Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
“WhaleTimes created Hagfish Day last year to ‘celebrate the beauty of ugly.’ Hagfish are the perfect example. These deep-sea scavengers ooze slime — buckets of slime. They also play an important role in their ecosystem.”
What other creatures do you think should be recognized on Hagfish Day?
http://www.whaletimes.org/HagfishDay.htm
According to Jason Peters from Filmmakers for Conservation, “The film Timeless Traveler – The Horseshoe Crab is a film about what some consider to be the world’s most spectacular scientific breakthrough that could rewrite the pages of medical history. It is an appeal for the conservation of a unique species and aims to achieve a widespread public awareness and appreciation of Horseshoe Crabs throughout India and the world.”
I think there might be another great bookmark to add to your ocean facts files! Please spend some time reviewing this great new resource, a marine life encyclopedia, compiled by Oceana. Over 500 creatures, places, and concepts can be explored. The pictures are bright and colorful and the information is up-to-date and easy to digest. It seems fantastic if you want a quick answer to a question.
Even if you think you know all the answers, test yourself with this Ocean IQ quiz!
The content on the marine life encyclopedia site has been licensed to Dorling Kindersley, one of the world’s leading educational publishers.
Watch this clip from “The Other Guys” (2010) as Will Ferrell’s character schools Mark Wahlberg’s character on what would happen if a lion were to attack a tuna. Enjoy!
Until I saw the sea
I did not know
that wind
could wrinkle water so
I never knew
that sun
could splinter a whole sea of blue
nor
did I know before,
a sea breathes in and out
upon a shore
by Lilian Moore
Oceana teamed up with artist Don Foley to produce this infographic illustrating how our delicious seafood gets from hook to the icy fish case in our local food store. Shockingly, Oceana states that “Eighty-four percent of seafood eaten in the U.S. is imported, and it follows an increasingly complex path from a fishing boat to our plates.” Check out more on the nitty gritty 5-step process here.
It certainly is an eye opener and a wake up call. I once heard Sylvia Earle say that the best way she can think of to save the oceans is to not eat seafood from them. I think I might be getting close to that orthodox and the first step might be to curb the seafood purchases from anywhere not listed as sustainable even if I know the fishery is not in trouble. To help this lifestyle change I use ProjectFishMap.
Project FishMap is an application produced by Monterey Bay Aquarium that asks you to submit information when you find a restaurant or market that advocates sustainable seafood. As the map grows we can see what spots are the gems of the neighborhood. Click here for some more marine science apps for your smartphone.
Image (c) Oceana/Don Foley.
On September 20th, the Barefoot Wines facebook page will be premiering a film directed by Jason Baffa. The movie, One Beach, is focused on inspiring people to tackle the issue of marine debris with creativity and a positive attitude. One Beach is a perfect follow-up to the International Coastal Cleanup event sponsored by Ocean Conservancy (among others) on September 17th.
At 6:30 pm EST on the day of the premiere there will be an introduction to the film by Jason followed by a questions and answers session from the cast.
Check out the trailer for One Beach below!
According to this article from The Royal Society (published November 2010) whales are very prone to the harmful rays of the sun. The scientists discovered whales that spend more time at the surface of the sea had more skin cells exposed and therefore were showing more damage from the ultraviolet radiation.
It was even pointed out that lighter species of blue whales are more sensitive to the sun than darker fin whales or sperm whales.
The authors noted, “We conclude that the thinning ozone layer may pose a risk to the health of whales and other vulnerable wildlife.”
What advantages do horseshoe crabs have with their compound eyes (1000 tiny lens less than 1/10 of an inch in diameter)?
Discovery Education produced this video on how horseshoe crabs see as a part of the Science Investigation series. Watch to see how Dr. Robert Barlow from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute uses a CrabCam to get a glimpse into what Limulus polyphemus detects underwater and why it’s a useful view of the world.
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