2006 Census of Marine Life

Limacina helicina (up to 1 cm), a subpolar/polar species of shelled pteropod, found in the Gulf of Alaska.
Image: www.eurekalert.org

Findings from the Census of Marine Life in 2006 have been released. A sampling of the record-breaking discoveries:

Shrimp, mussels, and clams adapted to an environment with brutal temperature changes (2ºC water surrounding sea vents spewing 407ºC fluids, hot enough to melt lead—hottest marine temperature recorded)

A shrimp thought extinct 50 million years ago found in the Coral Sea

Huge new species of microbe, 1 cm in diameter

Twenty million fish swimming together off the New Jersey coast—a school of fish the size of Manhattan Island

—Read more at Eurekalert.org

Prehistoric "Jaws"

The mouth of Dunkleosteus terrelli. The fish is believed to have grown up to 30 feet in length.
Image: BBC

The Royal Society's journal, Biology Letters, reports that the extinct fish Dunkleosteus terrelli had a bite strength of 1,100 pounds. This power surpasses any other known species of fish, including the great white shark. By comparison, T. rex measured some 3,000 pounds of bite strength. Researchers constructed a model of Dunkleosteus terrelli from fossil remains. Because of the structure of the jaw, pressure could be focused onto the fang tip with an impressive intensity of 22,000 pounds per square inch. This fish lived during the Devonian Period, some 415 to 360 million years ago.

--BBC has more information

Collapse of all fish, seafood species within 50 years

A school of fish in Tobago.
Image: www.geodyssey.co.uk

According to a report in the Nov. 3 Science, a current trend points to a 90% decline in the catch of all fish and seafood species by 2048. Currently, 29% of all fish and seafood species have collapsed. This not only impacts a key source of food for human beings, but puts the ocean ecosystem's overall productivity and stability at risk at well. However, this trend is reversible — the researchers found that in 48 areas worldwide protected to improve marine biodiversity, species diversity improved dramatically.

—Read more at Eurekalert.org

Iceland Breaks Ban

Iceland's first commercially-killed whale in twenty years is hosed down.
Image: Associated Press

Last week, Iceland announced that it was going to resume commercial whaling, breaking a 21 year ban set by the International Whaling Commission. Today, the Icelandic vessel Hvalur 9 hauled in a sixty-five foot fin whale. Criticism has increased, especially considering the fin whale is listed as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union. Some believe Iceland's tourism industry is going to suffer from the controversy. Norway and Japan are the only other countries that hunt whales.

--BBC has more information

More on Whales

A humpback whale breaches the surface.

Image: Allen Wolman, NMML

The National Marine Mammal Laboratory, a United States government agency under the Department of Commerce, provides an image library of whales and dolphins for the public. This government site also has materials for further education and resources for marine mammal conservation.

--See the National Marine Mammal Laboratory online

Iceland to Resume Whaling

Whalers pull in a minke whale.
Image: Associated Press

The Icelandic fisheries ministry has announced that the nation will cull nine fin whales and thirty minke whales each year. The ministry defended the decision, saying whales are depleting Iceland's fisheries. Arni Finnson of Inca (Iceland Nature Conservation Association) is "surprised and disappointed" by the first pro-whaling resolution in two decades. Many conservationists believe the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has unnecessarily loosened its regulations.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

Protecting the Shark

The grey nurse shark, known as the sand tiger shark in the USA, is threatened by extinction.

Image: Humane Society International

The grey nurse shark, known as the sand tiger shark in America, is a species under threat. Estimates put their numbers to less than 500 in Australian waters. Environmentalists argue that the species, a top predator, is crucial to the local ecosystem. The grey nurse shark has been protected since 1984, but their numbers are still falling. The decline is blamed on fisherman who mistakenly hook them. Though fierce in appearance, the species is not considered a man-eater.

--BBC.co.uk has more information

Sea "Monster" Found

Artist's depiction of the pliosaur.

Image: BBC.co.uk

Giant reptiles populated the seas at the time of the dinosaurs. Norwegian palaeontologists from the University of Oslo have uncovered fossils of gigantic creatures in the Arctic island chain of Svalbard. The fossils belong to plesiosaur and ichtyosaur skeletons. One speciman, believed to be a 26-foot pliosaur, has been dubbed "the Monster" because of its size. The Monster had teeth as large as bananas. The remains are thought to be from 150 million years before present.

--BBC.co.uk has more information