or rose corals (Pocillopora spp.) corals and a Ringtail Wrasse (Oxycheilinus unifasciatus) found... Click here for more information.Unlike the Main Hawaiian Islands, researchers found that coral reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) have long functioned as a geographic refuge due to their isolation and limited human population. They also benefited from cultural protection as a sacred ancestral homeland in Native Hawaiian society. The analysis shows that they did, however, suffer from some of the same negative impacts of the post-European contact period as coral reefs in the Main Hawaiian Islands. After World War II, however, reefs in this region began to recover from historical impacts due to human depopulation in the area, conservation efforts, and decreases in commercial activities involving the reefs. NWHI reefs are now among the most diverse and abundant coral reef ecosystems in the world, and provide an example of how healthy reefs that have recovered from human impacts can look. "The substantial resilience and adaptive capacity of coral reefs demonstrated in this study provide reason for hope and suggest that we should not dismiss the possibility of bringing even the most degraded reefs back to health," said Dr. Pikitch. ### This research was supported by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, National Science Foundation, the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and the Marine Conservation Biology Institute's 2008 Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grant in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology. Editor's Note: For more information on "Historical reconstruction reveals recovery in Hawaiian coral reefs," please visit http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025460. Photos of healthy and degraded reefs in the Hawaiian Islands are available by request. The Center for Ocean Solutions (COS) works to solve the major problems facing the ocean, and prepares both current and future leaders to take on these challenges. It is a collaboration among Stanford University (through Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment, http://woods.stanford.edu/ and Hopkins Marine Station, http://www-marine.stanford.edu), the Monterey Bay Aquarium, http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/ and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), http://www.mbari.org/. The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation through science. The Institute transforms real-world policy while pursuing serious science, both of which are essential for ocean health. For more information, go to www.oceanconservationscience.org. The University of Hawai`i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students thrive in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu. Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter http://twitter.com/UHManoaNews. View the full article

Click through to see the images. According to the Center, in the past 30 years corals in U.S. waters have declined by approximately 30% due to bleaching, climate change, disease, storms, severe over-fishing, pollution and sedimentation as a direct consequence of coastal activities. Due to the significant decline in coral, the Center filed a petition back in 2009 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to federally list 82 target species of coral as either endangered or threatened. The deadline for the NOAA's response came and went which then prompted the Center to file of their intent to sue. Through a series of additional filings by the Center (due to lack of response from the NOAA) the Center and the NOAA finally entered into a settlement agreement. In this agreement, the NOAA must issue their final findings by April 15, 2012 on the 82 listed species of coral. Once the ruling is complete, federal protection will be given to those corals that are deemed deserving of federal protection. In the end, better conservation of these corals will result as fishing, dredging, dumping, and off-shore development will be significantly regulated in those areas. Of the 82 species listed in the settlement, eight of the endangered corals on the list are found in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Agaricia lamarcki, Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata, Montastraea franksi, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Dichocoenia stokesii, Mycetophyllia ferox, and Oculina varicosa. It's interesting to note that the Center for Biological Diversity is also responsible for the 2006 listing of Elkhorn and Staghorn coral as a threatened species in the U.S. Virgin Island waters. For more information about the Center for Biological Divesity, check out their website at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ Thanks to Gresham Hendee (APBreed / Reef Nutrition) for the heads-up on this article: Virgin Islands Daily News: Local corals in lawsuit Environmental group files suit to protect corals View the full article

Changing human activities coupled with a dynamic environment over the past few centuries have caused fluctuating periods of decline and recovery of corals reefs in the Hawaiian Islands, according to a new study. Using the reefs and island societies as a model social-ecological system, a team of scientists reconstructed 700 years of human-environment interactions in two different regions of the Hawaiian archipelago. View the full article

Scientists have identified and mapped a group of immune genes that are the key to warding off infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria in salmon. View the full article

