Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Nobel for the Noble Jellyfish

Posted Thu, Oct 9, 2008 by Emily Fisher

Maybe you've heard by now -- thanks to a fluorescent green protein (GFP) in jellyfish, three scientists have won a Nobel Prize in chemistry -- they've turned the protein into a way to watch the tiniest details of life within cells.

As the article states, "When exposed to UV light, the protein glows green and can act as a marker on otherwise invisible proteins within cells to trace them as they go about their business. It can tag individual cells in tissue. And it can show when and where particular genes turn on and off."

"GFP has revolutionized lab work in medicine and biology, enabling scientists to get a visual fix on how diseases spread in mice and lab-dish cells or whether cells respond to treatment."

Hat tip to the jellies!

[Image: A human embryonic stem cell illuminated by green fluorescent proteins.]

Calling All Sailors

Posted Thu, Oct 9, 2008 by Emily Fisher

If you're a sailor and you're interested in protecting the sea, listen up: Today, we are launching our newest project, the Ocean Conservation Yacht Club, or OCYC.

Sailors spend more time on the ocean than most of us, so doesn't it follow that they should be invested in how they're treated? We think so.

Professional sailor Kristen Berry is the OCYC's commodore, and he's passionate about protecting the ocean.

Learn more at the OCYC site and blog, and if you happen to be at the Annapolis Boat Show today, head to JWorld Sailing School's booth -- Kristen will be there to answer any of your burning questions about sailing and conservation.

Freaky Fish #4: Googly-eyed Glass Squid

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 2008 by Emily Fisher

Thanks to Jason at Cephalopodcast, I've learned that today, the eighth of October, is the second unofficial Cephalopod Appreciation and Awareness Day. Which makes today's Freaky Fish contestant, the googly-eyed glass squid, all the more appropriate.

Reminiscent of the crystal skull from Indiana Jones, the scintillating cephalopod has a pretty great trick: When it feels endangered, it inflates its body with water, swelling into a transparent sphere. Then it draws its head, arms and tentacles into its body, and at last fills with ink, disappearing into the dark.

See the rest and vote for the freakiest at http://oceana.org/freaky-fish-contest.

Google Unveils Ocean Tool

Posted Tue, Oct 7, 2008 by Emily Fisher

In further proof that Google is taking over the world and that maybe it's not such a bad thing, conservationists working with the ubiquitous search engine have unveiled (at the IUCN) a
tool in Google Earth that lets you view protected marine areas and displays icons indicating sensitive areas of the world's oceans.

Plus, National Geographic unveiled a live, underwater feed of a coral reef near Belize in Central America, WildCam Belize Reef.

I just took a gander at the WildCam -- pretty nifty. Unfortunately, my computer is a bit slow for Google Earth -- has anyone had a chance to check it out?

Freaky Fish #3: Spookfish

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 2008 by Emily Fisher

Spookfish – Winteria telescopa

This freaky fish is almost cute…in that disgusting, googly-eyed monster way. Its giant eyes are for collecting light – giving it a visual advantage in the dark depths of the sea. Spooky!

See the rest and vote for the freakiest at http://oceana.org/freaky-fish-contest.

Mammals in Peril

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 2008 by Emily Fisher

The most thorough assessment of land and marine mammals in 12 years, just published in Science, says that a quarter of the world's wild mammal species are at risk of extinction.

It took nearly 2,000 experts in more than 100 countries five years to complete the research. In other words: this one's big, and ought to be paid some serious attention.

While land mammals are most threatened by habitat loss and hunting, marine mammals are more in danger from bycatch, ship strikes and pollution.

Freaky Fish #2: Pacific Viperfish

Posted Fri, Oct 3, 2008 by Emily Fisher

Pacific viperfish – Chauliodus macouni

You know you’re too vicious when your teeth are so long that they don’t even fit inside your mouth and sit perilously close to your eyes. Plus, if you miscalculate the size of your prey and catch something that’s too big, you’re unable to spit it out or swallow it…so you starve. It’s all in a day’s work for this bizarre fish.

See the rest and vote for the freakiest at http://oceana.org/freaky-fish-contest.

Ugly, Not Invincible

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 2008 by Emily Fisher

Perhaps you know it by its menu moniker: loup de mer. It's sweet, it's delicious... and it's really ugly. The Atlantic Wolffish isn't a contestant in our Freaky Fish contest, but it could be. Still, that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be protected.

Today the Conservation Law Foundation will petition federal officials to add the US population of wolffish, a.k.a. the ocean catfish, to the endangered species list.

An ocean floor-dweller, the wolffish is affected by bottom trawling and is also caught as bycatch. According to one scientist, the population experienced an 86 percent drop between 1995 and 2006.

The debate will surely continue about whether this fish deserves to be protected. But please, everyone, leave looks out of it...

[Image via www.fiskeri.no]

Freaky Fish #1: Vampire Squid

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 2008 by Emily Fisher

In case you didn't get the memo, starting today we're doing our annual Freaky Fish contest all October long. I'll feature one of the 13 fish every few days on the blog, and you can vote on your favorite.

If the one you pick wins, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a pair of free tickets to an IMAX screening of "Deep Sea 3D!" Plus, one voter will also win a copy of Claire Nouvian's beautiful book The Deep (from which we culled the weirdest and most terrifying monstrosities for this contest.)

So, without further ado, our first freaky fish:

Vampire squid (“from hell”) – Vampyroteuthis infernalis

This creature is like an octopus-squid hybrid — it has eight arms like an octopus, but it also has long retractable filaments that squids use for hunting. When it feels threatened, it spits bioluminescent clouds from the end of its arms, and it can also go into "pumpkin" or "pineapple posture," inverting its arms over the body so it’s covered in spines.

See the rest of the fish and cast your vote at http://oceana.org/freaky-fish-contest.

Dieting Dolphins

Posted Tue, Sep 30, 2008 by Emily Fisher to diets, dolphins

What happens when you feed your dolphins fatty mackerel? Your dolphins become too fatty to perform. That's what happened at a Japanese marine park when staff started noticing that the animals' girlish figures were becoming more portly and they couldn't hit their jumping targets. Now it's time to shape up the old-fashioned way -- diet and exercise. That's right, dolphins, there's no magic bullet -- it's called discipline.