Ocean Of Randomness

scinerds: Microscopic Life Captured in a Plankton Net The...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:04:16 -0700

Microscopic Life Captured in a Plankton Net

The photo above shows a sample of water teeming with microscopic life.

The sample was collected in a plankton net suspended into an incoming tide for 20 minutes from a bridge over an inlet near Brunswick, Maine. It was later photographed in a lab at the Southern Maine Community College. Several diatoms (aquatic, photosynthetic plants) can be identified here.

The round, cathedral window like structure is a stepanodiscus and the connected, rectangular tubes are tabellaria. Diatoms are at the bottom of the food chain, meaning that nearly all life depends upon these creatures. They produce as much as 50 percent of the Earth’s oxygen. — Paula Ursoy and John Stetson

Took me awhile to make sure the names were right. Please if...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:56:00 -0800

Took me awhile to make sure the names were right. Please if something is off, tell me..haha. Thanks! Enjoy! From Playa de El Socorrito, Baja California.

Oooo my! Ochre Sea Stars and Bat stars!

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:19:50 -0800

Oooo my! Ochre Sea Stars and Bat stars!

biomedicalephemera: underthevastblueseas: Modern fishing...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:00:51 -0800

biomedicalephemera:

underthevastblueseas:

Modern fishing vessels catch staggering amounts of unwanted fish and other marine life. It’s estimated that anywhere from 8 to 25 percent of the total global catch is discarded, cast overboard either dead or dying. That’s up to 27 million tonnes of fish thrown out each year — the equivalent of 600 fully-laden Titanics. And the victims aren’t just fish. Every year, an estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die entangled in fishing nets, along with thousands of critically-endangered sea turtles.

All modern forms of commercial fishing produce bycatch, but shrimp trawling is by far the most destructive: it is responsible for a third of the world’s bycatch, while producing only 2% of all seafood.

Shrimp (and many deep-sea fish) are caught using a fishing method called bottom trawling, which usually involves dragging a net between two trawl doors weighing several tons each across the ocean bed. This has a destructive impact on seabed communities, particularly on fragile deep water coral – a vital part of the marine ecosystem that scientists are just beginning to understand. The effect of bottom trawling on the seafloor has been compared to forest clear-cutting, and the damage it causes can be seen from space. The UN Secretary General reported in 2006 that 95 percent of damage to seamount ecosystems worldwide is caused by deep sea bottom trawling.

source

Relevant to my post on “Chilean Sea Bass”.

sallysnowglobe: My little whale shark… x Sam - this is one of...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 12:02:47 -0800

sallysnowglobe:

My little whale shark… x

Sam - this is one of my original drawings from back in my first few weeks in Donsol. It was my model Whale Shark (he he)…oh and I’m coming back out at the beginning of January…recently signed my work contract..just need to book a flight!!! :D xxx

Taken with Instagram

Beautiful !

griseus: Compare the size of the whale . credits Smithsonian...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:18:14 -0800

griseus:

Compare the size of the whale .

credits Smithsonian Institution

New blog i'm working on.

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:32:00 -0800

New blog i'm working on. :

I have been raised on this beach most of my life. I am posting up photos I have taken over the years. Check it out! :) Baja California , El Socorrito.

marine-science: This video is about an island in the ocean at...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:53:46 -0800

marine-science:

This video is about an island in the ocean at 2000 km from any other coast line.
Nobody lives here, only birds.. and yet you will not believe your eyes!

This should be seen by the entire world. The consequences of our time.

Marine Pollution is responsible for killing countless species both on land and in the ocean. Collectively we need and can do something about this. Join us in a collective effort help to species like these, as well as prevent a garbage filled future. For the oceans!

The California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher). Love the...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:55:00 -0800

The California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher). Love the photo!

Photo

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:28:55 -0800

Bat Star Patiria miniata Phylum Echinodermata Class...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:04:00 -0800

Bat Star

Patiria miniata

Phylum Echinodermata

Class Stelleroidea

Subclass Asteroidea

According to a website called : http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
“The Bat Star can be found along the Pacific coast from Alaska down to Mexico. They are in the subtidal region to a depth of about 300m. They are numerous in certain kelp forests. (Meinkoth 1981, Ricketts, et al 1985)”

(Photo: Baja California)

rhamphotheca: Shark-eating seal among rare and ridiculously...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:43:30 -0800

rhamphotheca:

Shark-eating seal among rare and ridiculously stunning scenes documented off South Africa

By: Pete Thomas, GrindTV.com

Chris and Monique Fallows have witnessed many extraordinary events while diving off South Africa.

But during two recent expeditions they captured wildly spectacular scenes that may never have been photographed: that of a voracious cape fur seal boldly snacking on large sharks; and dozens of blue sharks gathered around and gorging on an enormous ball of bait fish.

Of the former event, revealing the raw dynamics of the food chain, Chris Fallows said: “There were eight guests aboard our vessel, many of them seasoned wildlife enthusiasts. None had ever seen anything like this as sharks of this size are certainly not usually considered food for seals.

“In more than 2,000 expeditions working with sharks over the last 21 years, this is the only time I have ever seen a seal kill several sharks and I can find no record of such an event happening elsewhere.”

The seal consumed the stomach and livers of the first two sharks, before killing three others…

(via: GrindTV Blog) (photos: Chris and Monique Fallows)

Photo

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:30:00 -0800

Check out this blog, hahah.

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:27:00 -0800

Check out this blog, hahah.

Tonight is a full moon , so today we have a start of a spring...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:55:00 -0800

Tonight is a full moon , so today we have a start of a spring tide. Higher highs, Lower lows. (Posted1 month ago )

“Together, the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun affect the Earth’s tides on a monthly basis. When the sun, moon, and Earth are in alignment (at the time of the new or full moon), the solar tide has an additive effect on the lunar tide, creating extra-high high tides, and very low, low tides — both commonly called spring tides. One week later, when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other, the solar tide partially cancels out the lunar tide and produces moderate tides known as neap tides. During each lunar month, two sets of spring and two sets of neap tides occur (Sumich, J.L., 1996).”

(Brought to you by the NOAA Ocean Service Education)

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/tides/media/supp_tide06a.html

nprradiopictures: Traditionally, water symbolizes life and...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:23:07 -0800

nprradiopictures:

Traditionally, water symbolizes life and renewal, but in Sierra Leone it is also a vehicle for epidemic and death — the focus of photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz’s project “Water Is Gold,” which documents the causes and effects of the country’s recent cholera outbreak.

Last year, Sierra Leone experienced the worst cholera outbreak in its history, Abdulaziz writes for the Pulitzer Center, which funded his trip. There were 20,736 cases of cholera with 280 deaths since the beginning of 2012, he adds.

Abdulaziz spent most of his time in and around Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, which, he writes, was “built to support less than half the current population of 2 million.” The slums are overcrowded, unsanitary and sprawling — the perfect breeding ground for the disease.

Sierra Leone’s Water Of Life — And Death

Photo Credit: Mustafah Abdulaziz

ichthyologist: Marine Catfish Young marine catfish form tightly...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:16:14 -0800

ichthyologist:

Marine Catfish

Young marine catfish form tightly packed schools of 100 or more that move as a single unit. Adults tend to remain solitary or congregate in smaller shoals.

Klaus Stiefel on Flickr

Photo

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:23:50 -0800

Photo

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:26:00 -0800

Intertidal zone. Can anyone identify this species ? (Baja...

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:01:00 -0800

Intertidal zone. Can anyone identify this species ? (Baja California, Mexico).