Scientists have identified and mapped a group of immune genes that are the key to warding off infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria in salmon. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Nudibranch ID, developed by Gary Cobb for the iPhone, is an identification app for sea slugs and other Opisthobranchs from the Central Indo-Pacific region from Japan to Australia. The app features over 700 species of nudibranchs with full-color photos for each species, its name (including order and family), its size, colors it exhibits, along with the researcher and date that the species was first described. The app also contains interesting information about nudibranchs and full text search. Currently the app contains information on nudibranchs from the Indo Pacific and Eastern Racific, with species from Australia/New Zealand, Wesern Atlantic and Eastern Atlantic including Mediterranean and Red Seas coming soon. The below 4 minute video shows a demo of the app: The app is an an extension of the larger Nudibranchs: Sunshine Coast, Australia, Indi-Pacific Region Nudibranchs website run by Gary Cobb, David Mullins, Dr. Richard Willan, Terry Farr, and Julie Schubert. It is available from iTunes for $13.99. It's a bit pricey but if you love nudibranchs this app might be for you. Thanks to Ecotech Marine for bringing this app to our attention. View the full article

Click through to see the images. To enter, visit Reef2Reef's contest thread. In a nutshell, all you need to do is start a new tank thread or update an existing tank thread in their Members' Tanks forum. It's that simple! Premium Aquatics (also an Advanced Aquarist sponsor) graciously donated the Gen 3 Vertex Internal Pinwheel Skimmer 180. View the full article

Click through to see the images. The Definitive Ecotech Radion Preview Apologies for the pretentious title, but we wanted to grab your attention. Starting this weekend, you will read a lot about Ecotech's new LED light. Advanced Aquarist put a lot of effort to bring you the the most comprehensive Ecotech Radion preview. A treasure trove of photos and information after the jump (not for the bandwidth-challenged). Read more... MACNA preview: Ecotech officially announces Radion XR30w LED Light Speculations have been swirling about Ecotech's highly anticipated new LED lights for several weeks now, but Advanced Aquarist prefers to leave the rumor mill for others. Well, we now have the official word! Ecotech has issued a full press release on their new Radion XR30w, chock-full of juicy information. Read more... Orphek issues statement regarding Mike Maddox, et al. In response to the controversial discussions currently taking place pertaining to Mike Maddox's Captive Aquatics blog about the Ecotech Radion, Orphek has issued a statement to clarify its position on the issue. Read more... Thieves Caught On Tape Stealing Rare Corals and Drygoods Surveillance cameras at Bio-Reef, Inc. in Jacksonville, FL caught three thieves stealing live corals and drygoods totaling a reported $30,000. The Jacksonville police department has not yet publicly released the video, but Advanced Aquarist hopes to share this video as soon as it is available to catch these crooks. Read more... Proof positive SPS corals consume zooplankton From Coralscience.org: Marine scientists currently have reached a general consensus about how corals take up nutrients, which ranges from dissolved nutrients to megazooplankton, and have shown the importance of a variety of nutritive sources for coral growth and survival. A group of scleractinian corals however has remained controversial: the small polyped stony corals, commonly referred to as SPS corals. These animals are often wrongly believed to simply rely on strong lighting and dissolved inorganic nutrients. Read more... Breathtaking Large Reef Aquarium from Amsterdam, Holland "Estherea Reef" is one of the most beautifully aquascaped, healthy, mature, large reef displays Advanced Aquarist has seen. There is really no shortage of flattering adjectives we can use. But instead of words, we invite you to watch three high-quality videos of this amazing Dutch aquarium. Read more... The love child of a Zoanthid and a Hammer Coral [updated] Shared on Nano-reef.com: Here is an incredible mutation of a Zoanthid colony exhibiting Hammer-like tentacle tips. Read more... Ever wonder what a LFS in Israel looks like? I always enjoy visiting local fish stores in my travels, especially when I am in a foreign country. The local selection and cultural differences often result in unique shopping experiences. Here is a HD video of a newly opened Israeli LFS named Perfect Reef. Read more... Activated carbon affirmed as causative agent for HLLE disease Smoking gun #2: GAC = HLLES. Following Jay Hemdal's (et al.) earlier peer-reviewed study linking Head and Lateral Line Erosion Syndrome to the use of granular activated carbon, a new study affirms carbon causes HLLE. Read more... Self-described World's Smallest Aquarium Nano? Pico? Or some new descriptor we haven't come up with yet. Russian artist Anatoly Konenko specializes in miniature art and has built a half-thumb-sized glass box aquarium that holds just 10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) of water! Read more... View the full article

Seem like you are going to the Dark side as well ..

When i didnt clean my skimmer over some time, i started to notice that the amount of waste collect fall over time, and i remember read it somewhere that this was due to the reason when the foam rises, it deposit some of the fat and proteins at the side of the riser tube. As time pass, this deposit will make it harder for the foam to reach to the collection cup thus the effective of the skimmer will drop drastically. So ,i try to clean my skimmer cup every week or two .

