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A plea of the manatee

January 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

In early 2009 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) reported that there was a significant increase in the population of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), a marine mammal. Almost a year later it was reported that there was a record number of deaths of manatees.

Even though the FWCC pointed out that there may have been more manatees reported in the 2009 populations since the count was done after several cold fronts had clustered the manatees together, was there too much confidence in the public after hearing the news that the public didn’t think they had to participate in best practices to save the manatee? Just an idea.

What are those best practices? Follow no wake signs and do not enter prohibited wildlife sanctuaries, do not feed or touch manatees from a boat, and use snorkel gear (it is not as loud and intrusive to the manatees). Call 1-888-404-FWCC if you were to see an injured, dead, tagged or orphaned manatee.

Do you have a question for the Beach Chair Scientist? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com.

Image (c) USGS.

Filed Under: Marine Mammals, People

Mass stranding of whales in Italy

January 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

http://www.istitutotethys.org/gargano/

They suspect a high ingestion rate of plastic bags.

Do you have a question for the Beach Chair Scientist? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com

Filed Under: Marine Mammals

Test your knowledge: Sea stars

December 31, 2009 by 2 Comments
Sea star and sea urchin

Image by B.K. Dewey via Flickr

1. True or False: Sea stars are fish.
2. True or False: Sea stars are closely related to sea cucumbers, sea urchins and brittle stars.
3. True or False: Sea stars have a flexible skeleton.
4. True or False: Sea stars breathe through gills.
5. True or False: Sea stars can regenerate most body parts.

(Answers can be found here.)

Have a question for the Beach Chair Scientist? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Echinoderms, Random Fun!, Test Your Knowledge Tagged With: ,

The story of the hurricane …

September 1, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Bob Dylan explained it once, but I’ll explain the natural phenomenon from another angled. A hurricane develops due to the hot, hot air temperatures of summer moving along the hot, hot ocean. This collision of heat joins forces to form a mass of air and water that starts swirling, blowing, sinking, and rising in a path that you see on the weatherman tracking device.

You probably begin paying attention to the tracking system when a hurricane begins to move close to the shore. A hurricane close to shore will undoubtedly cause massive storm surges. A storm surge is when the ocean may increase its high tides above what it normally may be. It is not uncommon to have a storm surge of 25 feet (about 6 kids standing on top of each others shoulders)!

The wind speed of the hurricane can get up to 150-200 miles per hour! Even once the winds slow down to next-to-nothing, it is important to remember that they are going to start back up again – but, go in the opposite direction. The respite you experienced was the ‘eye’ of the storm. A hurricane is a big doughnut of wind and water constantly cycling around destroying everything in its path. It can be up to 300 miles across.

Image (c) environment.nationalgeographic.com

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Ocean, Weather

No, sharks do not have a sixth sense

August 4, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Sharks really do have a sixth sense.

It is the electrosensory organ that we spoke of with the hammerhead sharks. The electrosensory organ is called the ampullae of Lorenzini. Sounds intimidating, however, it’s really just a jelly filled canal that starts near the nose and helps them find food under the sand and figure out what direction they are going.

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Fish, Ocean, Sharks

When did life begin in the ocean?

July 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Actually, before there was life on land there was life in the ocean. Life in the ocean began about 3.1 to 3.4 billion years ago. Life on land began only 400 million years ago.

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com and let me know!

Filed Under: Ocean Tagged With: , , ,

14 fascinating facts about the blue whale

July 24, 2009 by 6 Comments

Blue Whale

  1. A toddler can fit into a blue whale’s blowhole. The spray can reach up to 30 feet high.
  2. The blue whale’s scientific name is Balaenoptera musculus.
  3. Blue whales live in all oceans of the world.
  4. A blue whale’s tongue weighs more than an elephant.
  5. Blue whales are the loudest animal on Earth reaching up to 188 decibel.
  6. A blue whale’s heart weighs up to 2,000 pounds. Their heart can be the size of a Mini Cooper.
  7. Blue whales are the fastest growing animal or plant on Earth.
  8. Blue whales can be up to 100 feet long. That is about the length of a NBA basketball court.
  9. A medium sized dog can comfortably walk through a blue whale’s arteries.
  10. Blue whales can live up to 90 years in the wild.
  11. Blue whales look blue underwater, but gray above the surface of the water.
  12. Blue whales tend to sleep in the middle of the day.
  13. Blue whales eat krill.
  14. Blue whales can swim up to 30 miles per hour.

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand!

Filed Under: Marine Mammals Tagged With: , , , , ,

What is a barnacle?

May 30, 2009 by 1 Comment

This is the first post I’ve answered directly from my phone (Please excuse the brevity). Barnacles are crustaceans. Other crustaceans include crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are a type of crustacean that are permanently attached to a solid surface. Also, what is obviously missing is the sensory parts, such as eyes and feelers. Up close, you should be able to recognize that barnacles have the same bony plates that you find on crabs and lobster.

Do you have another great question? Email me at info@beachchairscientist.com.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Filed Under: Ocean

What makes up the ‘salt’ in salt water?

April 20, 2009 by Leave a Comment

I am writing this as a very long overdue expansion to a post that I wrote November 25, 2008,  “What happens if I swallow salt water?“. The pertinent information lacking was the composition of the salt in salt water (my sincerest apologies).

The salt in salt water is:

  • 77.6% table salt;
  • 10.88% magnesium chloride;
  • 4.74% epson salts;
  • 3.60% calcium sulfates;
  • 2.47% potassium sulfates;
  • 0.34% lime; and
  • 0.51% trace minerals.

(Did you know that a lot of cities are now using a form of magnesium chloride on roadways instead of rock salt during icy conditions? It is not as toxic to nearby plants and waters.)

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com and share your thoughts!

Filed Under: Ocean

What are the top ocean movies?

March 5, 2009 by 1 Comment

Since, I am feeling rather cold these days and want to warm myself up with some good “beachy” flix so I thought I’d share.

1) The Abyss – Only see the new deluxe version. It is like Armageddon under the sea.
1.5) Jaws I – The book was written by Peter Benchley of N.J. Robert Shaw played my favorite character, Quinn.
2) Point Break – Fun waves. Exciting skydiving. A little dramatic at sometimes, but, just fun.
3) Beaches – It has to go in because of the title. Whatever happened to Blossom?
4) Finding Nemo – Great jokes for adults. Science. Amazing graphics.

Here is Fox News list of the top ten ocean movies.

Do you have a question or comment please email info@beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Random Fun!