Jawed fish evolution explained by fossil

Scientists in China have discovered a new fossil which could help explain the evolutionary process of jawed fish. The fish, a new spoecies named Guiyu oneiros, is believed to be a distant relative of the lobe-fin fish group and is about 419 million years old. Scientists believe that this new discovery may be able to explain a little of the jawed fishes history.


More will be updated soon.

Dead man ordered to fish shop!

A fish shop in Pennsylvania got a shock after they ordered a box of marine and freshwater. The shop owner opened the package to discover a corpse instead. The owner saisd this wasnt the first time mistakes had been made, though never quite as alarming. When the mistake was rectified and the three boxes of fish delivered however they all sadly died.

Decline of reef fish in the Caribbean

Scientists are warning that reef fuish numbers in the caribbean are in decline. They have been researching over 300 coral reefs across the caribbean and noted a loss at a rate of 2% - 6% per year, of many species of fish. The main concern however, lies with herbivorous fish, as they mean the prevention of too much algae which can destroy the coral reefs.

Reefs, like many other habitats, are a delicate and well balanced system. If one species of fish declines it can mean detrimental effects. With many fish already in steady decline, scientists are unsure of what it may mean. The research suggests that the decline is happening due to varying causes affecting the reefs. As the fish species in decline range from small to large in size, the cause cannot be over-fishing alone.

Michelle Paddock who was leading the study, said changes must be made; "On a personal level, this may mean not buying wild-caught aquarium fish and corals, not eating reef fish species that are declining, taking care not to anchor on reefs, and reducing our carbon emissions to help control climate change. But importantly, we need to let lawmakers and resource managers know that we care about these ecosystems and we need to push for changes in how they are managed."

Whale shark fisherman facing fine

Fishermen who caught the endanged Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) may be facing a fine. The four fishermen who caught the fish on New Years Day may be facing the fine as they did notreturn the shark to the water, and instead brought it ashore. The huge two tonne fish was estimated to have been caught in the trawling net around 3am and was bought to shore when the men came inland around 5.30am. Director Mohd Najib Ramli of the Penang Fisheries Department said that fishermen should be prepared for such catches, and be ready to safely get the animal back into the water, as quickly as possible before any damage is caused.

The shark was handed in and buried at the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) at 2.30pm on 4th Januray.

Seawater crops could mean end to worlds food problems...

Scientists are now suggesting that growing crops in seawater could be an end to the worlds food shortage. Freshwater makes up only 1% of the Earths water coverage and shortages mean there is not enough to keep crops as moist as needed. It is thought that the world is becoming more saline and therefore, like in years gone by, we must adapt in order to change along with it. Scientists are suggesting that we make use of barren saltwater areas and start growing more crops. It is suggested that around the mouths of rivers would be best as this is where freshwater and saltwater mix, and brackish plants would be ideal. Plants like sea kale and asparagus-like samphire grow along the coastline and are fine for consumtion. Samphire itself is actually very complimentary of seafood.

The suggestions come almost 30 years after genetic modification began on wheat and rice to try and make it more tolerant of salt. So far these experiments have proved futile as scientists now believe that technology is not advanced enough yet to achieve such a complex modification.

Saltwater plants are also in the limelight this week as scientists suggest that those which row naturally may be useful as biofuels, it has been suggested that alone these plants could provide more than 35% of Americas biofuels. One species of samphire, a subtropical desert coast plant, especially is being looked into as its seeds produce more oil that sunflowers and soya beans put together.

The suggestion was made by biologist Robert Glenn, University of Arizona. Glenn believes that halophytes, slatwater plants, could be suitable for the production of biofuels, especially as they are unusable in the food industry. This would open up nearly half a millions square mils for cultivation of biofuels.

If it is possible to beign using these sorts of plants for biofuels, it is important that sustainibility is implemented from day one so that these sorts of materials are managed and not used in the same fashion as many amenities before.

BDMLR Release

Today I received an email from Trevor at the BDMLR with regards to rescue operations taking place in the UK. It talks about cetaceans suffering due to inexperience and resulting in euthanasia. It reads as follows:

''In light of the serious strandings related pathology found in Northern Bottlenose Whales attended by BDMLR over the last two years, including severe muscle damage and subsequent kidney failure, it has been very apparent that these animals become severely compromised and deteriorate rapidly after stranding and subsequently their prognosis is very poor. After extensive discussions within the Marine Animal Rescue Coalition, agreement was reached that the most appropriate course of action in the vast majority of cases was euthanasia.

The coalition concluded that it would be helpful to give clear and consistent guidelines in order to assist vets who may be on the beach making the final decisions and who may not have extensive experience of cetacean strandings. The following amendment to the large whale triage therefore was agreed for beaked and sperm whales (triage for baleen whales unaltered):

On the basis of available information, the presumption is that stranded beaked and sperm whales will be euthanased. However, this will be judged on a case by case basis because there may be exceptional circumstances[1] where the situation merits a refloat attempt. This policy will be reviewed on a regular basis.

[1] i.e. possibility of a successful refloat close to deep water habitat within a very short period of time (<1>

For more information, donating and training courses with BDMLR, please visit:

www.bdmlr.org.uk/

UKDMOS

UKDMOS, or the United Kingdom Directory of Marine Observing Systems, is a program that has been set up in order to create a database of when, where and what is currently being monitored in the marine environment across the UK.

The project means building upon an already existing database, the European Directory of Ocean Observing Systems, and aims to inform policy makers and organisations of their responsibilities regarding monitoring, identify where and how resources may be put to better use and analyse whether data from the UK will be sufficient to provide decent assessments of the marine environment at national and international levels.

The database can be used to search current projects going on worldwide, and gain more information about their status.

Some useful links:

http://www.ukdmos.org/welcome.asp

http://www.oceannet.org/

http://www.defra.gov.uk