Recently, a submersible vehicle made an interesting discovery on the rocky seafloor of the Dorado Outcrop, west of Costa Rica. Beneath the ocean’s surface there were hundreds of small and purple octopuses, with their babies or protecting their eggs. However, the researchers noticed something bizarre. They were sitting on the hardened lava of an undersea volcano. The vehicle made multiple dives and each time found about 100 hundred of them.

The new species is part of the genus Muuscoctopus and have very large eyes in comparison with their relatively small bodies. What was even more interesting is that these octopuses are usually solitary. However, this time, they were gathered in very large groups on the hardened lava. Moreover, it seems that things are actually a lot weirder than this. The temperature of the water where the colony was staying was a lot warmer than the suitable one for them. When the water it’s too hot, deep-sea octopuses are almost unable to extract the oxygen form it. Apart from this, the researchers noticed that their embryos were not developing at all because of the warm temperatures. So, why would these octopuses go through so much trouble to guard some eggs that will never hatch?

The bizarre, purple octopuses

During their dives, the team of researchers collected data about the water temperatures and analyzed the dissolved oxygen in the water. Upon analyzing the creatures too, the team knew their genus right away. However, because they did not collect any of them, the new species still remains undescribed.

What these octopuses are doing could spell trouble for them. But why do they do it in the first place? According to researchers’ theories, the conditions were probably not that severe when they established their colony there. Another theory has to do with overcrowding in cooler waters, a phenomenon which forced these purple octopuses relocate.

Image source: pixabay

According to a new study which the journal Nature has recently published, it seems that the Great Barrier Reef has been forever altered by global warming. After that long-lasting undersea heat wave affected very large portions of the Great Barrier Reef about two years ago, it might have forever changed its structure. This happened because such a large number of corals died. According to Terry Hughes, the leader of the study, what happened is an unprecedented natural selection event.

The study states that only in 2016, about 30% of the corals in the Great Barrier Reef disappeared. Moreover, one year later, in 2017, another 20% of the reef was lost. According to the researchers, certain species suffered more than others. This is mostly the reason why the ecological identity of the reef has probably changed forever. It’s interesting that the elaborate corals which provide fish habitat are now being replaced by some dome-shaped corals. The bigger problem is that normally, it takes about 10 years for the corals to recover. This is why the changes are probably irreversible, which is a very bad thing.

The Great Barrier Reef is forever changed

However, it should be understood that this might not mean the end of the Great Barrier Reef as we know it. Actually, its southern regions escaped mostly unscathed and the bleaching events from 2016 and 2017 did not affect them too much. The idea is that the reef might now probably change its ecological state. The corals will no longer be that diverse but will be indeed more resilient.

Global warming causes an event known as bleaching which happens because of the very warm temperatures of the ocean waters. During this phenomenon, tiny algae called zooxanthellae are leaving the corals behind, causing them to become ghostly white. They no longer have the amazing bright colors that people know, which is indeed a pity.

Image source: wikimedia

According to a recent and very interesting study, which the journal The American Naturalist published, the survival of species might depend solely on chance, no matter how hard are people trying to save them. According to the scientists from Lund University in Sweden, certain conservation initiatives might be in vain when it comes to endangered species, mostly because of this factor: chance. It’s worth noting that completely different species have no trouble living in the same environment as they do not need to compete for resources.

However, when two or more similar species live nearby, usually, a species outcompetes the other when it comes to finding natural resources. This is what traditional ecological theory tells us. It’s interesting that not many studies have considered chance and the role it plays in certain species’ survivability rate, locally. The study is one of the first and the most extensive. It contains experiments as well as computer simulations and field studies. According to the results that the researchers obtained, chance plays a big part. This is why it’s impossible to say ahead which one of two species will die out.

Chance plays a big part in species’ survivability rate

It’s worth noting that apart from chance, the team has also studies another important factor: the negative frequency-dependence. You can think of it as an elastic band. When a species becomes rare, it suddenly pulls back. This is mostly because the remaining few individuals of that species gain certain advantages. The effect is also interesting because this rare species becomes common once again, due to the fact that the remaining few don’t have much competition anymore.

According to Erik Svensson, the leader of the study, sometimes, this elastic band doesn’t work properly, or pulls back too late. The effect is the extinction of the species, locally. This is why conservation efforts are very useful, even if sometimes, they might fall victim to chance.

