Harlequinmania

Click through to see the images. Scientists at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center said the cement float contains about 13 pounds of organisms per square foot. Already they have gathered samples of 4-6 species of barnacles, starfish, urchins, anemones, amphipods, worms, mussels, limpets, snails, solitary tunicates and algae – and there are dozens of species overall. “This float is an island unlike any transoceanic debris we have ever seen,” said John Chapman, an OSU marine invasive species specialist. “Drifting boats lack such dense fouling communities, and few of these species are already on this coast. Nearly all of the species we’ve looked at were established on the float before the tsunami; few came after it was at sea.” Chapman said it was “mind-boggling” how these organisms survived their trek across the Pacific Ocean. The low productivity of open-ocean waters should have starved at least some of the organisms, he said. “It is as if the float drifted over here by hugging the coasts, but that is of course impossible,” Chapman said. “Life on the open ocean, while drifting, may be more gentle for these organisms than we initially suspected. Invertebrates can survive for months without food and the most abundant algae species may not have had the normal compliment of herbivores. Still, it is surprising.” Jessica Miller, an Oregon State University marine ecologist, said that a brown algae (Undaria pinnatifida), commonly called wakame, was present across most of the dock – and plainly stood out when she examined it in the fading evening light. She said the algae is native to the western Pacific Ocean in Asia, and has invaded several regions including southern California. The species identification was confirmed by OSU phycologist Gayle Hansen. “To my knowledge it has not been reported north of Monterey, Calif., so this is something we need to watch out for,” Miller said. Miller said the plan developed by the state through the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State Parks is to scrape the dock and to bag all of the biological material to minimize potential spread of non-native species. But there is no way of telling if any of the organisms that hitchhiked aboard the float from Japan have already disembarked in nearshore waters. “We have no evidence so far that anything from this float has established on our shores,” said Chapman. “That will take time. However, we are vulnerable. One new introduced species is discovered in Yaquina Bay, only two miles away, every year. We hope that none of these species we are finding on this float will be among the new discoveries in years to come.” The possibilities are many, according to Miller. “Among the organisms we found are small shore crabs similar to our Hemigrapsus that look like the same genus, but may be a different species,” Miller said. “There were also one or more species of oysters and small clam chitons, as well as limpets, small snails, numerous mussels, a sea star, and an assortment of worms.” Invasive marine species are a problem on the West Coast, where they usually are introduced via ballast water from ships. OSU’s Chapman is well aware of the issue; for several years he has studied a parasitic isopod called Griffen’s isopod that has infested mud shrimp in estuaries from California to Vancouver Island, decimating their populations. In 2010, an aggressive invasive tunicate was found in Winchester Bay and Coos Bay along the southern Oregon coast. Known as Didemnum vexillum, the tunicate is on the state’s most dangerous species list and is both an ecological and economic threat because of its ability to spread and choke out native marine communities, according to OSU’s Sam Chan, who chairs the Oregon Invasive Species Council. It is difficult to assess how much of a threat the organisms on the newly arrived float may present, the researchers say. As future debris arrives, it may carry additional species, they point out. However, this dock may be unique in that it represents debris that has been submerged in Japan and had a well-developed subtidal community. This may be relatively rare, given the amount of debris that entered the ocean, the researchers say. “Floating objects from near Sendai can drift around that coast for a while before getting into the Kuroshio current and then getting transported to the eastern Pacific,” Chapman said. The researchers hope to secure funding to go to Japan and sample similar floats and compare the biological life on them with that on the transoceanic dock. The scientists say the arrival of the dock is also a sobering reminder of the tragedy that occurred last year, which cost thousands of lives. “We have to remember that this dock, and the organisms that arrived on it, are here as a result of a great human tragedy,” Miller said. “We respect that and have profound sympathy for those who have suffered, and are still suffering.” About OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center: The center is a research and teaching facility located in Newport, Ore., on the Yaquina Bay estuary, about one mile from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. It plays an integral role in programs of marine and estuarine research and instruction, as a laboratory serving resident scientists, as a base for far-ranging oceanographic studies and as a classroom for students. (press release Oregon State University) View the full article

Hawaii shipment tomorrow morning 8am at iwarna. - angel - flame , lemon peel, multi color, hybrid lemon peel,potteri. Blk/gold damsel . Tang- kole, yellow. Wrasse -mystery, red tail ,rhombroid pr. Helerichi goby, bartlet anthias .

