Fried Egg Jellyfish Are Kind Of Adorable – & That’s No Yolk.

This Type of Algae Absorbs More Light for Photosynthesis Than Other Plants

An obscure and ecologically successful group of algae, known as cryptophytes, have evolved pigments that capture light where chlorophyll cannot, Dudycha and colleagues report in a series of recent papers. The extra energy absorption from more wavelengths of light has allowed these algae to thrive in a variety of diverse environments, from oceans to streams to ponds to mud puddles.

#4—Fun Facts for World Whale Day

Whales are the biggest creatures to ever live on the earth. The largest whale, the blue whale, can be over 90 feet long. The sperm whale, on the other hand, may not be the biggest whale, but it has the biggest brain to have ever existed on Earth.

Learn more about how whales grew to such massive sizes here.

Photo: Smithsonian Institution

More on phytoplankton to come soon! Check out my first introductory post if you missed it.

Phytoplankton: An overview of the small, plant-like organisms that make the world go round. 

http://becausephytoplankton.blogspot.com/2017/11/what-are-phytoplankton.html?spref=tw

Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/Aqua/MODIS via Flickr

From Kane Lynch and our stats dept.

As Bering Sea ice melts, Alaskans, scientists and Seattle’s fishing fleet witness changes ‘on a massive scale’

With winter ice largely gone for two years, a food chain is at risk. What lies ahead for a body of water that produces some of the world’s biggest seafood harvests and helps sustain communities ranging from Alaska to Seattle,...

For two years, the Bering Sea has been largely without winter ice, a development scientists modeling the warming impacts of greenhouse-gas pollution from fossil fuels once forecast would not occur until 2050.

This ice provided a giant platform for growing algae at the base of the food chain, and has been a significant contributor to the remarkable productivity of a body of water, stretching from Alaska to northeast Russia, that sustains some of the biggest fisheries on the planet.

It’s the biologists turn

Having recently shared images from the Nikon Small World (see http://bit.ly/2xQdOHd) and the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 awards (see http://bit.ly/2ipNvkn), here are some photos from the Royal Society of Biology’s 2017 Photographer of the Year and Young Photographer of the Year competitions in a week of the year that seems to have all these events announcing their honours more or less simultaneously.

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Phytoplankton

The word phytoplanton comes from the greek words phyto (plant) plankton (made to wander) And what they do for the world is amazing! They are a great example of doing SO much even though they are small. Without them we wouldn’t have enough oxygen. The fish and sea life would all most definately die, which would effect food for humans and land animals. It would effect cultures and peace in general, because without sea life many beliefs and practices would be effected as well. Without them the sea animals wouldn’t be able to “breathe”.  A good way humans can make sure to keep the phytoplankton around is by making sure we don’t litter, or pour harmful chemicals into the ocean that could kill them. A great place to learn more about this is here:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Phytoplankton/

http://save-as.org/GreenNews/News/phytoplankton-the-oceans-vital-force-is-dying-out_1675

http://www.savethesea.org/plankton.html

When wood turns into glitter

Many moons ago, in the area that is now Nevada ancient woodlands were living through events that would result in some stunning pieces that grace museums around the world. Some 14 million years ago in the Miocene, the area was thickly forested rather than displaying the arid environment of today. It was also much closer to sea level, since the area has been extensively uplifted since then, due to tectonic stresses caused by the subduction of the Pacific and Farallon plates under the North American one. The area also saw intense subduction related volcanism (ongoing along the USA’s west coast to this day), which periodically covered the forests in silica rich ash. As groundwater interacted with the magma below, weathering the layers of ash into clays, it dissolved silica, precipitating it when conditions such as temperature and pressure changed, replacing the ash covered trees with opal, sometimes so clearly that every cell is visible. While not really suitable for jewellery use due to its tendency to crack as it dries out (called crazing in the trade), these rare logs from the Virgin Valley of Nevada make for stunning collector’s specimens

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Prionace glauca by migueldesigns It’s no exaggeration to say the blue shark is one of the most beautiful sharks swimming in the earth’s waters today. It stands out with its slim, elongated, torpedo-shaped body and beautiful swimming style. Sadly, this shark species is among the most highly fished sharks around. Humans catch it for its fins, meat, oil, and as a display animal because of its beauty. About 10 million blue sharks are killed by humans every year! As a result, this shark is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Blue sharks have a deep blue back with white underbelly, large eyes, and long pectoral fins. It has a particularly strong and unique sense of smell.

Every once in a while, sanctuary researchers get a treat – like getting to see this tiny baby octopus! 🐙 . 

Each summer, researchers conduct expeditions in our West Coast sanctuaries as part of the ACCESS conservation partnership. Researchers get to see creatures big and small when conducting surveys in places like Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary!