Crash: A Tale of Two Species; The Benefits of Blue Blood - PBS

photo credit PBS

Limulus polyphemus; the horseshoe crab.

I have spent many a summer playing with these guys. I just love them to death, and have my whole life.


From the tiny...


...to the HUGE. Seriously, that thing is half the size of me.

To the stranger, they look a little weird - and perhaps even a bit scary - but these creatures won't hurt you. Can't even if they wanted to. That's not a stinger - it's just a tail, their claws are too weak to pinch you, and they don't have teeth.

On top of being harmless, and arguably adorable, they've also saved your life. Yep, yours.

Horseshoe crab blood is a standard in medical testing. Possessing unique clotting responses, the blood will clot around and effectively seal-off harmful toxic substances introduced to the immune system. The compound is called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate, or LAL.

"Today, LAL has become the worldwide standard screening test for bacterial contamination. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using LAL, as do surgical implants such as pacemakers and prosthetic devices."

LAL has meant the horseshoe crab has been thrown into the pharmaceutical market, and we all know that's big business. A quart of the blood - which is blue, due to a lack of hemoglobin and a presence of hemocyanin - is worth $15,000 and the industry is estimated at $50 million per year.

"Adult horseshoe crabs are collected by trawlers and transported to the LAL lab, where they are washed to remove sand and other marine debris from their exoskeletons. Those crabs without visible injuries are placed on a rack and bled with a large-gauge needle. Up to 30% of the crab’s blood is removed."

While the LAL industry claims that bleeding the crabs causes no long-term injury, recent studies have suggested otherwise. It takes about a week for the crab's blood volume to be restored, and several months to rebuild its blood cell count. There is up to a 15% mortality rate, which means 20,000 - 37,500 crabs die every year. Populations have lax fishing regulations, and it has become a concern among scientists that they may be declining.

Researchers are currently looking into a means of creating the LAL compound without bleeding the crabs.

I like the closing argument of this article:

"Perhaps science can step in and 'give back' to the animal for all of the good it has done us."

I hope so.

Full article here (PBS)

World's Largest, Most Complex Marine Virus Is Major Player in Ocean Ecosystems - Consortium for Ocean Leadership

photo credit Fenchel & D.J. Patterson

Cafeteria roenbergensis.

Can I just say that I love that the genus name is "Cafeteria"?

Anyway.

So what constitutes a "large marine virus"?

730,000 base pairs, that's what.

It doesn't compare to the approximately 3 billion base pairs of the human genome, but for an organism science still isn't sure is "alive" or not yet, it's pretty substantial. In fact, it's the second largest virus genome in the entire known world.

"Much of the genetic machinery we found in this virus you would only expect to find in living, cellular organisms, including many genes required to produce DNA, RNA, proteins and sugars," says Curtis Suttle, UBC professor and an expert in marine microbiology and environmental virology, lead author of the study.

Cool.

Full article here (Consortium for Ocean Leadership)

Bizarre Squidworm Discovered - PhysOrg.com

photo credit L.P. Madin & Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Aww, look at that...face. Is that a face? I don't even know. What IS this thing?

A squidworm.

And it doesn't have a face.

Caught 6,650 - 9,550ft below the ocean's surface, the squidworm is a worm just like any you'd find in your backyard, although perhaps a bit more fantastic-looking. They appear to feed on "marine snow," which is composed of the tiny bits and pieces that rain down from the upper layers of the ocean.

"Fecal material, dead animals, cast off mucus...Not the most appealing sounding food," says Karen Osborn, marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.

Possessing no eyes, the squidworm locates its food by using "frilly" organs on its head to smell the surrounding water for food sources. It swims through the sea using its 25+ pairs of paddles that line its body. It also has up to 10 tentacle-like appendages that seem to be used for either touch or smell.

A bizarre find, indeed.

Full article here (PhysOrg.com)

Young Great Whites don't have the Bite - ABC Science

photo credit Wikimedia Commons

Forgive me if I thought this was completely adorable.

New research out of Australia suggests that although young sharks definitely have the teeth and muscles to chomp down on big meals, their still-developing jaws may be too weak to handle such a bite. This may explain why many shark attacks off the Australian coast are only one bite, after which the shark quickly swims away.

"Most shark attacks are carried out by young sharks that are still testing their environment and aren't yet sure what they can eat.

'The great whites involved are usually juveniles that might sustain jaw injury if they persevered with the attack,' says Co-author of the study, Dr Vic Peddemors of the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre."

Main author, PhD student Toni Ferrara, describes these sharks as "just awkward teenagers."

Well sorry, but that's damn adorable.

Full article here (ABC Science)

Belize Banishes Destructive Trawling - Huffington Post

One of my most favourite places in the world, Belize, is becoming a leader for countries trying to reduce their environmental impact on the seas. As of December 8^th, Belize has placed a complete and permanent ban on trawling, one of the most destructive methods of fishing in the world.

A brief definition of trawling and its impacts:

"Bottom trawling is one of the most destructive fishing methods in existence. Bottom trawlers are equipped with massive, weighted nets that effectively clear-cut the ocean floor, destroying sensitive coral communities and anything else in their path.

Meanwhile, shrimp trawls -- which were operating in Belize until now -- operate in midwater, so they pose a different threat. They catch more untargeted species, or bycatch, than almost any other kind of fishing gear. Thousands of sea turtles, marine mammals and untargeted fish are caught in shrimp trawlers around the world every year."

Belize is home to the second largest coral reef system in the world, - the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef - second only to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. It is a hotspot for divers and snorkelers around the world. (Personally, I'd highly recommend it! I wasn't diving at the time, only snorkeling, but I saw TONS of cool stuff and will definitely go back to dive as soon as I can!)


One of my own from Belize :)

Full article here (Huffington Post)

Senate Passes Kerry Legislation to End Shark Fin Trade - (Kerry.Senate.gov)

For me, 2011 has gotten off to a rough start (refer to Blog News on sidebar), but 2010 wrapped up nicely for sharks.

You may have heard by now…The war against shark finning and shark fin soup has been gaining considerable ground and attention. On December 20^th the US Senate passed legislation led by the wonderfully environmentally-minded John Kerry to ban the trade in shark fins.

'The U.S. Senate has passed legislation by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) to end the brutal practice of shark finning in the United States. The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 strengthens existing regulations and closes enforcement loopholes, making shark fin removal illegal both on land and at sea.

“Shark finning has fueled massive population declines and irreversible disruption of our oceans,” said Sen. Kerry. “Finally we’ve come through with a tough approach to tackle this serious threat to our marine life.”'

The new act will close the loopholes for sharks finned before being landed on a ship and for ships "simply" transporting fins. It will also promote the conservation of sharks internationally.

Good work!

Full article here (Kerry.Senate.gov)

Disaster capitalists: Halliburton to make Money off Oil Spill - The Raw Story

Here's a great question to chew over:

"Does a company that both builds oil rigs and cleans up oil spills have any motivation to prevent oil rig disasters?"

Some say no. When money is to be made either way, "it makes for a very complex decision-making environment that can become problematic," says University of Louisiana professor Robert Gramling.

The recent (as in days before the spill) $240 million purchase of oilfield services company Boots and Coots has some people thinking it was just too much of a coincidence. Could Halliburton have known that something bad was about to happen?

Personally, I'd like to think not...but you make your own decisions:

Full article here (The Raw Story)