Sea Notes

Monday's Inspirational Photo: Sea dragons

We know that some people are mourning yesterday's closure of the Aquarium's temporary exhibit, Jellies: Living Art. But as of today, work starts on preparing the space for a brand new experience featuring everyone's favorite - seahorses -- scheduled to open Spring 2009.

Leafy sea dragons, like the one shown above, are just one of the species to be showcased in the upcoming special exhibition The Secret Lives of Seahorses. There will be a number of species never displayed before at the Aquarium, including some very curious seahorse relatives. I'd love to tell you more, but for now, it's a secret!

Monday's Inspirational Photo

This stunning image by Deborah D. Lattimore was a runner up in our recent World Ocean Day photo contest. What better way to start your week?

Thanks to all the members of our Ocean Action Team, and readers of our Sea Notes e-newsletter who sent in their entries.   

Monday's Inspirational Photo: Hawksbill

For the second year, Monterey Bay Aquarium invited folks to celebrate World Ocean Day by submitting their best, most beautiful and most inspirational ocean photos to our annual Ocean Action Team photo contest.

We received more than 200 incredible entries and had a hard time selecting just three to recognize. Our 2008 winner is Becky Kelly, for her photo, "Hawksbill in Cozumel, Mexico 2008".

Hawksbills, like most sea turtles, are critically endangered and are on the IUCN red list as a protected species. The beauty that Becky captured in her photograph documents just one reason why our world is richer for their continued existence.

Congratulations to Becky and all the other entrants. Please: keep enjoying the ocean, and taking great photos. We'll be seeking new submissions for the contest in 2009.

Monday's Photo: Narwhals

They're called the unicorns of the sea. Narwhals are Arctic dwellers, related to belugas and unique because the left tooth of male narwhals grows into a twisted tusk.

Now, researchers tell us, they may become the poster child for endangered Arctic wildlife.

The March 2008 issue of the journal Ecological Applications is devoted entirely to the topic of "Arctic Marine Mammals and Climate Change." Narwhals are considered the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on northern ecosystems.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Stanford University biologist Terry Root (who wasn't part of the study) said the analysis published in the journal reinforces her concern that the narwhal "is going to be one of the first to go extinct" from climate change despite a relatively healthy population today.

"There could a bazillion of them, but if the habitat or the things that they need are not going to be around, they're not going to make it," Root told AP science writer Seth Borenstein.

While polar bears can adapt somewhat to the changing Arctic climate, narwhals can't, Root said.

The journal, published by the Ecological Society of America, evaluated the status of 11 Arctic marine mammals. In addition to narwhals, other species at greatest risk include polar bears, hooded seals, bowhead whales and walruses.

There's a lot we can do -- individually and as a society -- to tackle the growing volume of carbon dioxide we're putting into the atmosphere. It's the challenge of our lifetime, and well worth the effort -- for the narwhals and ourselves.

Monday's Photo: Fire and Water

When I was a kid, I loved playing with burning candles -- teasing a stream of molten wax from the pool below the flame, then watching as the streams flowed down the taper before they cooled and hardened.

Fourth of July was another time for sanctioned play with fire. The best were the volcanic eruptions of colored sparks from cones and Roman candles.

Nature can conjure up her own spectaculars, as in this image captured by the folks at Volcano Discovery, who lead tours to volcanic regions around the world. They record the photo as documenting lava floating on the waves on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The shows don't stop at the surface.

Our colleagues at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute organized their own expedition to Hawaii in 2001 -- not to observe eruptions on land but their effects in the deep sea.

They were interested in submarine volcanic processes, and did considerable geologic work during the three-month cruise. But they also studied marine life they found in deep water off Hawaii, including amazing animals like this tripod fish.

It's not a species new to science, as are many others seen by MBARI researchers. But it's remarkable nonetheless, because people now have the technology -- and the curiosity -- to seek out life in the remote regions of our own ocean planet.

I say remote, but deep sea animals like the tripod fish aren't immune to our activities up on the surface.

There's drama and beauty in the interplay of fire and water when lava cascades into the sea. But our own survival may be more closely bound to what we're learning about the life-forms with whom we share this fragile world.

Generation X-traordinary

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we're always looking for ways to inspire the next generation of Ocean Stewards. But often, it is they who are inspiring us! Take Ayla Besemer, age 10 of Colorado, one of our 2007 Official Explorers. Ayla has been visiting the aquarium since the age of 6 and had always had a love for the ocean, even though it wasn't in her backyard. Since becoming an ambassador last year for the aquarium and for its conservation mission, Ayla has worked tirelessly to tell everyone, especially her fellow class mates, about the issues she's been learning about and spreading the word about what we can all do to help. Here's an excerpt from her final journal entry for the year (You can read more about her year, and that of her fellow explorers on our website).

