"I always go to the funny pages first. Ah ah ah!"
Funny Animal Pictures
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Blue Bastard Caught!
A mystery fish is caught time-to-time in northern Australia. It was enthused about then thrown back to be forgotten until another recreational fisherman snagged an example. The fish was nicknamed the blue bastard in the usual Aussie way. Serious scientists who wanted to catch it couldn't, no matter how hard they tried.
Jeff Johnson, an ichthyologist, decided to take the case into his own hands. He hired Ben Bight a Weipa fishing guide to go out and catch the freaker. Specimens were caught and sent to Brisbane where Johnson and geneticist Jessica Worthington got to work on them. The fish already had a name: Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus. Little was known about it, however.
The Blue Bastard grows to a meter in length. Juveniles have black and white stripes with a yellow tinge. Adults change to a pleasant gray-blue. They are territorial, showing aggression by rushing at each other then locking jaws in a struggle.
Living in the shallows it would be thought that they are easy to catch. This is not the case. They are picky and seldom bite a baited hook or spinner. A new tourist industry could develop: apparently, they are successfully caught by presenting a "fly" to them. As they are not endangered this is a serious proposition.
◆Biology by Ty Buchanan ◆
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Sea Simulator Shows Ocean Heat Does Not Increase Coral Acidification
Though heat itself may damage the Great Barrier Reef, higher levels of acidity due to raised temperatures will not increase coral bleaching. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ends up absorbed in the surface of sea water. This raises acidity.
There is not a direct relationship between acidification and coral bleaching . However, the kinds of animal life present in an area will be changed by more acid conditions. The whole ecosystem of the reef will be altered forever. Both heat and more acidity will cause this.
Tests have been done with the national sea simulator which gives quite specific results. The Sea Sim is new technology. It is being given test runs at present. Acidification and heat together do not raise coral bleaching. This is a major finding. Scientists are now going down a new path.
The new premise came from a combined research program using the Sea Sim and hands on tests off the coast of Papua New Guinea; so coral itself is relatively safe, but the animal community that lives arounds them is under threat. Our grandchildren will not see the wonder of the world as we know it
today.
◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan ◆
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