NASA is spreading its interest to the underwater world as the agency we typically associate with outer space begins a three-year NASA CORAL field expedition gets underway this year to survey more of the world’s coral reefs. The NASA-led study…
Science
Experimental incandescent light bulb could exceed efficiency of LEDs
The aquarium hobby has gone from metal halides to fluorescent lamps to light emitting diodes and now we might have incandescent light bulbs lighting up our future reef tanks. We’re getting ahead of ourselves but if new research out of…
UK’s Horniman successfully completes in-vitro fertilization of captive corals
The UK’s Horniman Museum and Gardens has accomplished the first successful in-vitro fetilization of captive coral when a collection of corals transplanted from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in 2015, recently spawned. The spawning event in December that released approximately 130,000 eggs from nice corals of two…
Wild baby sea otter born just outside of Monterey Bay aquarium
For your daily dose of absolute cuteness, visitors and staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium were given quite a surprise when they discovered a wild sea otter gave birth in the aquarium’s Great Tide Pool yesterday. According to the aquarium’s…
Seabin Project helps to reduce trash in ocean water
The “Seabin project” could be a game changer in the ongoing race to clean-up and protect our oceans. The brainchild of two Australian friends Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, Seabin is set to become the world’s first automated in-water trash…
Group of Paper Nautilus in California documented on video
Paper nautilus is a rare and enigmatic species of cephalopod which rarely graces the pages of Reef Builders, but when it does, it’s usually only one specimen at a time. Very little is known about the paper nautilus, its life…
Christmas tree worms and feather dusters of the suborder Sabellida
Sabellida is a suborder of annelid worms in the class Polychaeta. These tube dwelling worms are filter feeders and are commonly identified by a ring of feathery tentacles extending outwards. Members of the suborder include the feather duster worms (Sabellastarte…
The tiny Hairy Octopus is an irresistible puffball of cuteness
The tiny Hairy Octopus is one of the cutest creatures we have come across, and at around 5cm (2inch) long, you won’t want to blink or you might miss it. This well disguised cephalopod gets it names from the long ‘hairy’…
Racing Extinction a film by The Oceanic Preservation Society
The Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) is back with a new film called Racing Extinction, a documentary which sets out to expose the undercover world of endangered species and the race to protect them against mass extinction.
What you should know about the Crown-of-Thorns starfish
Acanthaster planci, more commonly known as the Crown-of-Thorn starfish, is a voracious predator which feeds on stony coral polyps. The starfish gets its name from the toxic thorn-like spines covering its body, which resemble a biblical “crown of thorns”. The…