Food For Thought Seminar Series 2012

The SeaLifeBase Project Scientific Adviser Nicolas Bailly and Project Coordinator Deng Palomares participated in the Food For Thought seminar series of the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia. 
     
They discussed the status and projects of both SeaLifeBase and FishBase, including the current efforts in publishing reports on marine species list by area. 
    
Click play to view the entire presentation and listen to the audio transcription:

FishBase and SeaLifeBase: current status and efforts

More PowerPoint presentations from The WorldFish Center

FishBase and SeaLifeBase: an overlap?

Earlier this week, one of our Facebook fans wrote on our wall and asked:

  

Does SeaLifeBase overlap with FishBase?

   

First, let us just say that it is always exciting to hear from our users and "fans".  Second, that this is a very good question.  After all, 1) our names sound alike, 2) our websites are nearly identical, and 3) we generally provide the same type of data (distribution and biology).

  
But, the answer to that question is: No, it does not.

Overlap?

While FishBase covers only fishes, SeaLifeBase assures data for the "non-fishes": whales, dolphins, turtles, sea birds, snakes, crabs, lobsters, sea shells, shrimps, sea cucumbers, starfishes, sponges and all other marine organisms that are not fish.  FishBase, with its 22 years of existence/experience, was used by SeaLifeBase as the shell and structure in delivering information for non-fishes to the public.

   

SeaLifeBase aspires to create and maintain a global information system that provides vital information for non-fish marine organisms --- just as what FishBase has achieved for fishes.  SeaLifeBase is still young at 6 years of existence, and with more than 200,000 non-fish species, we have a long way to go.  And we are going, slowly but surely.

Written by:
Lealde Pacres-Urriquia
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

Image manipulation by:
Jeniffer Espedido
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

The SeaLifeBase Project Principal Investigator Dr. Daniel Pauly is co-author in an article on the Rio+20 summit as published in Science on 15 June 2012.

Avoiding Empty Ocean Commitments at Rio+20

To read the complete article, visit www.sciencemag.org or click here.


Posted by:
Lealde Pacres-Urriquia
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

The blunt-end seahare

This is not turd!

Take a second look!

This nondescript blob is the seahare Dolabella auricularia. Commonly known as the blunt-end seahare or shoulder blade sea cat, this algae-eating seahare is popular for its use in the pharmaceutical industry. It is the source of dolastatin (Auristatin), a drug tested for treatment of some non-small cell cancers.

The importance of marine organisms used for pharmaceutical studies is discussed in this article.

This photo was taken by SeaLifeBase photo collaborator David Harasti of the Underwater Photo Gallery at the Swansea Bridge in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.



Written by:
Jeniffer Espedido
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

SeaLifeBase joins the world in celebrating

SeaLifeBase receives grant from Global Greengrants Fund

Last May, the Global Greengrants Fund awarded the SeaLifeBase Project with a grant that will help continue its efforts in the documentation of the biodiversity of the world's oceans.

Greengrants is a public charity that invests in grassroots groups working on environmental sustainability issues and social justice. They support change from the ground up by channeling donations to local projects and mass campaigns for justice, primarily in the developing world and emerging economies.  Learn more about Greengrants here.


Posted by:
Lealde Pacres-Urriquia
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

Photo of the Week: bulb-tip anemone

The bulb-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) is a tropical species found throughout the Indo-Pacific and easily identified by its peculiarly-shaped tentacles from where its common name was derived.
     
This photo was taken by SeaLifeBase Project Coordinator Deng Palomares at Sepoc Wall in Tingloy, Batangas, Philippines.



Posted by:
Jeniffer Espedido
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project

The “white one”: some facts about beluga whales

The beluga whale is known in science as Delphinapterus leucas, meaning the “white one”, alluding to its body color. It is a POLAR species, and calls the ARCTIC Ocean home. It is found in shallow coastal waters, but migrate to deep, offshore waters when the ice freezes over during the winter (Jefferson et al., 1993). It also enters estuaries and rivers during spring and summer to feed and take care of its calf. It feeds on various species of fish like cod and salmon, a wide variety of mollusks and benthic invertebrates like shrimps, crabs and octopuses (Kastelein et al., 1994). As a social animal it is extremely vocal, producing whistles, chirps, clicks and squeals, which gave it the title of “sea canary”, because it has the best singing voice in the whale world (Friedman, 2006). Belugas form pods consisting either of only males, or of only females and their young (IUCN, 2009).

Like most whale species, the beluga is “Near threatened” (IUCN Red List, 2008). The following may explain why this is so: