SeaLifeBase Turns 15!

The ocean is teeming with life that one cannot possibly fathom all its deepest secrets. 

But if data is crunched into its meaty bits, made sense of and presented cohesively, it is certain to be useful in marine studies and conservation. 

Such have been the roles of FishBase and SeaLifeBase, two online global biodiversity information systems that, together, provide biological and ecological information on more than 110,000 marine species.

Last month, a video highlighting the origin and evolution of FishBase from its conceptualization in the late 1980s to the present. 

Now, it is SeaLifeBase’s turn!

SeaLifeBase covers most marine species in the world apart from finfish (and notably those that are exploited, threatened, endemic and charismatic). 

This responded to making sure all remaining sea creatures of the world other than fishes can share the limelight. 

In essence, SeaLifeBase emulates the highly commended framework of FishBase, aiming to provide key information on scientific and common names, distribution, ecology and life history data for all multi-celled organisms of the world’s oceans.

It has been around since 2005, and to date, has been strengthened by contributions from over 300 collaborators from all around the world.

Embracing the gift of sharing free and relevant information its proponents have perpetuated, SeaLifeBase team carries with it the goal of forming meaningful collaborations and providing relevant and far-reaching information to attain its long-term goal of completing all large marine ecosystems.

We hope you get to learn more about the origin of SeaLifebase, its evolution and the people behind the scenes that brought this project to life, adding value to students, researchers, fisheries managers, NGOs and enthusiasts alike. 

Enjoy the video!

The Missing Biography: Where Do Baby Turtles Go During Their 'Lost Years'?

The life of a sea turtle begins as it hatches within the buried sand and instinctively sprints into the water amidst a gauntlet of predators. But many survive... then vanishes, their movements secretly held by the vast ocean.

Depending on the species, a sea turtle spends 1-15 years in the open sea, the so-called ‘lost years’ — the period that ensues after the turtles break free from their eggs to reach the open ocean until the time they come back as large juveniles to their feeding grounds near coastlines. Scientists find it critical to understand this because it serves as the foundation of sea turtle populations. Sea turtles live long lives so understanding this missing part of their ‘biography’ and the threats they may encounter is important to inform conservation efforts and guide policies.

According to Katherine Mansfield, who has studied turtles for more than 20 years, the challenge in completing the turtles’ biographies is that it’s just difficult to survey an entire ocean.

But they did it.

Figure from Mansfield et al. (2014)

She and her team of researchers from the University of Central Florida fit 17 newborn loggerheads with tiny satellite tags. It took them a long time to perfect this. What they realized is that turtle’s shells are made of keratin (as our fingernails are). So what they did is seek a collaborator’s manicurist, and, with her brilliant idea, they were able to fit the satellite tags using an acrylic base coat that seals the shell from peeling. The tags lasted for more than 7 months.

These efforts produced a map which clearly shows the movements of loggerheads for 27 to 220 days.

What Mansfield found out is that the basic overall pattern of movement of loggerheads coincides with previous knowledge, but there were significant nuances in the path each individual turtle takes. 

For instance, contrary to common knowledge that turtles go straight and fast to the North Atlantic Gyre (and they’re mostly right), it turns out they took their time running in local circles, even taking them away from the gyre to the Sargasso Sea.

Sargassum, a type of brown algae, is a favorable habitat for baby turtles since it provides shelter against predators. It's also a haven for the cold-blooded turtles because the warmer waters of the seaweed-filled surface allow them to grow faster and reach sexual maturity earlier.   

Unraveling clues where baby turtles go during their 'lost years' and have it mapped out has been a feat for Mansfield and her team. There are more questions though. So after 5 years, she and a large team of researchers  took it a notch higher.

They developed a computer model that predicts where sea turtle hatchlings go after they leave Florida's shores.

That's for our next blog.

Stay tuned.

Keen to learn more about these fascinating turtles? You can learn more HERE.

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Mansfield, K. L., Wyneken, J., Porter, W. P., & Luo, J. (2014). First satellite tracks of neonate sea turtles redefine the ‘lost years’ oceanic niche. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1781), 20133039.

Putman, N. F., Seney, E. E., Verley, P., Shaver, D. J., López‐Castro, M. C., Cook, M., ... & Peña, L. J. (2019). Predicted distributions and abundances of the sea turtle ‘lost years’ in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Ecography 42:1-12.

Science Daily (2019 Dec 23). Where do baby sea turtles go? New research technique may provide answers. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/37Mpcls

Yong, Ed. (2014 Mar 4). Where do Baby Turtles Go During Their Lost Years? Retrieved from https://on.natgeo.com/2uM5K9I 

Q-QUATICS IS HIRING!

Q-Quatics is looking for three (3) Research Assistants and one (1) Software Engineer.

For qualifications and requirements click on the photo above or see HERE. We are hoping to attract interest from the widest pool of young talents.

Work location is here in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. 

Deadline of the application process is on 29 February 2020.
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Quantitative Aquatics, Inc. (www.q-quatics.org) is a non-stock, non-profit, non-governmental organization established in the Philippines in February 2017. Q-quatics was created to support the assembly and dissemination of key data on living aquatic resources for the development of research tools in collaboration with international partners. As such, Q-quatics manages the global biodiversity information systems FishBase (www.fishbase.org), SeaLifeBase (www.sealifebase.org), and the global aquatic biogeography initiative, AquaMaps (www.aquamaps.org).

