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Guest Columns

Jellyfish Rediscovered After Decades

Featured Image Credit: marinespecies.org

The ocean is a vast expanse of water filled with hundreds, maybe thousands, of species that we have yet to discover. As scientist work to discover new species, they are also rediscovering species that have not been seen in decades.

One example is the Rhizaostoma luteum jellyfish that was first discovered in the beginning of the 19th century. In that time period, only 9 animals were found. That lead scientists to believe they were extremely rare. Especially considering that no one could find one specimen for 6 decades.

After a large effort by scientists and citizens alike, the community has come to the conclusion that these animals are actually not really that difficult to find. Apparently, you just have to know how to look. Scientists believe that jellyfish have been misidentified as Rhizostoma octopus  for years. Which means that these jellyfish are much more abundant than we originally thought. Great news for the jellyfish!

In fact, the distribution of this jellyfish is very large. It’s range spreads throughout the Mediterranean Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean. The rediscovery of the species stemmed from a biodiversity study that was collecting large amount of specimens throughout the area. Efforts like that are extremely important to the scientific community as a whole.

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“Male” Octopus Surprises Aquarium

Featured Image Credit: UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant

The University of Georgia recently received a common octopus. The common octopus was extremely social and adapted to his new environment well. Even though “he” was in an aquarium by “himself”, Octavius, enjoyed checking out the animals on the other side of the glass.

One day, Octavius was not out and about. Instead, he was holed up in his little cave. The staff was a little worried about him, so they decided to check on him at the end of the day. Devin Dumont, the curator of the aquarium went to clean out the tank when he noticed thousands of small particles in the water. It was thousands of baby octopuses! Octavius was actually a female!

The babies were everywhere. According to Durmont, panic ensued. The staff scrambled to scoop the babies out of the tank into smaller buckets so that the staff could properly care for them.

Everyone was excited about the babies, but knew what was coming next. After giving birth, octopus typically die within days. The female guards her eggs carefully and refuses to eat. Eventually, they die by starvation.

Although Octavius will soon die, her babies will live. The thousands of babies have been given to several aquariums to be raised in nursery tanks.

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Fisherman Saves Humpback Whale Off the Coast of California

Featured Image Credit: justgiver.wordpress.com

One lucky whale was rescued by a fisherman last month. The incident occurring off the coast of Central California while a crew was fishing for eels. The fisherman, Sam Synstelien, jumped into the rescue the trapped humpback whale.

The whale had a thick rope wrapped around its tail and back. The rope was limiting the whale’s ability to swim correctly. That’s how the fishermen spotted the rope. The whale was swimming in an odd way which warranted a closer look.

Synstelien jumped from the boat into the water and swam towards the whale. Once he was close enough he started cutting the rope away from the whale. Eventually, he was able to completely free the whale from the entanglement.

Everyone involved, including the whale, survived the incident. However, according to officials jumping into the water was unnecessary and may be  dangerous. According to a spokesman, “We’ve had people die trying to get in the water, and just last year, we lost one of our responders. Even though it seems like it’s a very stressful situation, we usually have days, weeks, sometimes even months to find these animals and get this gear off.”

If you see a whale in distress, then please call the local marine mammal hotline.

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Hurricane Michael Affects Oyster Populations

Featured Image: purdue.edu

Oyster farming has become an industry that supports many local fishermen along the Gulf of Mexico. Especially near the northmost parts between Florida and Louisiana. Local fisheries are important to local wildlife. Although the two groups can sometimes be at odds, many fishermen work hard to keep the ocean in their area clean because they realize that cleaner waters lead to healthier fish and oysters.

The rising price of oysters has allowed many local fishermen to continue their work in the community. However, the recent hurricane season has caused some major damage for these fishermen.

Hurricane Michael hit the coast with massive force. The devastation was everywhere, including offshore oyster beds. Unlike fish, oysters are immobile and are not as adapted for such intense conditions. Especially the farmed oysters that are raised in structures off the bottom.

The intense blow comes after a continuous decline of habitat for these oysters. The water wars in many places, but especially the Apalachicola River have led oyster populations to the brink of disaster. Without the freshwater input from rivers, oysters seem to struggle.

Unfortunately, this combination of factors has left oysters, wild and farm-raised alike, in a difficult situation.  Hopefully, researchers and farmers can work together to turn the population decline around. However, it is not looking good for now.

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Can Reduced Ship Speed Help Wildlife Hear Again?