As recreational fishing activity has reduced predators in many of Cape Cod's salt marsh ecosystems, Sesarma crabs have feasted on grasses, causing dramatic die-offs of the marshes, according to a new study. The researchers assessed the "trophic cascade" in several experiments that also ruled out alternative explanations for the problem. View the full article

As recreational fishing activity has reduced predators in many of Cape Cod's salt marsh ecosystems, Sesarma crabs have feasted on grasses, causing dramatic die-offs of the marshes, according to a new study. The researchers assessed the "trophic cascade" in several experiments that also ruled out alternative explanations for the problem. View the full article

Click through to see the images. In my previous installments, I introduced everyone to the idea of 3D printing with my post “Could your next protein skimmer be 3D printed?.” Next I showed how a 3D printer could help with fragging coral in my article “How I use my Makerbot 3D printer for fragging coral.” My latest post explains “How I use my Makerbot 3D printer for marine fish breeding.” In this installment, I will show how a 3D printer can print a customized feeding station for seahorses. A while back, I learned of this interesting seahorse feeder from ATB: ATB Seahorse feeder attaches to a floatation device and allows for leisurely feeding for seahorses. This feeder attaches to 1-inch plastic pipe that has a piece of styrofoam secured at the top. This allows the entire assembly to float in a seahorse tank. The aquarist then thaws mysis, brine shrimp, ghost shrimp, etc, in tank water and then slowly pours it down the pipe. The thawed food sinks down the length of the 1-inch tube and lands in the base. Seahorses can then attach to the outer ring with their tails and feed at their leisure. While not complicated, this whole assembly could take a while to put together from parts sourced from the local hardware store. Pipe, tubing, and flat acrylic are required along with a fair amount of cutting and gluing. Not with a 3D printer. Modeling the prototype takes under an hour. This model throws in a customization that I particular enjoy: each seahorse gets its own hitching post: A model of the seahorse feeder in OpenSCAD. Printing the model takes 1.5 hours: The seahorse feeder being printed from the ReplicatorG printing software. And the finished result is ready to use in your seahorse tank after a bit of clean-up. The photo at the beginning of this post is the resulting prototype printed on my Makerbot. Total cost: maybe $2-$3 in plastic. I have provided the model on Thingiverse for those of you wishing to print one out for yourselves. What would you print if you had a 3D printer? View the full article

Click through to see the images. William T Innes (February 2, 1874 — February 27, 1969) is one of the most influential author, photographer, printer and publisher in our hobby's history. He founded the first successful aquarium magazine, The Aquarium, which circulated from 1932 to 1967 (35 years!). So influential was Innes that when Dr. George S. Myers discovered the neon tetra, he named the fish after Innes: Hyphessobrycon innesi (presently reclassified as Paracheirodon innesi). But of all his contributions to the aquarium hobby, Innes is best known for his book, Exotic Aquarium Fishes. Wikipedia describes Exotic Aquarium Fishes as follows: "Innes is best remembered as author and publisher of the book, Exotic Aquarium Fishes, which was printed by his family's printing firm in Philadelphia in 1935 and went through nineteen editions. It quickly became the seminal work on the subject and has often been called 'the aquarium bible.' Beautifully produced with many lavish elements by his own printing firm, and written in a simple but elegant and compelling style by Innes alone, the book also included photographs taken by Innes for each of the fish species. He had decided that the Kodachrome film of the day required too much light and did not accurately show the true colors of various fishes. Instead, he shot black-and-white photographs that were hand-painted, test-printed, and then repainted to fine-tune the color for publication." Here is the description of the first edition copy of Exotic Aquarium Fishes according to the eBay seller: PHILADEPHIA,U.S.A., 1935 Illustrated by: : WILLIAM T. INNES Published by INNES PUBLISHING COMPANY Edition: FIRST ED Binding: HARD BACK GREEN Size: 9 X 6 1/4 463 Pages Overall Condition is: VERY GOOD Exotic Aqaurium Fishes A Work of General Reference By: William T. Innes. Editor The Aquarium Author The Modern Aquarium and Goldfish Varieties and Tropical Aquarium Fishes. Photographic Illustrations by the Author. Innes Publishing Company Philadelphia, U.S.A. First Edition. Gilt design to front cover. Paper title to spine tearing. Maps on front and back paste down page. Color frontispiece. Black and white and color illustrations. Former owner of the book is wriiten on the book. No bookplate. REF#:070606 Link to eBay Listing Advanced Aquarist is not affiliated with the seller of this eBay and claims no responsibilities for the representation of the book. Here are photos of pages from the third edition book as photographed by Aquatic Quotient member 'mrtree.' You can view more photos in his Aquatic Quotient forum thread. View the full article

