Dolphins: Barnacles Pick Strategic Fin Locations

Some types of barnacles strategically choose their location on a dolphin's fin, researchers say. (Photo : Flickr)

If you're a barnacle and are going to spend your still, presumably silent life on the side of a marine creature, you'll choose that location carefully, right? Highly specialized barnacles in the Coronolidae family (often seen in close-up photos of whales) may be able to identify and attach to quick-swimming dolphins' fins, finding areas suited for finding food and developing larvae, says a recent study by the University of Valencia, Spain, and the University of Southern Mississippi.

In other words, these fairly inactive creatures may be choosing wisely when it comes to real estate.

The coronulid barnacle, Xenobalanus globicipitis, attaches only to cetaceans, particularly dolphins from temperate and tropical waters. Generally, little has been known about the factors that drive where they locate.

In this paper, the researchers investigate patterns of microhabitat selection of the coronulid barnacle on the striped dolphin, with data based on occurrence, abundance, distribution, orientation, and size of the barnacles from 242 striped dolphins stranded on the Mediterranean coast of Spain from 1979 to 2009.

Location-wise, barnacles exclusively attach to fins, choosing most often the trailing edge facing away from water flow. Barnacles were larger, and their occurrence, abundance and density were higher, on the tail (caudal) fin than on the flippers and dorsal fin. If barnacles were on the tail fin, they tended to select the dorsal side and central portion.

Barnacles, it turns out, might be chemically sophisticated: They may be able to chemically recognize the dolphin skin and find a location through the "vortex" created by water flowing over and around the dolphin on the fins. The locations they choose might benefit from a better environment for filtering nutrients for food and protecting developing larvae. Because the study's data used stranded, deceased dolphins, understanding how these results apply to the general, active dolphin population still needs further study.

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Sharks: Positive Buoyancy Discovered in Two Types of Sharks off Japan and Hawaii

The sixgill shark and one other type of deep-water shark, the prickly, have been found to be positively buoyant: They find it easier to float upward, and struggle harder to swim downward, than other sharks. (Photo : Google Images)

It turns out that while most sharks are not buoyant, two types of deep-sea sharks, those called six-gill and prickly, have what is called positive buoyancy.

In fact, these two are regular bouncy, floaty balls, compared with other sharks. When the sharks swim downward, they work harder than when swimming up. They float upward more easily. So, on the off chance that you're ever far out at sea, deep-sea diving, and you are below a sixgill shark, you're golden. Or nearly so.

That's at least according to a study recently published in Science Daily, released by scientists at the University of Hawaii - Manoa and the University of Tokyo.

Using an accelerometer to record sharks' swimming performance, including speed, heading, tail beat frequency and body orientation, researchers were able to determine whether sharks were positively, negatively, or neutrally buoyant, according to a press release at Eurekalert.org.

"We didn't expect to find evidence of positive buoyancy, and ran two sets of experiments to confirm our initial observations of this phenomenon. This finding was a total surprise," said Carl Meyer, assistant researcher at UHM's Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and co-author of the study, according to the release.                    

Both types of deep-sea sharks, the bluntnose sixgill, Hexanchus griseus, and the pricky shark, Echinorhinus cookei, showed similar vertical migration patterns during the day and night: They swam at depths of 656-984 feet at night, and deeper than 1,640 feet during the day, according to a release by the two universities, posted at Public Library of Science.

The deep-sea sharks all showed higher swimming efforts during descent than ascent, and were able to glide uphill for periods of several minutes. Scientists are still working on how this bounciness might benefit the sharks. It could be adaptive for stealthy hunting – upward gliding to surprise prey from underneath) or, says the release, it could facilitate upward migrations when sharks' muscle temperatures are cool and they feel sluggish after a long day in cold water. 

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Elephant Poaching Hotspots Identified

(Photo : Pixabay)

Using ivory DNA, scientists have identified two major elephant poaching hotspots, a discovery that may help police trace the origin of an illegal trade that is decimating African elephant populations.

In the journal Science, researchers from the University of Washington (UW) showed that over the past decade, ivory has largely come from just two areas in Africa - one each for the forest and savanna elephants.