Featured Image Credit: porttechnology.org

Global shipping traffic poses a problem for marine life in multiple ways. The obvious problem is the potential for boat strike deaths that affect many kinds of marine animals, but especially larger whales.

The second problem is the noise created by shipping traffic. That’s right, the underwater effects of that sounds can be deafening to marine life and severely impact their ability to survive. Marine animals typically rely on sounds in multiple ways. They use it to hunt, communicate, and navigate the world around them. However, shipping traffic is drowning out the gentle noises of the ocean.

The noise problem is affecting all marine animals. From small fish to large mammals, everything is being affected.

Matt Pine, a researcher at the University of Victoria, spearheaded a study that focused on reduced ship speed. The hope was that the decrease in speed would also lead to a perceptible decrease in noise.

The decreased speed was more helpful for some animals than others. According to Pine, “Acoustic masking effects are quite dynamic, and slowing down a vessel doesn’t necessarily equal the same benefits for all animals. In this case, the type of vessel was more important with cruise ships reducing their masking effect more if slowed by 10 knots than the container vessels nearer the vessel.”

Hopefully more research into ship adaptations can help to make the ocean a quieter place for the animals that live within it.

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Endangered Sea Turtles Released Back into the Wild

Featured Image Credit: www.fisheries.noaa.gov

Earlier this month, a group of endangered sea turtles were released back into the wild. The eight turtle’s were Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles which are endangered species.

Each of the turtles was initially captured by fishing hooks. Although it was accidental, the hooks caused deep wounds to all of the sea turtles. After a long recovery, each of the turtles was thrilled to enjoy the ocean waters again. The release happened on the Mississippi beach of Pass Christian.

According to the mayor of Pass Christian, Chipper McDermott, “It was a perfect day. It really was, and those turtles looked like they were glad to get out of here too.”

These turtles were lucky. Many times, turtles that are caught by fishermen are not as lucky. The hooks can be difficult to get out when handled by untrained hands. The fishermen that caught these turtles called trained officials. The trained staff at IMMS were able to safely remove the hooks. After that, the staff monitored the progress of the sea turtles as they regained their strength. Within a few months they were able to release the turtles.

Releases like this are extremely important to the endangered turtle population. If you happen to catch a sea turtle while fishing, then please report it to the proper authorities.

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Why Countries Must Work Together to Protect Our Oceans

Featured Image Credit: Jordi Chias

The world is becoming more industrialized every single day. Although many only see the impacts from terrestrial development, the oceans are suffering as well.

The vast wilderness of the ocean is largely impacted by humans on a regular basis. From plastic pollution to overfishing and tourism to shipping traffic, the wildlife in our oceans is being affected on a daily basis.  One problem that the oceans face is that they are largely international territory. That means that countries must work together to protect it or it is left unguarded from human exploitation.

Researchers at the University of Queensland are advocating for international legislation that will protect our oceans. Although many countries have specific laws that protect their own waters, it requires multiple countries to effectively protect the oceans.

According to Professor Watson, “One obvious intervention these nations can prioritise is establishing protected areas in ways that would slow the impacts of industrial activity on the larger landscape or seascape. But we must also stop industrial development to protect indigenous livelihoods, create mechanisms that enable the private sector to protect wilderness, and push the expansion of regional fisheries management organisations.”

It is important to realize that no single country can effectively protect the entirety of the seas. It will require a team effort from multiple countries to protect our awesome ocean from further harm.

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Finetooth Shark Dies on Florida Beach

Featured Image Credit: worldlifeexpectancy.com

A shark recently washed onto a Florida beach with an odd attachment. The shark’s body had a hat attached to its head.

The shark was a finetooth shark, which is a common migrant shark at this time of year. Currently, the species is migrating along the coast from North Carolina to Brazil seeking warmer winter waters. The dead shark was approximately 6 feet long, but the hat was its likely cause of death. That’s right, a small plastic hat is capable of killing a shark.

The death was reported to FWC’s Fish Kills Hotline and St. John’s County staff responded to the scene.

The plastic string was wrapped tightly near the shark’s gills. It was a sad sight to see such an awesome creature just completely defeated by plastic trash.

According to officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “ Although the cause of death is undetermined without a necropsy of the animals, this is another great example of how plastic marine debris is not just a global issue, but a local one as well.”

It is just another marine creature lost to the destruction of human plastic. Everyone can be a part of the solution by cleaning up waterways, using less plastic, and recycling our plastic responsibly. Please make an effort to help marine animals everywhere!

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