WOW! What an AMAZING year! I have had so much fun, and learned a lot too!  From live radio shows, to helping with the Aquarium's albatross; from working behind the scenes prepping the sea otter's training toys, to cooking sustainable seafood with Chef Dory; from Underwater Explorers to Science Under Sail; the list of adventures goes on and on.  I have had a majorly (is that really a word?) FANTASTIC year.

But more important than all the fun things I did, I also learned tons about our oceans. For instance, did you know there is a garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean mostly comprised of plastic! Guess how big it is? Some estimates put it at twice the size of Texas! That is huge! I also learned that kitty poop flushed down toilets, or carried away in storm drains, can hurt the otters off the coast of California . And, if we keep fishing at our current rate, some scientists believe our oceans will be fished out by the year 2048! That's only 40 years from now.

As the year is wrapping up, I have started working on a very special project with one of the new Official Explorers, Simon Willig. This project is called Save Our Seas. It is a PowerPoint presentation about our oceans; the danger they are in; and how kids like you can help! We are still working on it, but soon we hope kids everywhere will be presenting it to their schools and kids they know!

I want to thank everyone at the Aquarium for this INCREDIBLY fantastic year.  Who knew when I set foot into the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time at 6 years old, it would become such a big part of my life! I learned this year that each and every person who works at the Aquarium has a deep love of the ocean. They are dedicated to sharing all they know with kids, so we can work side by side to help them protect and save our mysterious, beautiful, and magical oceans.

Monday's Photo: Kiribati Coral

What better way to start the week that with a celebration of a great victory: the establishment of the world's largest marine reserve by the Pacific island nation of Kiribati.

The new Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers almost 160,000 square miles near the equator between the Hawaiian Islands and Fiji.

Our colleagues at the New England Aquarium, along with Conservation International, are helping Kiribati develop management and funding plans for the reserve.

The waters and islands in the protected area are home to more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish, some new to science.  The area also has some of the most important sea bird nesting sites in the Pacific, large fish populations and sea turtles, the aquarium and Conservation International say.

"The new boundary includes extensive seamount and deep-sea habitat, tuna spawning grounds and as yet unsurveyed submerged reef systems," Greg Stone, the New England Aquarium's vice-president of global marine programs, told the Reuters news agency.

If you want to see more, National Geographic has a great website devoted to the Phoenix Islands, with photos like this one, and other resources.

It's a wonderful day when any new protected area is created, especially one larger than either the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument (largest in U.S. waters) or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia.

Monday's Photo: Seahorses

So many sea creatures excite the imagination, but few generate such a sense of delight as seahorses. The 34 known species vary from each other in many ways, and share many traits in common. They're fishes, (though they don't look like it), they're found in ocean waters around the world, they form faithful pairs -- and the dads get pregnant!

For all their charm, they also face threats -- chiefly because they're fished heavily to supply the market for traditional Asian medicines. Nearly 95 percent of all seahorses taken from the wild are sold as medicine. That adds up to 60 tons a year -- more than 20 million seahorses.

Fortunately, seahorses have some effective friends, notably the folks at Project Seahorse. They work around the world to conserve seahorses and their habitats while respecting people. By partnering with subsistence fishermen who catch seahorses for a living, they're creating fishing preserves and developing alternative ways for the fishing communities to make a living.

Part of Project Seahorse's work includes a photo contest, in which the image above of pygmy seahorses by Samuel Taylor was the grand prize winner and the smaller photo of a potbelly seahorse by Melissa Rushby was the second prize winner. Images like these help inspire a love for seahorses, and build support for the work of Project Seahorse.

If you're a seahorse fan, check out their site and support their work. You can also see seahorses in person at an aquarium near you (including Monterey Bay Aquarium when we re-open our Splash Zone family exhibit galleries on March 17).

What has 8 arms and a potato head?

Answer: the giant pacific octopus at an aquarium in the U.K, who is making news across the pond this month due to his fascination with a new toy -- Mr. Potato Head, a Christmas gift which he now refuses to be parted from!

Many aquariums like to use puzzles and toys to enrich the lives of the more intellectual critters in their care. Octopus are known for their intelligence and willingness to be stimulated and engaged. At the Monterey Bay Aquarium we often use puzzles filled with food for our octopuses.

Question: Octopuses or octopi? If you are talking about more than one octopus of the same species, then it's octopuses. But different species - i.e. giant pacific and a two-spot, then it's octopi. Who knows how this kind of thing gets decided?

Click here to see a video of an octopus at the Baltimore Aquarium working with a number of objects, including Mr. Potato Head. Obviously a popular gift item this year!

Monday's Photo - Otterly Delightful

Today's photo is one of our African spotted-neck otters, on exhibit in Wild About Otters. We recently invited you to help name our newest pup, and the results are in. By an overwhelming majority the voters selected "Shani," (SHAH-NEE) which means "curiosity" or "adventure. A very apt name for this feisty young pup!

Photo courtesy of Charlene S-J, as posted on the Monterey Bay Aquarium photo pool on Flickr. Upload your photos and perhaps see your image featured on our blog!