A Boon for Our Oceans

Photo from www.arkive.org

Peter Benchley said, “If man doesn’t learn to treat the oceans...man will become extinct”.

Our oceans provide many things for our survival, including food, medicine, recreation and the oxygen we breathe [1]. For decades, man abused and exploited these vast resources to the limit [1]. And now, we see several problems crop up, such as ocean acidification, habitat loss, overfishing, all leading to the extinction of species on which we depend. If this persists, what will mankind’s fate be?

It is not all gloom and doom, though. On January 24, 2015, members of the United Nations agreed to an agreement for the protection of the high seas, with more than 286,000 citizens from 111 different countries signing the petition [2].  

So, what are we waiting for? Let us join in and save our oceans!

As Gandalf said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”.

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[1] Help secure a living ocean,food, and prosperity-propose a new agreement for high seas protection.   http://www.change.org/p/ban-ki-moon-help-secure-a-living-ocean-food-and-prosperity-propose-a-new-agreement-for-high-seas-protection [Accessed 30 January 2015].

[2] Good news for the ocean. http://www.change.org/p/ban-ki-moon-help-secure-a-living-ocean-food-and-prosperity-propose-a-new-agreement-for-high-seas-protection/update [Accessed 30 January 2015].

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Borrowing from jellies’ book of tricks: Batesian Mimicry, a leptocephali scheme for predator avoidance

Anguilliform larvae mimicking gelatinous zooplankton (Frame grabbed from video at Australian.museum.net.au)

Nobody wants to be a part someone’s diet but nature dictates that animals face the dynamics of predator-prey relationships. Animals use various schemes to defend and protect themselves from enemies and predators and Batesian mimicry is one of the morphological strategies utilized by invertebrate and vertebrate species in the ocean. It is an adaptation of a usually harmless species where it mimics a dangerous organism to avoid predation. Researchers hypothesized that this is used by leptocephali, the transparent larvae of eels and their close relatives. In times of danger or trouble, these organisms coil their laterally compressed jelly-like bodies making a resemblance to gelatinous zooplankton such as jellyfish, ctenophores, siphonophores, and salps. These gelatinous zooplankton are usually avoided by other marine species due to their stinging defenses or low food value. Therefore, mimicking their round-shaped appearance gives the leptocephali a great escape strategy from their own predators. However, further observations will be needed to confirm this batesian mimicry by these organisms.

To watch videos of  leptocephalus curling behavior, visit Australian.museum.net.au.

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Miller, M.J., M.D. Norman, K. Tsukamoto, and J.K. Finn. 2013. Evidence of mimicry of gelatinous zooplankton by anguilliform leptocephali for predator avoidance. Marine and Freshwater Behavior and Physiology, 2013. Vol. 45, No. 6, 375-384. 

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A Sea Turtle's Magnetic Voyage Back Home

Photo from www.arkive.org

Once they reach adulthood, sea turtles (e.g. Caretta caretta^[1]), along with salmon and other marine mammals, travel thousands of miles across the open ocean only to return home to reproduce at the very coastal line where they hatched [2,3,4]. This amazing feat has baffled scientists for fifty years now [2].

Then how come they know their way home? New evidence points out that they “imprint” on magnetic fields as hatchlings and use these magnetic features as signature cues to return to their natal beach as adults [2,3]. Since early studies proved difficult in studying them in the open ocean, scientists took advantage of looking into changes in their behavior in response to changes in magnetic fields instead [2].

By processing a long-standing database, scientists found a strong link between the subtle shifts in the Earth’s magnetic field and the spatial distribution of the turtle nests. Only to confirm their theory: slight shifts in the Earth’s field resulted to coming together of adjacent magnetic signatures, hence gathering sea turtles in a much shorter coastline. Consequently, diverging magnetic signatures meant sparse eggs were laid and nests were farther from each other. This new evidence indicates that changes in magnetic fields influence where turtles will nest [2].

To learn more about sea turtles visit SeaLifeBase and to read more on salmons, visit FishBase.

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[1] SeaLifeBase. Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758). Retrieved January 27, 2015 from http://sealifebase.ca/summary/Caretta-caretta.html#.

[2] Cell Press. (2015, January 15). For sea turtles, there’s no place like magnetic home. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 18, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150115134713.htm

[3] Lohmann, K.J., Putman, N.F., Lohmann, C.M. (2008). Geomagnetic imprinting: a unifying hypothesis of long-distance natal homing in salmon and sea turtles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(49): 19096-19101.

[4] Putman, N.F., Lohmann, K.J., Putman, E.M., Quinn, T.P., Klimley, A.P., Noakes, D.L.G. (2013). Evidence of geomagnetic imprinting as a homing mechanism in Pacific salmon. Current Biology 23(4):312-316.

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Balaena mysticetus on its lifespan and vitality

Photo from www.arkive.org

The bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, inhabits the arctic region and can live for more than 200 years with free or low incidence of old-age illness [1, 2, 3]. The species can reach up to 18 meters and is known to be the second heaviest whale after the blue whale [2]. Recently, scientists revealed the mystery of its long lifespan and vitality.

Mapping the bowhead whale’s genome, researchers discovered distinct genetic properties that influence DNA repair, cell growth, cell cycle, and ageing process [1, 2, 3].  Genes responsible for its immunity and metabolic processes were also discovered to be different compared to other animals [1, 2, 3].  Given the high number of cells of these animals, of over 1, 000 times than humans, bodies of bowheads are still more efficient in suppressing tumour cells because of their genetic composition [2, 3]. Scientists are now hoping that this knowledge in the genome of bowhead whales can be applied in hopes of improving human health and quality of life.

To know more about the bowhead whale, visit SeaLifeBase.

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[1] Old whales-good genes. http://www.dw.de/old-whales-good-genes/a-18177578 [Accessed 20 January 2015].

[2] How to age gracefully? Ask a bowhead whale. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150108/environment/How-to-age-gracefully-Ask-a-bowhead-whale.551047 [Accessed 20 January 2015].

[3] Genome mapped for bowhead whale, which can live 200 years. http://thespeaker.co/genome-mapped-bowhead-whale-can-live-200-years/ [Accessed 20 January 2015].

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The SeaLifeBase Project turns Ten

Welcome 2015!

It will be an exciting year for SeaLifeBase as it prepares to celebrate it’s 10th year anniversary on 1 December 2015. On this occassion, we take the opportunity to extend our sincerest gratitude to all our partners, collaborators and online users for their invaluable help and support. Our anniversary celebration will be one of the highlights of the 13th FishBase Symposium, which is hosted by the FishBase Information and Research Group (FIN), and which will be held on the first week of September 2015 in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines.

We invite you to celebrate with us via our website, (http://sealifebaseproject.blogspot.com/) and facebook pages, (http://www.facebook.com/TheSeaLifeBaseProject), which will be regularly updated with further news on the events. We look forward to working with and serving you all for many more years.