Well, Whale Sharks, you are a bit too friendly aren’t you?
The whale shark pictured snuck up on me, as they do apparently. It didn’t even say excuse me.
Just a quickie before I collapse on my bed. I SAW MY FIRST WHALE SHARKS/ BUNTANDINGS TODAY. And it was crazy.
First of all, what fish is that big, even as a juvenile?
Secondly, because they are fed, their behaviour is … unnatural, for want of a better word. Some of the are quite aggressive focused on feeding. They just don’t care about getting close to you. The nudge the boats to get more food, they speed at you, just missing you. It is unreal. And quite unnerving.
It was a surreal day. I was so excited to be seeing them (there was about eight), and so sad to see them begging at the boats, and the scars that they have on their mouths and fins from scraping against the boats.
Come 0530 tomorrow, I’ll be up and going through it all again. It’s time to learn how to identify the regular individuals, get up to scratch on the surveys, and prepare for the next set of volunteers.
This my friends, is science.
Marrus Orthocanna
A colonial animal composed of a complex arrangement of zooids, some of which are polyps and some medusae.
A pelagic siphonophore in the class Hydrozoa. The best known siphonophore is the Portuguese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis).
(via halfman-halfocean)
Bristleworm/ Fireworm (Chloeia parva) by Samantha Craven
Bristleworms are Polychaetes (marine Annelid worms). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. To touch is to pain. They can also release the bristles into the water, so you can even get stung in the general vicinity.
Juvenile Common Egg Cowrie (Ovula ovum) by Samantha Craven
The surface of the shell is smooth, shiny and completely snow white, with a dark reddish-purple interior, visible through the wide and long aperture, which bears teeth on one side only. In the living cowries the mantle is black, with a pattern of small white spots in adults, while juveniles resemble some toxic nudibranchs of the genus Phyllidia owing to their orange yellow sensorial papillae. The lateral flaps of the mantle usually hide completely the white surface, but the mantle is quickly retracted into the shell opening when the cowry is disturbed (source)
are you finding it difficult in finding a steady job?
Asked by Anonymous
Well… no. I am not ‘looking’ for a steady job per se. I’m focusing on the field of marine conservation which in itself is very variable. Work depends on funding, or project sustainability, on job satisfaction.
If you’re asking in terms of marine biology, it really depends on what you want to do, and how good you are. It is a competitive field. Everyone wants to “be a marine biologist” - make sure you are better than other candidates, get as much work experience as possible, volunteer etc. It will make you a stronger candidate for employment.
I want to have a career in some sort of marine biology-esque setting. The college I attend does not offer a degree in marine biology, so I'm getting a degree in Biology. Will I have a tougher time finding a job as a marine biologist with a Biology degree than I would with a marine biology degree? All of the colleges that offer such a degree are very far away from me. Thank you! :]
Asked by lishthefish
I don’t think so - it’s what many people advised me to do, I just didn’t take that advice. If you don’t want to go far from home for college, do Biology. You won’t be missing out on the skills you need to be a marine biologist - you’ll just learn them in a different context.
Make sure you get work experience on top of the degree. Volunteer, intern…anything! You can even take time after college to gain marine experience, or do a Masters in marine biology…
Hi, I need a little help - I'm hoping to study geography and environmental studies, i'm very pro-eco and I just want a career that makes a difference, something along the lines of an ecologist. The only thing is; I don't think I'll make it into uni. Do you NEED a degree in environmental sciences to get a job in that field? If I don't get into uni is there any other college course in the UK that will help me? I just can't imagine working in any other way :(
Asked by insecureisthenewblack
If you want to be an ecologist, then you need a degree, but if you really feel that you aren’t going to make it, there are plenty of other ways to have a career that makes a difference. Conservation is extremely wide-ranging and it’s not longer a field dominated by scientists. You need other skills as well:
- people skills
- management skills
- politics
- law
… too many to list, but my advice is look for some volunteer programmes near you, and be a sponge and soak everything in. It will help you define where and how you can get to where you want to be. Experience is far FAR more valuable than a degree. Unfortunately it’s the standard way to start a career, but by no means is it the only way… Good luck!!
What kind of careers are in store for people majoring in marine biology?
Asked by Anonymous
Check out the list by The Blue Revolution, it’s pretty comprehensive. Also remember that you don’t HAVE to do a marine related job if you major in MB, every course has skills transferrable to other fields.
Unbelievable. Possibly a jellyfish from the genus Deepstaria, only described since the 60s, and until know only known from fragments:
Imperfectly known, many specimens damaged. Two nominal species, information from both combined here based on Russell (1967), Larson (1986), Larson et al. (1988). Bell remarkably thin, broad, delicate … flexing down in “pursing” manner… most specimens reported colorless but deep brown … lining a paler brown recorded once (Larson et al., 1988, as Deepstaria reticulum); more observations needed before value of this as species character can be evaluated.
Wonderpus (Wunderpus photogenicus) by Samantha Craven
I’m fairly confident this one is a Wonderpus - I learnt the other day that the third tentacle of the Wonderpus is shorter than the rest. I have no idea which one is the third one, but this Octopus definitely has one shorter than the rest. I’m assuming it’s the third one. So there you go.
