Mysterious Sea Monster Plant Fossil Baffles Scientists

A mysterious fossil that has evoked images of a sea monster roaming the shallow waters of prehistoric Cincinnati may not be the remains of such a complex life form, but even so scientists are stumped as to what kind of creature (or sea plant) it was.

The researchers, who presented the finding at a Geological Society of America meeting in Dayton, Ohio, say one thing is sure: The enigmatic "blob" — discovered in elliptical pieces that, when fitted together, extended about 7 feet (2.1 meters) long and 3.5 feet (1 meter) wide — was once alive.

The team of scientists, along with the fossil hunter who discovered the 450-million-year-old specimen, suggest a range of possibilities: a type of huge algae or microbial mat, or even a member of the cnidarian family, which includes jellyfish (though scientists concede the jellyfish idea is highly unlikely).

"It's really got us baffled as to just how it looked when alive," David Meyer of the University of Cincinnati geology department told LiveScience. "My initial thought was an algal mat on the sea bottom, and then it got deformed somehow into these funny shapes and then preserved."

Read on:  http://www.livescience.com/19897-mysterious-sea-monster-fossil-baffles.html

Iceland to resume hunt of endangered Fin whales

Conservationists Urge EU and US Governments to Intervene

April 2012. Conservation and animal welfare groups have expressed concern over news that Iceland's hunt of endangered Fin whales will resume this summer.

The Icelandic newspaper Skessuhorn reported that it had "reliable evidence" Fin whaling will begin again, after being shut down last summer due to the impacts of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Although Kristján Loftsson, director of Hvalur, would not confirm, the paper claimed it had evidence that whaling will begin in June and is likely to last for three months.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) are urging European and US leaders to take strong diplomatic actions to end Iceland's continued and expanding whaling.

2000 tonnes of whale meat exported
Clare Perry, EIA senior campaigner, said: "Iceland has exported almost 2,000 tonnes of whale meat to Japan in recent years. The Icelandic whaling company Hvalur is deliberately growing an export market for an endangered species which is protected by two international agreements to which Iceland is signatory. We are calling on the EU and US to take urgent steps to end this rogue whaling."

Annual quota of 150-170 Fin whales & 216 Minke whales
Iceland has engaged in commercial whaling for years in defiance of the international moratorium agreed to by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. Hvalur has an annual quota of 150-170 endangered Fin whales. Iceland's annual Minke whale hunt is also expected to resume soon, with a quota of 216 animals.

"Iceland's commercial slaughter of Minke whales - like the Fin whale hunts - is cruel and unnecessary," said Vanessa Williams-Grey of WDCS. "Much of the Minke whale meat on sale in Iceland is consumed by tourists, including from the UK, US and Germany, who adopt a ‘when in Rome' attitude on holiday, despite the fact that few Icelanders consume Minke whale meat on a regular basis. Until last autumn, Iceland allowed Minke whale meat to be sold in Keflavik airport's departure area, even though most countries prohibit its import and could prosecute those importing whale meat."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/iceland-fin-whales.html

How Do Tigers Get Their Stripes? Science Not So Certain Now

A decades-old explanation for how tigers get their stripes has come into question as researchers challenge what’s called the morphogen theory. The research does not nix the theory, but science may now have a hypothetical tiger by the tail as they try to figure out this aspect of how Nature works.

The morphogen theory posits that proteins controlling traits are arranged as gradients, with different amounts of proteins activating genes to create specified physical features.

This theory was first put forth in the 1950s by mathematician and World War II code breaker Alan Turing and refined in the 1960s by Lewis Wolpert. It has been used to explain why a tiger has stripes, among other phenomena.

But some biologists have raised questions about the theory, which contends that physical features are necessarily tied to absolute concentrations of proteins within the morphogen gradient.

If a certain critical mass of protein is present, then a given physical feature—for example, cells that make the skin on your forehead—will appear. If less than that critical mass is present, a different structure—say, the skin that makes your eyebrows—will appear, and a boundary will be formed between the two structures.

Alternative views have suggested physical features are not necessarily the result of a specified number of proteins, but, rather, come from more complex interactions between multiple gradients that work against one another.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/19967-tigers-stripes-science.html

Eating shark fin soup makes you stupid

70 - 100 million sharks killed every year - Completely unsustainable
April 2012. Shark fin soup is seen as a luxury and prestigious dish and is often served at weddings and banquets. Although it has no taste, it is desired for its texture - somewhat sinewy apparently. Shark fin soup was much prized by Chinese emperors, but as there were so few of these, it never threatened shark populations until many many more people became able to afford it. 

Unintended consequences - Scallop fishery collapse - Coral reef destruction - Sea grass disappearing
Unfortunately nowadays, many millions of people now eat the soup and consequently, sharks are being killed at a completely unsustainable rate. Whilst some foolish people may think - So what, who needs sharks? The answer is we all do. The almost complete disappearance of large sharks from the Eastern seaboard of the USA has led to a collapse of the once prolific and profitable scallop industry. Why? The absence of large sharks has seen numbers of rays, especially cow-nose rays, increase rapidly, and what do they eat? Scallops. (Now there are so few scallops, indications are that they will turn to clams and oysters.).

Similar effects have been shown to destroy coral reefs (fish that eat coral abound without shark predation) and sea grass beds (Dugong eat a lot more when there are no sharks about), and some key fish stocks are depleted when seal numbers increase. Thus the effects are widespread, and often unforeseen. Canada is often pilloried for killing seals, which they do partly to protect fish stocks - Yet if there were more sharks about this may well not be necessary.

Shark decline unsustainable
At these current rates, many large sharks may become extinct in many of the areas that they used to be found in in a few years' time. The trouble is that if this happens, as can be seen from the current butchery of rhinos and elephants, the price for shark fin will go up and so the few that there are will be even more persecuted.

According to Oceana.org - Scientists estimate that fishing has reduced large predatory fish populations worldwide by 90 percent over the past 50 to 100 years.

Sharks now represent the largest group of threatened marine species on the World Conservation Union's IUCN) Red List of threatened species. Yet only three of the 350 shark species - basking, whale and white - are protected from the pressures of international trade. The remaining species are ignored or seen as low priorities despite their vulnerability to overfishing and their important role in their ecosystems.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/shark-fin-soup.html

Baby Sea Urchins Use Allergy Chemical to Grow Up

Most humans experience some growing pains, but, for a young sea urchin, growing up means turning yourself inside out.

New research explores the key role a familiar substance, histamine, plays in this dramatic metamorphosis from a free swimming larva to the more familiar spiny adult that lives on the seafloor.

Well known to allergy sufferers for its association with sneezing, watery eyes and other symptoms, histamine prepares a sea urchin larva to transform into a radically different adult form within an hour, said study researcher Andreas Heyland, an assistant professor at the University of Guelph in Canada.

"They turn essentially inside out, like a sock," Heyland said.

Sea-urchin larvae swim freely in the ocean, living among other tiny organisms known as plankton, and as they mature they drift deeper into the sea. Before they can settle down on the seafloor, where they will spend the rest of their lives, the larvae must be able to pick up on environmental cues that tell them they are in the right spot.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/19937-sea-urchin-histamine-metamorphosis.html