Extinction of the Masses... Again?

Uh oh... Scientist have recently discovered an alarming piece of evidence that suggest that prehistoric mass extinctions in the past may be a warning that the same thing could easily happen again. And it is all due to greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases that cause infrared radiation in the lower atmosphere, which in turn causes a strong increase in temperature on earth (a WHOPPING 60 degrees Fahrenheit!). Global warming is caused by these dangerous temperature spikes. There are now so-called "greenhouse oceans" which have lower oxygen levels and higher carbon dioxide levels than they ever had before, and it's all because of greenhouse gases. 

What does that have to do with mass extinction? As a matter of fact, a new development in core sample studies have shown that greenhouse oceans had (theoretically) a great impact on many prehistoric environments. Geologists off the coast of western africa studied layers of sediment from the late Cretaceous Period across a 400,000 year timespan. What they discovered is very alarming, considering the predicament we find ourselves in at the moment. They found a very large amount of marine life remains in the sediment. they were all buried within a layer of dangerously deoxygenated layers of the sediment. 

The even scarier thing is that there are already many "dead zones" in the oceans, which are areas of water which have been deprived of oxygen and loaded with CO2, rising temperatures, and runoff from agriculture. This is a sign that the oxygen levels on earth are depleting. But it's not over! As you may know, the ocean is a very sensitive environment. Even the tiniest variation in temperature or vital gas levels can throw an entire ecosystem off-kilter. So when the oxygen decreases, millions of marine organisms die, and millions more are forced to new ecosystems. 

On the brighter side, though, these periods of oxygen depravity (called hypoxic phases) seem to be temporary, and the oxygen levels improve. But this doesn't mean that these phases cannot be prevented, or at least made to happen less often. The only way to do that would be to treat the earth differently, and try to stop the advance of global warming.

original article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110517105812.htm

Adopt-A-Shark...???

Sharks are, without any doubts or second thoughts, my favorite of all animals. No, not the man-eating sharks you see in false media depictions, like in "Jaws" or "Deep Blue Sea". I'm talking about the group of animals, belonging to the superorder Selachimorpha, who are, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful groups of animals on earth. Sharks are a very important part of any marine ecosystem, in ways that most people would think of as negative impact. Sharks are up at the top of the food chain in most of the oceans, which means that they have very few or, in most cases, no natural predators. As a result, they are the ones who eat the most, but they are naturally not as abundant as the animals who are a bit lower on the food chain. The only problem with humans is that for thousands of years, the common person has looked at sharks as "sea devils", and other names which suggest that sharks are evil. Sharks are NOT evil! They don't even like the taste of humans! My point is that sharks are not the ones to look out for, it's the people killing them out of fear of the unknown. We should be protecting sharks, if anything! This leads me to tell you about a program I recently stumbled upon while browsing MarineBio.org 

You may have heard of "Adopt-a-road" programs in your city, or seen those commercials that plead for you to donate a small amount of money every month to feed children in some remote place on earth, but I bet you haven't heard about the new program recently started in Miami, Florida, in order to help the conservation of the native shark species in that area. This article  is all about the program. Don't get all excited, there! No, you cannot actually adopt a shark to have as your pet. But what you can do is donate a sum of $2000.00 for a satellite tracking device to be attached to a shark off the Florida coast. So why should you donate your hard-earned money to this research program? Because first of all, sharks are one of the most important parts of the SW U.S. ecosystem. In fact, they are the most important in most ecosystems on earth. You may not know this, but the animals at the top of the food chain are just as important as plants, if not more so. Nevertheless, they are still the group of species in an ecosystem with the smallest population. This leads to the second reason to donate, which is that the research that will no doubt come out of this program could lead to new conservation measures, such as keeping zones of the coastal waters that have a high concentration of sharks off-limits to fishers. This would help to keep the native sharks abundant in the coastal waters, so they can continue to play their role in nature. Check out this article and decide for yourself how much you care about these amazing animals!


Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/05/18/2019489/floridas-adopt-a-shark-program.html#ixzz1MpCPyRtV

Thanks for reading!

AOTW #4: Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Flamboyant -

–adjective

1. strikingly bold or brilliant; showy: flamboyant colors.

2. conspicuously dashing and colorful: the flamboyant idol ofinternational society.

3. florid; ornate; elaborately styled: flamboyant speeches.


A fitting name for this appealing cephalopod, the word flamboyant means literally "flaming" in French. Take a look at the animal which has surely earned its name: Pfeffer's Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) 
This colorful animal is a species of cuttlefish, which belong to the order Sepiida, within the Cephalopoda class. Other than its surprising and flamboyant (hence its name) coloration and skin protrusions, M. pfefferi is not so different than other cuttlefishes.

Cuttlefishes, including M. pfefferi, are a group of reef-dwelling cephalopods which are very well distributed around the world. M. pfefferi in specific is native to the coasts of Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The main characteristic which sets cuttlefishes apart from most cephalopods (octopi, squid, nautilus) is that they swim head-first, instead of abdomen first.

Another interesting fact about the cuttlefish is that it has something called a cuttlebone in its abdomen, which looks similar to a mango seed if you cut all the fruit off. This organ is used as a sort of flotation device, and can be filled with air or fluids when it wants to either float up or descend deeper into the water. You might remember a similar buoyancy system in my first AOTW, the nautilus. The cuttlebone is often placed in bird cages for something to chew and stand on so that the birds' beaks and talons don't get too long or sharp.

Like most cuttlefish, M. pfefferi feeds on small crustaceans (i.e. shrimp, small crabs) and fish. They capture their prey using their 8 arms and 2 longer tentacles (which have suction cup-type organs typical of cephalopods).

Thank you for reading!

Send-A-Pyrate-To-Camp 2012 Fund

As you might know, I spent my last school year enrolled in a virtual academy.  this experience has turned my life 180 degrees around and I began to think "What's going to happen after high school?", and "Where do I want to end up?"  After some thinking and research, and with my mom's help, I decided on what I want to do.  I want to earn a PhD in Marine Science.
There are a few things that could help me get into college, and also give me more experience with my passion for science.  Next summer, there will be 2 summer camp programs at UC Berkley and Brown University which are geared towards science and ecology.
I really badly want to go to these summer camps because I believe that I can learn a lot from the two experiences not just in marine biology but also leadership and character development (my mom says "not that he's not already a character").

Each of these programs is quite expensive and I have to come up with about $10,000 by February of 2012.  That is a lot of money but I came up with an idea.  What if everybody I know pitched in a small amount?  I calculated that if I could get 50 people to donate $200 (or $20 every month until February), I could pay for airfare and tuition without sending my mom to her grave early.  I will be saving $20 each month from my own allowance as well.
What I need from you is any amount of help you can offer.  So, you can go to my fundraising website here to read more about the summer programs I'm applying for next year and then donate any amount you wish.

In return,  I will do my very best to make you proud, and I offer my thanks  with a monthly newsletter written personally by me, that will include a summary of my school progress, stories about the volunteer work I may be doing at the Long Beach Marine Institute and the Cabrillo Aquarium, and links to my latest blog posts here on Salumaximus.  Best of all, you will receive an exclusive invitation to a donor appreciation/bon voyage party in May 2012, hosted by my mom.  Thank you in advance for your participation and consideration.