Click through to see the images. This week's video by Nick Hope (Bubble Vision) takes us to Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Fiji and Tonga. This is one of the most beautiful reef videos we've seen (and we've seen a lot of videos for our Destination Reefs series). " height="383" style="width: 680px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> View the full article

Click through to see the images. Mantis shrimp, order Stomatopoda, actually come in two flavors: spearers and smashers. Spearers as the name implies, spear their prey with a spear-shaped claw. Smashers, on the other hand, smash their prey with a claw resembling a club. These clubs travel faster than a 22-caliber bullet and withstand +50,000 repeat clubbings over the lifetime of the mantis shrimp. That is one tough claw! What are these claws made from that allow them to withstand repeat beatings without fracturing and breaking? Weaver, Milliron, Kisailus and others now understand how the club works and they reported their findings this week in the journal Science. They discovered the club is made up of multiple zones with very different material properties. The outer portion of the club (the surface that directly impacts the prey item) is made from a material very similar to our bones (called hydroxyapatite). These cylindrical crystals are oriented perpendicular to the surface which adds strength to the impacting surface. The zone directly under this bone-like material is made from chitin, which is what the mantis' shell is made from and act like additional shock absorbers and dissipate the impact further. Finally, the club is covered with more chitin fibers helping hold the club together. The reason why this is so intriguing to materials engineers is the applications potential. Better impact resistance could lead to anything from next generation automobiles to etter body armor. Body armor improvements are Kisailus' current focus as body armor adds up to 30 pounds to a person's weight. Their goal is to make body armor that is 1/3 the weight and the same thickness as current body armor. As an example of what a mantis shrimp can do with its claws, watch as one destroys a clam shell: (via Science Daily, Not Exactly Rocket Science) View the full article

maybe you can post some pics of your tank ?

A bioinspired robot has provided the first experimental evidence that live zebrafish can be influenced by engineered robots. View the full article

You connect all the canister filter together ? It look alittle bit confusing and messy. It should be good for a start up, but do seriously consider a tank with a sump tank for your future upgrade . You should have a skimmer to remove the nutrient from the water, and if you can manage to keep the water cool at below 30 degree without a chiller, ii should be fine for a fish only tank. However, If you intent to keep coral, the water need to be colder in order for it to do well. Hope that help.