"Africa is a huge continent, and poaching is occurring everywhere. When you look at it that way it seems like a daunting task to tackle this problem," lead author and biologist Samual Wasser said in a statement. "But when you look at large ivory seizures, which represent 70 percent of illegal ivory by weight, you get a different picture."

About 50,000 African elephants are now being killed each year from a population of fewer than 500,000 animals. Poaching is driving these iconic animals toward extinction, but knowing where elephants are poached the most could help combat ivory trafficking at its source.

"Understanding that vast amounts of this major transnational trade is focused on two primary areas makes it possible to focus law enforcement on those areas and eliminate the largest amount of illegal killing," Wasser said.

To pinpoint these locations, Wasser and his colleagues used DNA from tons of seized ivory samples associated with large-scale trafficking.

The UW group used its method to analyze 28 large ivory seizures, each more than half a ton, made between 1996 and 2014. The samples include 61 percent of all large seizures made worldwide between 2012 and 2014.

According to the analysis, more than 85 percent of the forest elephant ivory seized between 2006 and 2014 was traced to the central African Tridom - a protected ecosystem that spans northeastern Gabon, northwestern Republic of Congo and southeastern Cameroon.

(Photo : Michael Nichols)

For the savanna elephant, more than 85 percent of its seized ivory was traced to East Africa, mainly from the Selous Game Reserve in southeastern Tanzania and the Niassa Reserve in adjacent northern Mozambique.

The results also show that since 2006, poaching hotspots have started to shift. From 1996-2005, most of the forest elephant ivory Wasser's team analyzed came from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However, none of the forest elephant samples after 2005 came from that area.

Meanwhile, two seizures of savanna elephant ivory, in 2002 and 2007, came from Zambia, but the country was not represented in any of the collected samples after 2007.

Currently, steps are being taken to curb trafficking, such as reducing demand and enacting stricter bans on ivory products. Though, it's debatable whether or not these tactics are working. China, for example, the world's largest importer of illegal ivory, seems to be continuing the trade despite claims to stop it. Officials accompanying President Xi Jinping during a trip to Tanzania even went on an ivory buying spree back in November.

Wasser, too, agrees that despite recent efforts, the process of stamping out the illegal ivory trade is happening too slowly.

"When you're losing a tenth of the population a year, you have to do something more urgent - nail down where the major killing is happening and stop it at the source," Wasser said. "Hopefully our results will force the primary source countries to accept more responsibility for their part in this illegal trade, encourage the international community to work closely with these countries to contain the poaching, and these actions will choke the criminal networks that enable this transnational organized crime to operate."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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'Walking' Bat Once Roamed Ancient New Zealand

Pictured: Mystacina tuberculata (Photo : Rod Morris)

Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of a new "walking" bat species, which lived 16 million years ago, and roamed ancient New Zealand.

According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, Mystacina miocenalis walked on four limbs and was three times larger than today's average bat. Interestingly, it's even related to another bat, Mystacina tuberculata, which still inhabits New Zealand's old growth forests.

"Our discovery shows for the first time that Mystacina bats have been present in New Zealand for upwards of 16 million years, residing in habitats with very similar plant life and food sources," lead author and vertebrate palaeontologist Suzanne Hand, from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, said in a press release.

The fossils were found near Central Otago on South Island, in sediment left over from a vast prehistoric body of water known as Lake Manuherikia, which was part of warmer subtropical rainforest during the early Miocene era, between 16 and 19-million-years-ago.

These bats were believed to have an ancient history in New Zealand, but until now, the oldest fossil of a Mystacina bat found in the region dated back 17,500 years ago. This latest discovery makes scientists question when these strangle walking bats first arrived to New Zealand.

"This helps us understand the capacity of bats to establish populations on islands and the climatic conditions required for this to happen," noted Hand.

"Bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers that keep forests healthy. Understanding the connectivity between the bat faunas of different landmasses is important for evaluating biosecurity threats and conservation priorities for fragile island ecosystems," she added.

The new species is similar to its contemporary relative in that it has similar teeth - most likely used for a balanced diet of nectar, pollen, fruit and insects. Limb bones found in the deposit also showed similar structures specialized for walking.

Where they differ, however, is in body size. M. miocenalis weighs about 40 grams, which is three times heavier than M. tuberculata and 900 other living bat species. Due to its abnormally large size, researchers believe the new species was more adept at hunting on the ground than in the air.

"The size of bats is physically constrained by the demands of flight and echolocation, as you need to be small, quick and accurate to chase insects in the dark," Hand explained.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Bees: Only a Few Needed to Pollinate World's Crops, New Study Suggests

(Photo : serkucher / Fotolia)

It turns out that only a few "busy bees" are needed to pollinate the world's crops, according to a new international study.

The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that only two percent of wild bee species pollinate 80 percent of bee-pollinated crops worldwide.

While everything from climate change, pesticides and pathogens have been shown to produce sharp declines in many wild bee populations, nonetheless they can remain abundant in agricultural landscapes.

That's important, considering that pollinating bees contribute about $3,000 per hectare of land to the agricultural industry - a number in the billions globally. Not to mention about two-thirds of the world's most important crops benefit from bee pollination, including coffee, cacao and many fruits and vegetables.

"This study shows us that wild bees provide enormous economic benefits, but reaffirms that the justification for protecting species cannot always be economic," Taylor Ricketts of the University of Vermont's Gund Institute For Ecological Economics, a study co-author, said in a statement. "We still have to agree that protecting biodiversity is the right thing to do."

The most important wild bees for agriculture include some of the world's most common species, like the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) in the United States and the red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) in Europe, authors say.

Honeybees are also important, but with honeybee colonies especially in rapid decline, wild pollination is now more vital than ever.

"Species and populations can fluctuate significantly as landscapes and climates change," noted Ricketts. "So protecting a wide variety of our wild bees is crucial."

The study highlights certain bee-friendly practices for farmers to consider in order to preserve bee biodiversity, including maintaining wildflowers and grass strips, organic farming techniques, and limiting - or delaying - the use of pesticides and other chemicals.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Keep a father’s identity secret, Is it good?

 

At Carolyn: My mother said she did not tell me who is my father, and the secret of the grave with his will. There is always a reason not to say to someone who is your father?

If you are unsure of herself.

If he committed these heinous crimes he fears it could change the way you see yourself.

If it was and is still married to her sister, cousin, best friend.

If you reveal your name reveal something embarrassing for his choice or the circumstances of his birth in the past.

If she promised that she would take his secret identity to the grave.

If a sperm donor and she thinks there's something wrong with admitting that.

Of course there are others.

Some of them are good enough to justify secrecy? I can not say because it depends on you, your mother, and secrecy. However, this sounds like it could alleviate their (fully justified) to treat anxiety at the thought that his mother has his reasons - and that even if they are not good enough for them, they are pretty good at it domain or she does not do for you.

Even if ultimately not accept that, at least you can say to your mother directly after a serene careful reflection, to make peace with him somehow - vs. take her, awaiting her response force.

This does not guarantee the truth from suffering - not even close - but how to understand each other, that's how you and your mother can avoid losing the other as you want to try to find what you need.

Dear Carolyn: My daughter is 40 years old, never married, no children. She loves being in a relationship. But she says she does not like being around family because all are paired. We invite you to a family holiday, but now you're talking will not do it because it is one that is unique. Besides suggesting board (it has done in the past), there is nothing we can do to make her feel more included?

Anonymous

To suggest recommendations at this point would only isolate it, do not you think? Inclusive would treat it as simply good company, complete in itself.

You can for this purpose - you all couples - groups that are not the same tight-plus-daughter going to the store, peer-most-beautiful-girl go for a walk, etc. Instead, a double A husband, wife and daughter-Double B go for a walk. Scholarships vs. co

By Carolyn Hax

Endangered Tigers Could be Saved by Higher Palm Oil Prices

(Photo : Flickr: Christopher Kray)

It seems backwards, but tigers and other endangered species could be saved by higher palm oil prices, according to new research.

Palm oil is used in roughly 50 percent of supermarket products today, including many processed foods and cosmetics. This demand has resulted in tropical forests getting cut down to make way for profitable palm oil plantations, which in turn has devastated a large number of plant and animal species - including tigers, elephants, rhinos and orangutans.

Curiously though, a new study by North American and UK researchers has found that consumers will pay higher prices - between 15 and 56 percent more - for palm oil made by companies that help to protect endangered species, an incentive that may lead these animals on the road to recovery.

"One way to save species and biodiversity threatened by agricultural expansion is to show companies the business case for conservation," study co-author Professor Brendan Fisher, of the University of Vermont's Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, said in a statement. "This study shows how important it is for industry and scientists to work together to find potential win-win solutions."

Fisher and his colleagues assessed the finances of a major palm oil company to determine the impacts of conserving land on biodiversity and profits. The results, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the profits made from consumers willing to pay more for sustainable palm oil more than covered the costs of preserving land for endangered wildlife.

"International governments have failed to stem the environmental damage caused by oil palm plantations," said lead author Ian Bateman of the University of East Anglia (UEA). "We wanted to find a new way of halting biodiversity loss that actually becomes profitable for private companies."

For the study, researchers surveyed palm plantations, nurseries, forests and cleared land in Sumatra, the Indonesian island where tropical forests have been replaced by palm oil plantations, resulting in significant species declines.

(Photo : Pixabay)

Researchers determined that areas near existing forests were best for conservation, while areas away from existing roads reduced the impacts on company profits. They used these rules to identify which areas promoted biodiversity at the least cost to oil palm companies.

Remarkably, the study found that even in low-productivity regions, a 15 percent price premium could persuade a 32,000-hectare plantation to conserve up to 6,000 hectares.

"This research is critical because one fifth of the world's vertebrates are at imminent risk of extinction," added Robin Naidoo of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "The overwhelming cause of this biodiversity loss is land-use change, driven by the expansion of agriculture and plantations for crops such as oil palm. Conversion to agriculture is resulting in the loss of tropical forests at an estimated rate of 13 million hectares each year, therefore it is imperative we find solutions that minimize the negative impact of agriculture on biodiversity."

"Consumers' willingness to pay for sustainably grown palm oil has the potential to incentivise private producers enough to engage in conservation activities. This would support vulnerable 'Red List' species," noted UEA's Bateman. "Combining all of these findings together allows us to harness the power of the market and identify locations where cost-effective and even profitable conservation can take place."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Climate Change and Habitat Loss: How Animals Adapt [INTERVIEW]

Painted bunting (Passerina ciris) (Photo : Dan Pancamo/Wikimedia Commons)

Climate change and habitat loss are two major threats posed to animal species worldwide. And especially with global temperatures rising in recent decades (2014 was the hottest year yet), scientists are now concerned more than ever with the survival of Earth's animals. However, recent research suggests that they are more flexible than you thinnk.

Nature World News (NWN) recently spoke with biologist Jeffrey Kelly, of the University of Oklahoma, who found that airborne species - such as birds, bats and insects - have learned some ways to adapt.

"In particular what we're really interested in is broad scale patterns of phenology - so the timing of seasonal events and what [that] can tell us about how our planet's changing, and particularly how these migratory organisms are responding to those changes," Kelly, with the Oklahoma Biological Survey, told NWN.

Kelly and his colleagues focused on tracking bird species such as the painted bunting and the purple martin, and also used existing radar data to measure on a broad scale the timing of seasonal events. This way, they could get a better understanding how those events change over time and space, and thus impact the behavior and movements of these animals.

Though their study did not provide specific examples from their own tracked birds, the general belief among scientists is that some bird species change their migration patterns - by moving to different places and at unusual times - to compensate for their changing environments. Specifically, some species have been seen arriving at their wintering ground earlier due to climate warming.

So what exactly tips these birds off that they need to get moving earlier and earlier?

"It looks like it is local food conditions," Kelly notes.

However, previous research shows that the same adaptability cannot be said of songbird species traveling over very large distances. Climate change may cause spring to arrive earlier and earlier, and yet these birds just cannot adjust - a problem referred to as trophic mismatch.

"The thinking is that these long-distance migrants are using day length as a cue in the spring as to when they should migrate because day length doesn't change from year to year," Kelly explained.

However, "that creates the obvious problem that if year after year spring is advancing in the Arctic and you're using day length as a cue to migrate, then you are going to miss the peak of spring because you're too late."

"You can think of these migrants as being already in the neighborhood," he continued, "and they can perhaps use the local conditions - let's say in Oklahoma or Texas - to tell them reasonably what it might be like in North Dakota or South Dakota. So they might be able to time their migration more to the local plant phenology. Whereas if you're a long-distance migrant - say you're in Africa or South America and you're going to the Arctic - the conditions where you are unlikely have anything to do with the conditions where you're headed. And so that's why the longer distance migrants rely more heavily on day length as a proxy for the beginning of migration, and possibly makes them more susceptible to these trophic mismatches."

But climate change doesn't just bring higher temperatures; it also will likely bring worse droughts - in some cases even megadroughts, like in the western United States, for example. This extreme weather has a negative impact on various animal species, such as bats.

(Photo : USFWS/Ann Froschauer) Pictured: Mexican free-tailed bats exiting Bracken Bat Cave in Texas.

"Drought is very hard on bats. It impacts their ability to be reproductively successful. If they don't breed it has a hard impact on their population," researcher Winifred Frick, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, told NWN.

When water is scarce, it affects the timing of when bats emerge from their caves to go out and forage. Not to mention that females, when they're lactating and nursing their young, are very dependent on water. And with the West, most notably California, experiencing drought more and more in recent years, the fear is that bat populations will suffer unless they learn to adapt.

"I think in general we have reasons to believe drought is hard on bat populations. Bats are dependent on insects, and to the extent that there is less water and less insects, there is going to be less food available," Frick added.

So in the face of climate change and habitat loss, what will the future look like for these and other animal species?

"I think we'll get new species in places they never were before. I think we'll lose species where they are now. Some of the species that are in trouble now might be gone," Kelly said. "But there might be other species in trouble that for whatever reason don't do as poorly in the future."

Only time will tell, but this and other research has shown that animals are for the most part resilient and can learn to adapt. Besides birds changing their migration patterns, pikas have taken to higher ground, tiny killifish have learned to survive in both freshwater and saltwater, and water fleas are even reproducing differently.

 

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Britain's National Bird FINALLY Selected, and He's a Bully

(Photo : David Lindo / Urban Birder) Cick HERE to visit The Urban Birder and see results!

Earlier this year, citizens of the United Kingdom were given the unique opportunity to vote on which of 10 feathered friends would finally become their national bird - a position once unofficially held by the meanest and nastiest songbird you've ever lay eyes on. Now, after a little over two months of deliberation and tallying votes, the results are in.

The bully, it seems, keeps the crown after all. As Nature World News (NWN) previously reported, the red-breasted Robin has been Britain's unofficial mascot for half a century, but the United Kingdom as a whole remained lacking a national bird.

That's why this British election season ornithologist David Lindo, who calls himself the "Urban Birder," decided to host his own election, the result of which was promised support by the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Bird Protection (RSBP) and newly appointed environment minister.

Lindo recently admitted to British news outlet The Guardian that he was hoping for a different result, largely because the robin is an infamously territorial bird, mauling and sometimes even murdering its brethren in a bid for the best grub and singing grounds.

"That sweet song fluting from your fence is actually the avian equivalent of a foul-mouthed 'get orf my land'," columnist and cultural historian Philip Hoare recently wrote. "Males will peck at rivals' napes to sever their spinal cords; 10% of all adult robin deaths are robin-on-robin, red-on-red incidents." (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: Mark Freeth) An unsuspecting greenfinch (bottom-center) is in trouble, with a robin bearing down in all its feathery fury.

Lindo had announced in the past that he was personally hoping that the "handsome" native blackbird would come out on top, amidst an short-list of 10 memorable birds, but "Britain has spoken," he wrote, and he has no regrets.

The blackbird, in fact, took third place - second only to the stunningly white barn owl of the English countryside. The robin, defending it's unofficial crown as fiercely as it does its territory, managed to claim 34 percent of more than 224,000 digital ballots cast. For comparison, the barn owl and blackbird claimed only 12 and 11 percent, respectively.

Still, it's impossible to keep everyone happy when selecting the avian symbol of a nation. The ever-respected Benjamin Franklin was famously opposed to having the eagle as the United States' national symbol in 1782.

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly," Franklin reportedly wrote to his daughter soon after the decision was made, according to the Smithsonian and Franklin institutes.

The founding father goes on to describe how he observed the bald eagle be a thief and a "rank coward," stealing food from other hardworking birds and then fleeing small-but-aggressive kingbirds.

"He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country..." he concluded, referencing the Revolutionary War. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : pixabay) Really now, America, does that face look trustworthy to you?

However, this reporter, for one, still sees the eagle as more fitting than say, a turkey. It is commonly believed that Franklyn actually proposed the turkey as the United State's national symbol. This is not true, but he does go on in the same letter to gripe that the original national seal looked like a gobbler - something still better than the bald eagle, he wrote.

"He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

Stunningly, the cowardly eagle and the brutish robin are only among a list about 100 official and unofficial national birds. The trend has still not caught on in many well-known countries, with nations like China and Australia still lacking a nationally accepted symbol.

Canada, on the other hand, seems to share Lindo's sentiments, with The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic having announced a vote for their own national bird, the winner of which will be decided in 2017.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

 - follow Brian on Twitter @BS_ButNoBS

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Tiger Sharks Behave like Birds?

(Photo : Nick Filmalter/Danah Divers)

Well, not quite. But new remarkable research has shown that in the longest ever tiger tracking study, these predators boast migration patterns more similar to birds, turtles and some marine mammals than other fishes.

Tiger sharks are among the largest and most recognizable sharks on the planet, and yet many of their habits remain a mystery because they are long-distance travelers whose movements are difficult to track.

They were long believed to be a coastal species; however, after following several tiger shark for more than two years with satellite tags, a team from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) have shown otherwise. The studied sharks traveled more than 7,500 kilometers (4,660 miles, round-trip) every year between two vastly different ecosystems - the coral reefs of the Caribbean and the open waters of the mid-North Atlantic. Furthermore, they returned consistently to the same overwintering areas each year, a discovery that could help with conservation efforts.

This study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, has yielded the first ever continuous tracking of these normally elusive creatures.

"As apex predators, the presence of tiger sharks - and other large sharks - is vital to maintain the proper health and balance of our oceans," Dr. Mahmood Shivji of NSU, who helped lead the study, said in a statement. "That's why it's so important to conserve them, and understanding their migratory behavior is essential to achieving this goal."

During the study, the NSU team successfully tagged and tracked tiger sharks near Bermuda, following their every move.

One tiger shark even swam more than 44,000 kilometers (27,000 miles) - that's the longest track distance ever documented for a tiger shark.

More importantly, researchers found that during their annual migrations, male sharks in the Atlantic repeatedly spent their winters in Caribbean island locales, whereas during summers they would travel far north, even reaching Connecticut. These migrations curiously more resemble those of birds, which are known for traveling hundreds of miles annually.

Furthermore, while researchers expected the sharks to hang by the coast, instead they were seen swimming way offshore in nearly the middle of the ocean.

"These repeated journeys were very unexpected," said lead researcher James Lea. "The tiger shark has traditionally been considered a coastal species, and it is rare among sharks to so easily and habitually switch between the two vastly different environments."

What's more curious is that the sharks followed the same pattern each year and returned to nearly the same spot every time.

"Even though they've got a whole range of islands to choose from, it seems like each animal has its favorite winter spot," said Shivji.

The reason why tiger sharks have a favorite spot remains to be seen. But researchers speculate that it's because female tiger sharks frequent the Caribbean come wintertime - easy pickings to find a mate for males.

These migration patterns are unique for tiger sharks, and have only otherwise been seen in the Pacific Ocean's great white and salmon sharks. And given that this species is nearing threatened status - partly due to the shark fin soup trade - NSU researchers hope their findings can lead to better protections for tiger sharks.

"Understanding how these animals use the oceans is the first step toward effective conservation," explained Guy Harvey, one of the researchers. "Protecting migratory species is a great challenge because they can be found in such a wide area. Protecting the areas where animals, such as tiger sharks, spend the most time is a tractable goal once those areas have been identified."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Top 15 in India's Fish

No. 1 Ariosoma Selenops

Arisoma Selenops is a very beautiful fish and delicious. If found in India generally, but rarely find. Knew has gained popularity for all. People from all walks like to eat them.

 

No. 2 Garden spotted eel

Spotted garden eel is a type of fish that is a snake How to View. In geral, are popular in India. Everybody like this the fish As this type of fish is available in India. Usually it horn ash and Beautiful. It is also delicious.

 

No. 3 Conger cinereus

Conger cinereus and wonderful fish are not nutritious. If located in the Sea of ​​India. As the people, is self That meets his Asked the Nutrition. Usually eats so março scenario bass

 

No. 4 javanica Moringua

Moringua javanica is more particularly in the Indian fish. Isa nutritious. Not as Finding of Rare. THIS available. People think his birthday Asked That, Knew entirety. It has a high popularity in India.

 

No. 5 Moreia

Moray eel is the most beautiful fish What is in India. It is a great source of nutrition. Like most people, não Knew the only nutrition, but also for his generosity. It's delicious.

 

No. 6 Nemichthys scolopaceus

Scolopaceus Nemichthys IS A quirky Some people fish and fish não not think of really. It is of funds in India. People like to eat. It is a nutritious food. Are popular on the other side of India.

 

No. 7 Venefica tentaculata

Venefica tentaculata fish are not high and has a high tail. Delgado is lovely to watch. As the people to eat. If found in India generally. This is very strange fish.

No. 8 Myrichthys maculosus

Myrichthys maculosus fish is not very nice. It's a little like a snake to watch. It's delicious and nutritious. The most the people this fish Como. Usually the live frame background

 

 

No. 9 Melanotaenia boesemani

Melanotaeia is a small fish. It is very delicious. It is always beautiful and group living. Are the people love it so much that is nutritious. It is a red-colored silver fish.

 

No. 10 Labidesthes sicculus

Labidesthes of the horn is a black light provável fish. You eat a lot by people of all kinds. If found in India and is delicious to eat. The most the people this fish Como.

 

No. 11 variegated Lizardfish

Lizardfish're miss variegated fish. Lives in coral reefs. People rarely turns in the office, That Is remains in Alta frame is very popular. If responds to the demand of the people.

 

No. 12 Alepisaurus Ferox

The more fish under special has a large market Popularity seen inside the India of Alepisaurus ferox. It is delicious and nutritious food. It has a large number of peak in the back.

13 Deep Sea peixe

Deep sea fish is not fish live in the depths So the framework is called deep-sea fish. It is very popular in India. It has proteins, minerals and very delicious to eat.

 

14 Tripé Peixe

Tripod fish is a very strange fish. It has three legs and what is called BY tripod fish. This is very popular in India fish. It proteins, calcium and other. It's delicious.

 

Mergulhador 15 Arena

Arena diver live in the sand at the bottom of the particular framework is nice and worm. It Has Nutrition, Proteins and other vitamin. If found in India. It's delicious.

 

Massive Great White Shark High-Fives Diver [VIDEO]

(Photo : Mauricio Hoyos Padilla | Facebook)

With flashbacks to Jaws in mind, it seems like an insane idea to leave the safety of a diving cage with a massive great white shark swimming just a few feet away. And yet that's exactly what one lucky diver did near Guadalupe Island in Mexico.

An incredible new video posted on Facebook shows biologist Mauricio Hoyos Padilla leaving his roofless cage to high-five a great white shark, believed to be one of the biggest ever caught on camera. Measuring at more than 20 feet long, the shark dwarfs the diver who managed to survive the close encounter, his hand still intact.

