by AquaNerd | Aug 15, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science
With summer ending and school just beginning, Jellyfish season is in high gear. While fishing at the coast this past weekend I noted that the Jellyfish and Sea Nettle populations are well represented. Higher water temperatures bring larger and more concentrated populations of the relatively harmless Cannonball Jellyfish and venomous Atlantic Sea Nettles, Chrysaora quinquecirrha. There have also been reports of box jellyfish (Chiropsalmus quadrumanus) or four handed jellyfish as they are commonly called in the Myrtle Beach area. Fortunately these jellyfish are not as common as our Cannonball Jellyfish but they can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The sting is venomous and dangerous to humans, especially children. Photo Credit: Jellyfish Watch http://www.jellywatch.org/node/6715 by AquaNerd | Aug 6, 2016 | Science
[embedded content] Recently, scientists discovered a new species of whale on the island of St. George, Alaska. This species of whale has never been seen before and is yet to be named. I’m sure we will be hearing more about this in the coming weeks as scientist continue to do their research. I find it interesting that an animal of this size has eluded humanity. It will be interesting to see if scientists can locate and tag a live “Raven” so that we can learn more about this unnamed species of whale. For many decades, the Japanese have passed down the legend of a mysterious dark beaked whale they have referred to as the “Raven”. Unlike the legends of the Big Foot, Sasquatch, Snow Yeti and by AquaNerd | Aug 3, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science
[embedded content] The deep blue hole called the “Dragon Hole” or “The Eye” by locals has set a new record for the deepest blue hole in the world. According to Xinhua News, the Dragon Hole is 987 feet (300.89 meters) deep. Researchers who have spent the past year exploring and using an underwater robot, were able to determine the depth of the blue hole. Researchers found more than 20 species of fish in the upper part of the sinkhole but below 100 meters the water is oxygen-free or nearly oxygen free. Therefore it’s unlikely there is any life much beyond the 100 meter mark. The most well known and recognized blue hole, the Great Blue Hole of Belize is 300 meters across and 124 meters deep and the deepest sinkhole prior by AquaNerd | Jul 19, 2016 | Equipment, Fish, Reef, Science
This fish, in the little-known family Aphyonidae, was found by a team aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer at a depth of 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) in the Marianas Trench.NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER On July 10th, NOAA Scientists completed an exploration expedition into the deepest U.S. territorial waters in an area known as the Marianas Trench. The trench is about 1,580 miles (2,550 kilometers) in length with an average width of 43 miles (69 kilometers). The maximum verified depth is 6.831 miles at a small slot-shaped valley in its floor known as the Challenger Deep, at its southern end. To explore these great depths under extreme atmospheric pressure requires special equipment and considerable funding. The expedition was performed with a vessel owned by the National Oceanic and by AquaNerd | Jul 16, 2016 | Fish, Industry, Reef, Science
In early May 2016, an algae bloom on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee grew to cover 33 square miles. Nearby farm and residential runoff created conditions that caused the bloom in the lake and have been blamed for impacting water quality downstream to the Atlantic Ocean. The blue-green algae bloom is visible in this image of Lake Okeechobee, acquired on July 2, 2016, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. The natural-color image combines red light, green light, and coastal aerosol (blue) light (bands 4, 3 and 1). Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria often appears red in most of our aquariums when nutrient levels are too high but no matter the color it’s all cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria reproduces rapidly when nutrients like phosphates and nitrogen are abundant in