Click through to see the images. Via 3reef.com: Skunk Clownfish (Amphiprion akallopisos) usually come in shades of pale pinkish orange, but the Rose-Magenta Skunk Clownfish are a rich shade of rosy reddish pink. According to iBluewater's description, the edges of the Rose-Magenta Skunk's dorsal fin and caudal fin are lined red-magenta, and their pectoral fins have a translucent magenta hue. The white stripe running down their back is also thicker and more clearly defined than that of regular Skunk Clownfish. The number of Clownfish pigment variants seem infinite. A.ocellaris and A.percula were the first two popular "designer bred" species, spawning generations of exotic captive-bred clownfish variants such as the Picasso and Black Snowflake Clownfish . A.clarkii captive breeding is also picking up steam, resulting in such variants as the Blue-Spotted Picasso Clarkii. With exotic Skunk Clownfish like this pair, A.perideraion/A.akallopisos may be next. Speaking of Skunk Clownfish: Last month, Kenneth Wingerter wrote about the Clarkii Complex of Clownfish for Advanced Aquarist Magazine. Check back later this week for his new article titled "An Overview of Clownfish of the Skunk Complex." View the full article

Click through to see the images. Via 3reef.com: Skunk Clownfish (Amphiprion perideraion) usually come in shades of pale pinkish orange, but the Rose-Magenta Skunk Clownfish are a rich shade of rosy reddish pink. According to iBluewater's description, the edges of the Rose-Magenta Skunk's dorsal fin and caudal fin are lined red-magenta, and their pectoral fins have a translucent magenta hue. The white stripe running down their back is also thicker and more clearly defined than that of regular Skunk Clownfish. The number of Clownfish pigment variants seem infinite. A.ocellaris and A.percula were the first two popular "designer bred" species, spawning generations of exotic captive-bred clownfish variants such as the Picasso and Black Snowflake Clownfish . A.clarkii captive breeding is also picking up steam, resulting in such variants as the Blue-Spotted Picasso Clarkii. With exotic Skunk Clownfish like this pair, A.perideraion may be next. Speaking of Skunk Clownfish: Last month, Kenneth Wingerter wrote about the Clarkii Complex of Clownfish for Advanced Aquarist Magazine. Check back later this week for his new article titled "An Overview of Clownfish of the Skunk Complex." View the full article

Click through to see the images. Via 3reef.com: Skunk Clownfish (Amphiprion perideraion) usually come in shades of pale pinkish orange, but the Rose-Magenta Skunk Clownfish are a rich shade of rosy reddish pink. According to iBluewater's description, the edges of the Rose-Magenta Skunk's dorsal fin and caudal fin are lined red-magenta, and their pectoral fins have a translucent magenta hue. The white stripe running down their back is also thicker and more clearly defined than that of regular Skunk Clownfish. The number of Clownfish pigment variants seem infinite. A.ocellaris and A.percula were the first two popular "designer bred" species, spawning generations of exotic captive-bred clownfish variants such as the Picasso and Black Snowflake Clownfish . A.clarkii captive breeding is also picking up steam, resulting in such variants as the Blue-Spotted Picasso Clarkii. With exotic Skunk Clownfish like this pair, A.perideraion may be next. Speaking of Skunk Clownfish: Last month, Kenneth Wingerter wrote about the Clarkii Complex of Clownfish for Advanced Aquarist Magazine. Check back later this week for his new article titled "An Overview of Clownfish of the Skunk Complex." View the full article

When you ammonia keep rising and your livestock keep dieing ,it mean your existing biological system is unable to sustain your Bio load. However to some people, a complete wipe out of their fish due to a diseases outbreak also mean a Tank crash. HTH

Of course there will be a different, different color tube produce different spectrum which is required on the coral growth.

You can consider having 2 or 3 outlet for your return ? The second outlet can "T " off to your CR as well if you need one, which is what i did previously.

Awesome pcs of equipment. Look like Gaint skimmer to me

I am glad that you choose the Abyzz pump over the new RD III . Wise move RD give excellent after sales support, so you need worry too much . Perhaps you can consider using another smaller size return pump ? You would then able to play around with the various wave effect while maintaining the flow , having 2 return pump will also act as a safeguard in case one broke down for repair.