- Box jellyfish
Like other jellyfish, the box jellyfish have neither a head nor a central brain; but unlike other jellyfish, they have well-developed eyes and display visually guided behavior. Recent findings on their optics indicate that they are at an early phase of eye evolution, where excellent visual performance does not have the same meaning as it does in other animals.
- Ocean birth through rifting and rupture
The formation of a new ocean basin begins with the rupture of a more than 100-km-thick (60-mi) continental plate, but only after millions of years of heating and stretching. The deep, fault-bounded valleys above the zones of stretching and heating are called continental rift zones. Fortunately for Earth's inhabitants, the rate of geological processes is extremely slow, and the rupture occurs in episodes separated by hundreds of years.
- Giant squid
The giant squid, Architeuthis, is renowned as the largest invertebrate in the world. The largest squid so far recorded, which measured 55 ft (16.8 m) in total length (from tip of the fins to tip of the longest tentacle), was found stranded on a Newfoundland seashore in 1878. Considerable effort to view this elusive creature in its deep-sea habitat has been expended, but until the morning of September 30, 2004, no one had ever reported an observation of a live giant squid in the wild. On that morning, images of a live giant squid in its natural environment were captured by an underwater digital camera and depth recorder system in the deep sea off the Ogasawara Islands in the western North Pacific. This is the first evidence showing the behavior and biological characteristics of a live giant squid in the wild.
- Remote sensing of fish
With the worldwide decline of fish in the oceans, it is important to be able to remotely image and monitor fish populations, as well as accurately estimate their abundances. A better understanding of the behavior and dynamics of fish populations, including their response to environmental and anthropogenic pressures, is essential for effective management of marine fisheries. Recently, an acoustic imaging technique was developed, called ocean acoustic wave-guide remote sensing (OAWRS), for instantaneously imaging and rapidly locating fish and other biomass in the ocean over wide areas spanning the continental shelf. This new technology will influence the way in which fish and other biological organisms in the ocean are surveyed and studied. It will provide a more global approach for studying fish and marine ecosystems, analogous to an optical or radar satellite system for sensing the Earth's surface.
Articles courtesy of Access Science
http://www.AccessScience.com
Copyright McGraw-Hill, all rights reserved.
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