Confused Turtles

Like a baby duck that will follow the first moving object it sees, baby turtles will head towards the first lights they see. This is most often the light reflecting from the ocean. This instinct is supposed to lead them to the ocean, and it is believed to set their magnetic compass to aid them in their return home. If the turtle’s first sight of light is of city lights, however, they will make their way towards those instead. Even when turned to face the ocean, supposedly the turtles will remain disoriented. This is yet another unfortunate reality of human activity disturbing nature.

Bluefin Tuna

Bluefin Tuna have the ability to live in extremely different climates; they are able to dot his thanks to their fatty bellies. Unfortunately for this species of tuna, however, their fatty bellies are the reason why they are now a threatened species. Sushi makers and eaters around the world love the buttery, bluefin tuna belly. In the Mediterranean alone it was estimated that 50 thousand tons of tuna – which is 50% of the global market - was caught in just one year! No wonder there people were shocked to hear that the Federal Government decided not to put Bluefin on the endangered species list. (More can be read about their reasoning here.) The tuna are being so over fished now that the prices have fallen, which will only lead to profit hungry fisherman violating quotas.

Prehistoric Shark Follow-Up

After only three weeks of discovering the deep water, prehistoric, frill shark in Japan; another creature from the deep, the goblin shark, turned up off the coast of Japan. The researchers needed to get their hands on this guy too, and wouldn’t you know he died in his new, unfamiliar home after only a few days! It is explained in the video that the goblin shark may have died due to such a drastic change in water pressure when it was “pulled up” from around 1200 meters to only 160 meters; and/ or due to the stress of an alien environment in the marine park. Perhaps if another shark or creature from the deep decides to show it’s self in shallower waters, researchers will not take it from its home but find some other way to gather information without aiding in its death.

Hagfish

I was intrigued to learn of the Hagfish’s defense mechanism in today’s class. I’ve heard of squid spraying ink, sea cucumbers releasing their insides, and deep sea creatures that live in what is called the “twilight zone” discharging bioluminescent chemicals to distract and confuse predators, all of which amazed me. It was something about the slime, however, that tempted me to check out some interesting videos of hagfish. This one was the slimiest!



I also found it quite interesting that hagfish, which are mainly scavengers, have the ability to latch onto slow moving fish with their round suction mouths that contain many pointed teeth, and eat their way into the victims’ body leaving only skin and skeleton.

Prehistoric Shark

I thought the bi-cuspid tooth we saw today in class was pretty amazing until I saw the tri-cuspid tooth of this prehistoric frilled shark! It's species name, anguineus, means "eel-like", referring to the long, slender, eel-like body which appears to be highly flexible in this video. The frilled shark was thought to be extinct until just this year when the shark in this video was discovered off the coast of Japan in January! Apparently the researchers were so excited they decided that even though the shark was in rough shape when they found it, it would be ok to put it through the stress of trying to move it to a research lab. Surprise, surprise it died hours after arriving. At what price is the research worth it? Kind of reminds me of the man who dedicated his life to giant squid and then killed the first baby he caught. What a sin.

Jellyfish Stings/ Remedies

I was interested in some jellyfish sting remedies after discussing Jellyfish in class the other day. We’ve all heard of urine being a cure for the pain (also, unfortunately, the most readily available) but according to all the websites I checked out, urine is not on the list for soothing the pain. In fact, many sources reported that urine can create more pain by causing tentacles or nematocysts that have not been activated, to release their stinging toxin. Rubbing the wound, pouring ammonia and/or freshwater on the wound can also cause the same reaction. Alcohol was on the fence, recommended by some and discouraged by others, which leads me to believe that it must work for some.
White vinegar and saltwater were the most commonly recommended treatment, along with removing the tentacles with tweezers or protective gloves, then shaving the wound using shaving cream, mud, or baking soda paste to stop the release of venom while shaving. Meat tenderizer was my favorite suggestion for a sting remedy… how do people come up with these things?!!? It was surprising how many websites actually recommended this treatment. One website did discuss the fact that a scientific study has never been done to disprove meat tenderizer as a cure for jellyfish stings but that it has in fact been tested in labs on rats stung by bees and bitten by ants. They found no difference in welt size.
I can’t remember the last time I was stung by a jellyfish but I think I’ll stick with vinegar from the fish and chips stand!

Anisakiasis

In Japan anisakiasis is a recognized public health problem due to the substantial amount of raw and under cooked fish eaten in the Japanese culture. A lot of the time anisakiasis is misdiagnosed as appendicitis, peptic ulcer, or stomach cancer. It can be avoided by freezing the fish before letting it thaw and eating it raw or by simply cooking it. Many sushi restaurants perform a “safety” act called “candling” to eliminate any herring worms/ larvae before serving up the raw fish, but according to the Centre for Disease Control this is totally useless (“the efficacy of this method is on par with rain dancing”).
The whole cycle of an anisakias’s life is quite disturbing, especially when it is ingested by humans and makes its way to the intestine where it can take up permanent residence. This video clip shows the only way to get rid of the worm once it has made its way to the intestine. Amazing that we have the technology to find and extract this little guy and thank goodness, how terrible would it be to have a WORM living in you! Gross!