Unconventional Sources

I love the casual focus on marine biology, which many landlovers follow passionately, over at aquamarines. I’m particularly interested in the article there on a mysterious black swimming thing, filmed in the waters near shore at a sandy beach:

On the YouTube page for the video, one knowledgeable commenter informs the videographer that it’s a “Pacific skirt-fish”. Of course, there’s no mention of the “Pacific skirt-fish” anywhere else, including the Encyclopedia of Life, which nonetheless does have an entry for the Pacific white skate.

The creature in the video looks like a nudibranch to me.

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project reports that the number of whales killed on longlines tossed into the oceans by commercial fishing operations rose 50 percent in 2008. At a time when longline fishing companies have promised to improve their standards, it’s proof, verified by the National Marine Fisheries Service, that they’re actually becoming more destructive.

Hold on – rewind a minute. Why is the Sea Turtle Restoration Project reporting on the number of whales killed by longline fishing?

In a small sense, they’re communicating the information because sea turtles are also frequent victims of longline fishing. Humans are so hungry for seafood that sea turtles are becoming seriously endangered.

In a larger sense, the people at the Sea Turtle Restoration Project recognize that the animals that live in the oceans are interdependent, and that abusive practices that threaten one species are likely to harm others as well. For that matter, human beings will likely be harmed in the end by the consequences of these unwise practices.

We could all benefit from a little more of the perspective demonstrated by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project.

People who are biologically aware in the slightest have heard, since they were children, that although the Arctic and the Antarctic may have similarly cold weather, there are different sets of animals living at each pole, because of the great distance between them. Well, it turns out that’s not exactly true.

The Census of Marine Life reports that there are some species of animals that live not just near the North Pole or at the South Pole, but in both polar regions. These animals aren’t just polar migrators, such as Grey Whales and birds, but invertebrates, such as molluscs, worms and crustaceans. How could these species exist in both environments, but not in between?

Look to the Census of Marine Life project members, such as the Arctic Ocean Diversity team to propose some answers to this mystery soon.