Image source: pixnio

 

Generally speaking, snakes are not the best parents in the world. Usually, snakes that lay eggs don’t do much apart from dropping them into a hole, covering them with dirt, and then leaving. About 30% of snakes give birth to live babies, but those don’t care too much either.

However, a new study, which the Journal of Zoology recently published, might change this common perception. It seems that at least one species of egg-laying pythons cares a bit for its offspring. Graham Alexander is a reptile researcher the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He spent seven years studying the pythons there.

Such species can grow up to 16 feet in length and can take down animals as large as an antelope. So, using cameras and radio transmitters, Alexander monitored 37 pythons. Over the course of his study, eight of those laid eggs.

Then, using infrared cameras, he recorded the new mothers’ behavior. An interesting change that was observed is that mother pythons turn from dark brown to black, probably to absorb more warmth from the sun.

After raising their body temperature in the sun, they return and keep their eggs warm over the night. The females do the same thing for the newborn babies for around two weeks. After that, these are left on their own.

 

Pythons are Not Such Bad Parents After All

 

However, why is this particular snake a good parent and the others are not? Experts think that this might be somehow tied up to what their babies eat. When they are born, baby pythons are full of undigested egg yolk. This makes them slow and not mobile and therefore, easy prey for other animals. The mother snake keeps them warm until they entirely digest the yolk. After that, they’re free to go.

There is a cost, however. It seems that while she does this, the mother snake loses a lot of weight because she doesn’t hunt anymore. This also makes her an easier prey. It’s interesting that this study shows how much we still have to learn about snakes and their behavior.

Image source: Pexels

Birds that are exposed to persistent noise from natural gas compressors and oil operations show physiological signs of chronic stress. As the new study states, the symptoms are very similar to those in humans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and was published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). According to the researchers, birds who gravitate towards noisier environments, such as western bluebirds, were reported to lay fewer eggs. The chicks that do hatch showed signs of stunted growth.

Lead author of the study, Nathan Kleist, claims that noisy environments impact both the birds’ stress hormones and their fitness.

“Surprisingly, we also found that the species we assumed to be the most tolerant to noise had the most negative effects.” States the scientist.

The authors believe this study sheds light on how man-made noise pollution affects wildlife. More so, they point out how stress from chronic noise exposure can harm humans as well.

In order to obtain the data, researchers monitored three species of cavity-nesting birds, including ash-throated flycatchers, and western and mountain bluebirds. These species were the most viable candidates considering they breed near oil and gas operations, in this case, located on Bureau of Land Management property in New Mexico. The researchers built 240 nest boxes on 12 pairs of sites.

Kleist and his team followed the birds for three breeding seasons, all the while taking blood samples from adult females and their chicks. Based on the blood samples, they evaluated hatching success, feather length, and nestling body size.

The study revealed that all species had lower levels of a stress hormone called corticosterone.

Co-author of the study, Christopher Lowry, says that low corticosterone levels are a common symptom for PTSD that can be found in both humans and rodents. He says that constant noise is able to keep the body’s flight or flight response activated to the point where humans and other species become sensitized. Researchers called this affliction “hypocorticism”, which was linked in the past with inflammation and reduced weight gain in rodents.

Kleist and his team found that noise pollution caused a hair-trigger response to the stress of being held for 10 minutes. They noticed that birds produced more stress hormones than those bred in quiet nests.

Image Source: Flickr

Scientists were able to conclude their findings of a new ape species residing in Sumatra. The apes were first seen twenty years ago in Sumatra’s mountain forests. No additional details besides their small heads and frizzy head were provided, but now a new research project focused exclusively on them.

The name of the primate is reportedly the Tapanuli orang-utan, a new addition to two other species living in the area, the Bornean, and Sumatran. The study which was published in the journal Current Biology notes that there are only 800 Tapanuli apes scattered in three non-protected areas. This makes them one of the most threatened species of apes on the planet.

This is the first great ape species to be discovered in 90 years. So far researchers were able to pinpoint four other species besides the Sumatran and Bornean orang-utans: chimpanzees, bonobos, eastern and western gorillas. Now it seems that the family racks up to a total of seven distinct species of the ape family.

Researchers from the University of Zurich, Liverpool John Moores University, and the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation point out the ape species can go extinct within foreseeable future.

“If steps are not taken quickly to reduce current and future threats…we may see the discovery and extinction of a great ape species within our lifetime,”

Besides the ape’s physical differences, diet, cautious habitat and the male’s long call, there is also irrefutable genetic evidence that set this ape apart.

One of the writers of the study, primatologist Russel Mittermeier calls this discovery “remarkable” while another author, Matthew Novak urged to stop any constructions in the region, including a hydropower plant. To prevent the Tapanuli ape from withering out, researchers call for the protection of all remaining forests in the Batang Toru ecosystem.

Image source: Wikimedia

The fact that cats eat birds is anything but new, but according to a new study, our feline friends and their feral counterparts are responsible for the death of around 1 million fliers every day in Australia.

The research team states that this is the first research to analyze and determine the number and consequences of a cat’s bird killing habits. Other studies only looked at these values for mammals.

Both Feral and Domestic Cats Were Involved

John Woinarski, from the Charles Darwin University, is the leader of this study. Together with his team, he analyzed almost 200 studies, with some 100 of them concerning the cat population density.

The other around 100 studies involved offered data on feline diets. Researchers took into account both pets and feral cats living in Australia.

Based on this information, the team determined that felines are responsible for the death of specimens from 338 types of birds. This amounts to around half of all the avian species native to the Australian continent.

This number also includes 71 species with a ‘threatened’ status, for example, the night parrot, the squatter pigeon, and the spotted quail thrush.

According to the study results, birds are likely most at risk on the Australian islands and its very dry and remote areas. These revealed the highest bird predation rates, with around 330 birds killed per square kilometer every year in specific regions.

“We found that the birds most likely to be killed by cats are medium-sized birds, birds that nest and feed on the ground, and birds that occur on islands or in woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands,” states Woinarski.

He also said that cats are “likely” one of the driving forces of the ongoing decline of some of the species living in Australia.

The study team determined that while wild felines are responsible for 316 million birds annually, pets can account for another 61 million kills.

A paper presenting the research findings is available in the journal Biological Conversation.

Image Source: Pixabay

The Great Barrier Reef never ceases to amaze as even more of its splendor went on display just recently. Earlier this week, Johnny Gaskell, a marine biologist, recently discovered a blue hole in the reef. The waterhole was noted to contain colonies of unique corals, which he photographed and shared with the world.

Basically, a blue hole can be most easily explained as being an underwater sinkhole. It’s dark blue because the Sun has difficulty illuminating its depths. From the surface, you can see it only when you’re on top of it. But when viewed from higher altitudes, the lighter blue of the shallows around the hole form a natural outline around the deep blue of the hole.

Gaskell discovered the sinkhole while searching on Google Maps and then set out to find it in person, which he did earlier this week.

“For many people, it’s a deep lagoon with pretty corals and fish. For me, it’s a haven for huge, unique, and delicate coral colonies,” he said.

 

Yesterday in the Great Barrier Reef!!! After spotting this deep blue hole on google maps we decided to head far offshore, out further than our normal Reef trips to see what dwelled within. What we found inside was hard to believe considering 5 months ago a Cat 4 cyclone went straight over the top of it. At around 15m – 20m deep there was huge Birdsnest Corals (Seriatopora) and super elongated Staghorn Corals (Acropora) both of which were among the biggest and most delicate colonies I've ever seen. Totally unaffected by the cyclone. The position of this deep hole within the lagoon walls has obviously protected these corals for decades. We may very well be the first to ever dive Gaskell's Blue Hole as it was so far offshore and hidden deep within one of the Great Barrier Reef's biggest lagoons…

A post shared by Marine Bio | UW Photographer (@johnny_gaskell) on Sep 23, 2017 at 11:51pm PDT

The Blue Hole, Warm Water, or Until it Goes Deeper 

Climate change is believed to be one of the biggest threats to coral reefs around the world. Such reefs are colonies of individual animals called Coral “polyps” that attach themselves to rocks. When coral polyps get too warm, they react to this stress by releasing the algae that live inside their tissues.

When corals release their algae into the ocean, they are unable to reproduce on the rocks, and the reefs lose their magnificent colors – a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. This is a sign that the reef is dying.

The protected corals living in the blue hole were noted to be thriving, an indication that they are apparently immune to coral bleaching. It’s conceivable they could help other parts of the reef regenerate. That is if the other parts of the reef don’t continue to overheat. Efforts to preserve the Great Barrier Reef will likely succeed through a combination of mitigating human-made threats and making the reef itself more resilient.

At least for now, Gaskell is keeping the exact location of the hole secret so that it may continue to flourish.

Image Source: Wikimedia