Padilla discovered the footage from a previous excursion in his computer this week. And since he posted it Tuesday, the video has received nearly three million views and has been shared more than 42,000 times.

The massive predator, aptly named Deep Blue, was first featured in August 2014 by the Discovery Channel in a documentary when researchers tagged the gigantic fish. At the time, the shark - which is believed to be over 50 years old - was heavily pregnant. And now, Deep Blue has made another appearance, during which she was luckily unfazed by the diver's presence as she swam around the cage.

In addition to her monstrous size, the shark is also recognizable by her many scars.

In the documentary, the narrator explains that large, vertical slashes on Deep Blue's left flank could be the result of fights with sharks or mating, according to the Daily Mail. The fish also has a large, gaping hole on her right trunk, and her dorsal fin and tail appear to be scraped and damaged.

Great whites (Carcharodon carcharias), the largest predatory fish on Earth, typically grow to 15 feet in length, with some, like Deep Blue, exceeding 20 feet long and weighing up to 5,000 pounds, according to National Geographic. The thriller Jaws gives great whites a bad rep, portraying them as mindless, meat-eating machines. But with more and more research scientists are starting to show them in a different light.

These animals seem to be merely curious, and now this latest case with Deep Blue suggests that the sharks are more laid back than previously thought, giving divers the occasional high-five.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Serengeti Snapshots Reveal Secret Life of Animals

(Photo : safaripanda10910/ Snapshot Serengeti)

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, is one of the most diverse and well-studied ecosystems in the world, and yet there is still much more to learn about the behavior and lifestyle of the species that call it home. Now, thanks to crowdsourcing and the largest-ever scientific camera trapping survey, unique snapshots are revealing the secret life of Serengeti's most elusive animals.

Camera traps - that is, remote automatic cameras triggered by heat or motion - have revolutionized the way scientists conduct wildlife ecology and conservation research. However, while they are advantageous, snapping photos day and night produces a mind-boggling number of images, making it difficult to categorize and analyze all of them.

So after setting up 225 hidden cameras over a 1,000-square-kilometer expanse in the Serengeti, University of Minnesota doctoral student Alexandra Swanson had no idea what to do with the 1.2 million images she had amassed.

"This was the largest camera tracking survey conducted in science to date," Swanson said in a press release. "We wanted to study how predators and their prey co-existed across a dynamic landscape. We needed to answer different questions than camera traps had answered previously."

As part of the "Snapshot Serengeti" project, she teamed up with The Zooniverse, a citizen-science platform, which asked non-scientist volunteers to review Swanson's pictures.

With these photos, researchers can get a better idea of how different carnivores divide space and time in the Serengeti, as well as how animals interact within their ecosystems, according to the new study.

More than 28,000 volunteers responded, classifying images, identifying species, counting individuals and characterizing behaviors. Of the 1.2 million collected images, 322,653 contained animals, with 40 separate species identified, including rare animals such as the aardwolf, zorilla and honey badger.

There were more than 100,000 wildebeest sightings, for example, an animal famous for its annual migration across the park. Likewise, passing zebra triggered the cameras on more than 70,000 occasions.

(Photo : MGHouge/ Snapshot Serengti)

"Computer vision research is now on the cusp of being able to recognize animals in camera trap images, but when we started Snapshot Serengeti a few years ago, there was no automated way to identify the animals in our pictures," Swanson said. "We needed to rely on the human eye."

"Without volunteer help, the research wouldn't have been possible," she added.

Each photo was rated by at least 10 different users, according to Live Science. When experts later reviewed more than 4,000 of the photos, there was 96.6 accuracy for species identification and 90 percent accuracy for species count, the researchers said.

The project is the largest camera survey ever, and Swanson's team hopes that they get enough money to check on the cameras every six to eight weeks to continue their groundbreaking research.

Researchers especially need to study the Serengeti while they can, as a recent study showed that the national park is disappearing.

Threats such as climate change, population growth and land development are putting increased pressure on this valuable ecosystem, which supports a great diversity of fauna and birdlife, as well as special and rare plants.

At least, now scientists may be able to shed light on the secret life of the Serengeti before it's too late.

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Data.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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