Q-quatics also supports the cutting-edge databases and research developed by the Sea Around Us (www.seaaroundus.org), which provides policy options for marine fisheries resources, their sustainable use and possible responses to climate change. As such, it partners with the Sea Around Us in identifying projects that would help initiate or maintain research on global fisheries and biodiversity conservation.

 

How Do You Weigh A Living Whale?

Credits to Fredrik-Christiansen (Photo from Oceanographic Magazine)

The obvious answer is that scientists can't really use a scale.

For starters, dead whales can weigh as much as 210 kg to a whopping 160 t. Besides, measurements can be inaccurate given the physical distortion of carcasses caused by bloating and deflation.

But scientists have something new in their arsenal.

Something that can be used above the sea...

But first, let’s learn about how whales are weighed in the past.

The only way to get data on the body mass of whales was to weigh dead or stranded individuals. Studying blue whales, for instance, was limited to dead specimens from whaling operations, fisheries bycatch and beach strandings.

This can be especially limiting with scientists boxed from collecting longitudinal data over a whale's lifespan. This has prevented the inclusion of body mass in many studies in ecology, physiology and bioenergetics.

But now scientists can accurately estimate the weight of free-living whales.

The answer? 

Drones.

Scientists took aerial photos of 86 southern right whales off the coast of Península Valdés, Argentina.

The waters were clear and the sheer number of whales gathering every winter to breed allowed for the measurement of both the dorsal and lateral sides of the whales.

With crisp images, they were able to get data for length, width and height.

These values were then plugged into a model (and voila!) an accurate calculation of whales' body volume and mass.

What's more fascinating is that the parameters of the model can be adjusted to estimate as well the size of other marine mammals, an alternative that can be considered over invasive methods.

This discovery opens a lot of doors for research.

For one, they can now explore the growth of known aged individuals to calculate their body mass increase over time and the energy requirement for growth. They can also peek into the daily energy requirements of whales and derive prey consumption.

Weight data can also provide insights on how chronic stressors influence whale survival and how they can produce offspring.

This innovation also paved the way to recreating a 3D mesh of the whale and a full-color 3D model in the works, which can be used for studying movement and for educational purposes.

SeaLifeBase hosts data on the weight of marine mammals, from blue whale to the dwarf sperm whale, the smallest known whale.

Feel free to explore.

Happy learning!

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[1] Christiansen, F., Sironi, M., Moore, M. J., Di Martino, M., Ricciardi, M., Warick, H. A., Duncan, J. I., Gutierrez, R., Uhart, M. M. (2019). Estimating body mass of free‐livingwhales using aerial photogrammetry and 3D volumetrics. Methods in Ecology andEvolution.

[2] EurekAlert! Researchers use drones to weigh wales. Retrieved from  https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/whoi-rud100119.php?fbclid=IwAR2aML0gasxOfu2q2IqSwNoax8znfubn0EH36CHKgnz2nhqXi7muvdVjyWI

[3] Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber 1993 FAO species Identification Guide: Marine Mammals of the World. Rome, FAO. 320 p. + 587 figures.

A rare and unforgettable sight: The rainbow-colored blanket octopus

What's better than seeing a rare sea creature? 

Well, seeing two of them and capturing them on camera, of course!

The deep sea never fails to amaze us with bouts of often odd and elusive, yet all the more wonderful creatures.

Take the recent sighting of the rare blanket octopus, which the lucky cameraman Joseph Elayani was able to encounter and film in the wild. On a night dive in the open sea at Romblon (Philippines), at depths of 9-22 m [1], he caught sight of not only one but a pair of female rainbow-colored blanket octopus. It was a glorious moment for Elayani as he witnessed the rapidly shifting colors of the arms, from hues of pastel blues and purple to stunning reds and oranges. This change in color is deemed to be the octopus' reaction from the different light levels of the camera or as a strategy to ward off predators [2].

Credits to Joseph Elayani via Cater News

Blanket octopuses are pelagic creatures found in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Pacific, in tropical to subtropical waters. They belong to the genus Tremoctopus [3]. It got its name from the sheets of webbing that extend between some of their arms [4]. 

Octopus, in general, are known to be masters of disguise, changing color patters to blend to their environment and escape predators or sneak on their prey or even mimic other species. Blanket octopus, meanwhile, are known to spread their majestic arms out to drive away would-be predators [4].

One of the things that make them odd is the sheer size difference between sexes: while males are less than an inch long, females can grow up to six feet long and weigh up to 40,000 more than males. It's also unusual that they are immune to the stinging cells of the perilous jellyfish Portuguese man-of-war, which it uses as a weapon against predators [4]. 

Current population data on blanket octopus is unknown [4]. For the meantime, immerse in the beauty that these two lovely octopuses have to offer.

We welcome collaboration with marine scientists and enthusiasts alike. If you have more information or photos on blanket octopuses, you can leave us a message at sealifebase[at]gmail[dot]com.

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[1] Good News Pilipinas. Rare rainbow-colored blanket octopus caught on diver’s camera in Romblon waters. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2Y3HEVL

[2] Best, S. (18 Jun 2019). Stunning rainbow blanket octopuses spotted swimming in depths of ocean. Mirror.  Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2YiRpKU

[3] Turgeon, D.D.; Quinn, J.F. Jr.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society (Special publication 26), Bethesda, Maryland. 526 p.

[4] National Geographic. Blanket octopus. Retrieved from https://on.natgeo.com/32VuskK

[5] USA Today (4 June 2019). Rare 'rainbow' blanket octopuses caught on camera in the Phillippines | USA TODAY. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2L92yem