Click through to see the images. Stanford researchers have helped open a new door of possibility in the high-stakes effort to save the world's coral reefs. Working with an international team, the scientists – including Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment senior fellows Jeff Koseff, Rob Dunbar and Steve Monismith – found a way to create future ocean conditions in a small lab-in-a-box in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The water inside the device can mimic the composition of the future ocean as climate change continues to alter Earth. Inside the mini-lab, set in shallow water two to six feet deep, elevated levels of water acidity were created to test the reaction of a few local corals. (Other corals in the vicinity were not adversely affected.) It was the first controlled ocean acidification experiment in shallow coastal waters. The scientists' study, published in Scientific Reports, describes how they simulated predicted future ocean conditions off Heron Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, representing a new paradigm for analyzing how reefs respond to ocean acidification. David Kline and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg at the University of Queensland led the project. Focusing conservation efforts "Installing systems like this at reefs and other aquatic environments could be instrumental in helping us identify how ecosystems will change and which locations and ecosystem types are more likely to remain robust and resilient," said Lida Teneva, a Stanford doctoral student studying with fellow team member Rob Dunbar, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. "From this, we can determine which habitats to focus our conservation efforts on as strongholds for the future," Teneva said. Oceans absorb more than a quarter of all atmospheric carbon dioxide, concentrations of which are increasing at a rate twice as fast as at any time in the past 800,000 years or more. This leads to increasingly intense water acidification and widespread coral reef destruction. The potential loss is tremendous: reefs provide aquaculture, protein and storm protection for about 1 billion people worldwide. Standard in situ studies of ocean acidification have multiple drawbacks, including a lack of control over treatment conditions and a tendency to expose organisms to more extreme and variable pH levels than those predicted in the next century. So, in 2007, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute developed a system that allows for highly controlled semi-enclosed experiments in the deep sea. For their recent study, Stanford researchers modified the system for use in coral reefs. The complex device, the Coral Proto - Free Ocean Carbon Enrichment (CP-FOCE) system, uses a network of sensors to monitor water conditions and maintain experimental pH levels as offsets from environmental pH. It avoids many of the problems associated with standard in situ ocean acidification studies, and – unlike lab and aquarium experiments – makes it possible to study amid natural conditions such as seasonal environmental changes and ambient seawater chemistry. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Government, the National Science Foundation and the Pacific Blue Foundation. This story is also available on Stanford’s news website. Rob Jordan is the communications writer for the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Reef fish come up with ingenious methods to safely sleep in the wild: Cirrhilabrus sp. Fairy Wrasses, Parrotfish, et al. form mucus cocoons each night when they tuck themselves into their favorite crevices, masking them from predators and parasites. Macropharyngodon sp. Leopard Wrasses burrow deep into sandy substrates for protection. We now learn about a Filefish in the Red Sea who sleeps by anchoring itself to branching corals with its teeth! A team of divers observed an Amanses scopas Filefish chomping down on the tips of Acropora sp. during the middle of the night on two separate occasions. While this species is a known corallivore, the divers concluded the fish was sleeping because it was in a tonic state - unresponsive to light, noise, or even gentle touch. A. scopas' "splotchy" nighttime pigmentation is also different than its daytime appearance (Tang/Surgeonfish owners are familiar with this nighttime pigment shift). The researchers go on to say: "We suggest that this sleeping behavior may prevent A. scopas from being swept away by strong currents, provide shelter from predators, keep the fish away from contact with the substratum (i.e., avoiding abrasion), and possibly prevent attack by ectoparasites (gnathiid isopods) known to attack fishes while sleeping on the substrate." Nature finds amazing solutions to life's problems! (via Coral Reefs) 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 View the full article

A new scientific study has identified two distinct populations of white shark at the east and west of Bass Strait in Australian waters, prompting researchers to suggest the huge fish may need regional conservation plans. View the full article

A new scientific study has identified two distinct populations of white shark at the east and west of Bass Strait in Australian waters, prompting researchers to suggest the huge fish may need regional conservation plans. View the full article

When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the United States, there were fears of possible radiation and chemical contamination as well as costly cleanup. But a floating dock that unexpectedly washed ashore in Newport this week and has been traced back to the Japanese disaster has brought with it a completely different threat -- invasive species. View the full article

When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the United States, there were fears of possible radiation and chemical contamination as well as costly cleanup. But a floating dock that unexpectedly washed ashore in Newport this week and has been traced back to the Japanese disaster has brought with it a completely different threat -- invasive species. View the full article

Scientists have discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea ice was thought to block sunlight and limit the growth of microscopic marine plants living under the ice. View the full article

Military body armor and vehicle and aircraft frames could be transformed by incorporating the unique structure of the club-like arm of a crustacean that looks like an armored caterpillar, according to new findings. View the full article

Coral reefs might seem to be tranquil environments but in fact a battle is constantly waged between corals and seaweeds fighting over space. Scientists have known for some time that seaweeds can gain the upper hand if corals are damaged by hurricanes or excessively warm sea temperatures that cause coral bleaching. But a new study reveals that Caribbean seaweeds are the equivalent of Olympian athletes compared those found on coral reefs elsewhere. View the full article

Coral reefs might seem to be tranquil environments but in fact a battle is constantly waged between corals and seaweeds fighting over space. Scientists have known for some time that seaweeds can gain the upper hand if corals are damaged by hurricanes or excessively warm sea temperatures that cause coral bleaching. But a new study reveals that Caribbean seaweeds are the equivalent of Olympian athletes compared those found on coral reefs elsewhere. View the full article

Click through to see the images. • Fish Tank Kings, Episode 5: "Fish Upon A Star" • Airs June 9, 2012 (Saturday) @ 10pm on the Nat Geo Wild TV Network I'll keep this review short and sweet so as not to ruin the episode for you. In a nutshell, Fish Tank King Episode 5 is the most aquarist-centric episode to date. Living Color Aquariums is tasked to build a massive 650 gallon living coral reef aquarium, then a freshwater aquarium for former NBA all-star Alonzo Mourning's Overtown Youth Center. In order to stock the two aquarium builds, LCA takes us to not just one but two ornamental aquacultures. Viewers first visit ORA Farms to gawk at their impressive array of propagated corals. Next, we're taken to a tropical freshwater fish farm to pick out colorful cichlids for the youth center aquarium. " height="408" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> "> Like other reality shows about specialized industries aiming to reach a broader audience, this episode has its fair share of (forced) drama, hyperbole, and scripted dialogue. Boss Ben overpromises a client. Right-Hand-Man Ben stresses and stresses some more. Fish-Geek Francis annoys his coworkers ... again. I also found a few minor but notable factual errors throughout the episode (errors only aquarists may notice). While the FTK Ep.5 is not perfect, fish and coral enthusiasts should find the show entertaining and a respectful portrayal of our hobby. Now if only we could get rid of the pesky "general audience" in order to focus on the aquariums and do away with the distracting drama ... View the full article

Scientists from the Stanford and elsewhere joined to create a mini-lab in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The device can simulate predicted future ocean conditions – such as rising carbon dioxide levels – and their effects on ecosystems such as coral. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Published this week in Biology Letters, scientists Tomita, Toda, and others believe they have discovered how the embryo breathes in their paper "Live-bearing manta ray: how the embryo acquires oxygen without placenta and umbilical cord." The researchers were lucky. In 2008, a pregnant manta ray, Manta alfredi, was accidentally caught in a fisherman's fishing net. The fishermen took the ray to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium where it was placed in a 3.7 meter diameter tank. While there, the scientists there learned she was pregnant. Sonographic experiment on the pregnant manta ray. K.U. places a transducer of the sonographer above the uterus of the manta ray. Using a special kind of ultrasound technique, called diagnostic sonography, the scientists imaged the inside of the ray's womb. Between analyzing the ultrasound data and examining preserved manta ray embryos, the research team worked out how the baby rays were breathing. They found the embryo was actively pumping uterine fluid through its mouth through an opening in the back of its head (called a spiracle) by raising and lowering its jaws. Valves kept the flow of uterine fluid flowing presumably over the embryo's gills where the baby manta could extract oxygen from the fluid. According to ray researchers, this is the first time that researchers have shown how ray embryos breathe in the womb. Watch as manta rays "soar" over coral reefs in the Maldives (from Destination Reefs: Maldives) (via Science Magazine) View the full article

Click through to see the images. Watch Fish Tank Kings this Saturday at 10pm on Nat Geo Wild and answer these 7 question correctly and you are eligible to win an EcoPico* Aquarium courtesy of ecoxotic! Here are the Fish Tank Kings episode 5 questions: 1. How many species of freshwater fish are bred at fish farm that Francis - The Fish Geek visits? 2. Max had a colony of what ( genus) growing in his old tank that had to be broken apart to fit in his new tank? 3. What is the name of the coral farm that Francis visits? 4. What year did Alonzo Mourning win an Olympic Gold Medal? 5. Name 2 kids from Overtown Youth Center. 6. What lake do the fish in the Overtown Youth Center aquarium originate from? 7. Who is your favorite Fish Tank King? E-mail your answers to bross@livingcolor.com no later than 12pm EST on Wednesday June 13th. You must have all 7 answers correct to be eligible to win. A winner will be selected at random and their name will be posted on Living Color Aquariums- The Fish Tank Kings Facebook page on Thursday June 14th at 12pm EST. *EcoPico does not come with decor or livestock.Unit will be shipped within continental USA only. EcoPico specs are at http://www.ecoxotic.com/led-aquariums/desktop-aquariums/eco-pico.html View the full article