Most of us are familiar with the Portuguese Man o’ War – a plastic bag-looking animal that can deliver a nasty sting. Although Portuguese Man o’ Wars somewhat resemble “true jellyfish”, they are not; they belong to a class within Cnidaria known as Hydrozoa. More...
Sometimes regarded as rare or insignificant, marine fungi are both phylogenetically and ecologically diverse. Like all fungi, marine fungi are heterotrophic. Although a large portion of marine fungi are saprobes – organisms that feed on decaying organic matter, many...
Throughout geological time, there have been many shifts in marine animal species. Amongst these shifts is a transition known as the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. This evolutionary phenomenon not only overturned a number of bottom-dwelling marine species, it transformed...
When conducting studies, many ecologists are posed with the question: How old is this fish? Because size is rarely a fair indication of age, the use of a more precise method is often required. The most prevalent method of aging bony fish is known as Otolith Analysis....
Although commonly regarded as the most primitive multicellular animal group, sponges – members of the phylum: Porifera, are both diverse and interesting. Currently, this phylum is described as consisting almost completely of 3 distinct classes: Demospongea, Calcarea,...
Although notoriously intolerant of tissue damage, the beautiful Heliofungia actiniformis is an exciting addition to any reef display. Willing to test this coral’s vitality, I made an attempt to propagate one. 1. The Heliofungia was forced to retract by hand. This...
Although corals are considered one of the earliest, most primitive animal groups on the planet, the stony corals that grace our reef aquariums with color and vibrance actually arose later than some of us have been led to believe. It is widely accepted that our ocean’s...
The bacterial behemoth, Epulopiscium fishelsoni, is truly unique. E. fishelsoni is commonly regarded as the largest bacterium discovered to date, having the size of roughly 1,000,000 Escherichia coli. Residing within the gastrointestinal tract of several tang fish...
Tridacna crocea is the smallest known species of giant clam. Because of its manageable size and remarkable color patterns, Tridacna crocea has become quite popular among aquarists. In lieu of this species’ popularity, an effort to aquaculture these clams has been...
The food chain of a marine ecosystem can be better understood with the use of stable isotope analysis. An isotope is an atom with an abnormal number of neutrons. Isotopes exist in two forms: stable and radioactive. Radioactive isotopes decay over time, while stable...