Just a few short weeks ago we were discussing seagrasses with one of the aquarium hobby’s most ardent proponents of seagrass aquariums, Julian Sprung. The topic of underwater pollination of seagrass came up, and we supposed that there might be…
Science
Friday Smorgasbord: Printed coral, catching waves and more
It is hard to believe it is December already, but here we are with the first Friday Smorgasbord on December. We’ve been a bit light on the Smorgi posts of late as I’ve been taking care of our new little…
Coral mucus impacts microbes in waters surrounding them
Have you ever noticed your corals covered in mucus and wondered, what’s up with the slime? New research suggests that corals selectively remove and promote the growth of diverse picoplankton (planktonic bacteria and archaea) communities living in coral mucus, and that…
Friday Smorgasbord: Danios, toilets, crochet and more
This week’s edition of the Friday Smorgasboard features life-saving danios, toilet reefs, crochet and more. Without further ado, here you go! Dr. Danio The danio, one of the common starter fish for freshwater aquariums, also may help us unlock some…
Friday Smorgasbord: Pluto, Glocks, robot boats and tuna
It’s the first Friday Smorgasbord of the Fall and we’ve got a few quirky ones for you today. We start our journey across our solar system on Pluto and work our way back to Earth where we explore Glocks and…
Coral Reefs in the 21st Century: Reasons to Hope and to Despair
International Aquarium Congress | Day 3 We’ve all heard the doom and gloom reports of dying, degraded, bleached reefs, but is the situation really that bad? Dr. James Guest gave a keynote address to Congress delegates to discuss reasons for…
Reef fish can see more colors than us
We knew the mantis shrimp had super-stellar vision being able to perceive 100,000 colors, but it looks like they aren’t the only ocean denizens that can see more colors than humans. Reef fish can apparently also see more colors than…
Apogee Releases Calculator for Underwater PAR Measurement
A couple weeks ago we reported that Apogee had released a roughly estimated correction factor for measuring light underwater. Due to the the interaction of water and light and the immersion effect of the opaque sensor cover, it turns out…
Is CO2 causing your fish to act strange?
A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, links neurological impairment in some fish to increased carbon dioxide levels. Researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral…
NASA to study Great Barrier Reef by air
NASA is taking to the sky to help do an extended study of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The two-month study is part of the space agency’s COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) mission. By collaborating with Australian researchers, the plan is to…