Happy Canada Day!

I know, I'm a day early. But that's only because I'll be helping to (wo)man the Living Oceans table at the Canada Day celebration in Campbell River tomorrow. In between barbecues, flags, face painting, beer and fireworks, please stop by our LOS table at Ostler Park tomorrow to learn more about the sea that surrounds our great country on 3 sides.

In the meantime, some fun facts about Canada:

Canada has the world's longest coastline (202,080 km)1

The highest tides on Earth are found in the Bay of Fundy, east of New Brunswick. The channeling effect of the bay is responsible for the amazing difference between high tide and low tide, which, during spring tides, can reach 53.5 feet. (That's almost as tall as a four-story building!) 2

Every Canadian province and territory has its own commercial fishing industry. (Yes, even Alberta!)


Got something to add? Comment with your interesting Canada/Ocean facts below!



1. CIA World FactBook, Canada, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/CA.html, accessed on 29 June 2009
2. http://www.bayoffundy.com/highesttides.aspx

Realistic Habitats?

This past weekend, I took the long trip to Vancouver to visit with an old friend that I know from my Congo days. [Sadly, many people who aren't familiar with the North Island or British Columbia, don't really understand that 'visiting' for a weekend in Vancouver isn't really 'visiting' at all: it's more like 'rendez-vous-ing'... but that is a North-Islander rant that I'll save for another time!]

As part of our tourist tour of Vancouver, I took my friend to Stanley Park, and of course, to the Vancouver Aquarium. We spent hours marveling at the diverse and beautiful creatures that are usually hidden beneath the sea and we both left the Aquarium bubbling with excitement about the ocean. Our excitement carried over into dinner, with a long conversation about ocean conservation-related issues.

At the Vancouver Aquarium - I don't know why I look so melancholy here

Many aquaria in North America do a fantastic job of showcasing the beauty of our seas and sparking a passion, in both the young and the old, to preserve this beauty for generations to come. They help to inspire promising young scientists, marine biologists, and conservationists; and for those who already love the ocean, aquaria can serve to reinforce their passion or provide an outlet to share this passion with others. There is no better time to give a message of conservation to the general public than right after you have shown them firsthand the fish, sea turtles, whales, and other marine life that we stand to lose through thoughtless practices.

But how realistic are the pristine ocean-replica habitats that house marine life in a modern-day aquarium? Not very, I'm sure a German duo would argue. They have created an art exhibit at the Schonbrunn Zoo in Vienna to challenge all of our typical expectations of natural habitat depictions.

According to the artists, "the viewer is forced to reconsider traditional modes of animal presentation and simultaneously to question the authenticity of concepts which are restaging 'natural' environments while they are increasingly endangered."

To quote the artists further: "Present-day conceptions of zoological gardens aim at the presentation of animals in an idyllic and apparently natural environment, untouched by civilization. But this is a contemporary conception, since courtly menageries and kennels were adapted to the exposure of animals as decorative objects. Until the early years of the 20th century, animals were part of a preferably spectacular and exotic staging, to the entertainment and amazement of the public. The artificial and the sensational were foregrounded, without creating a realistic setting of the natural environment of the animals."

So what do you think? What is a better way to get a conservation message across: using exhibits like the ones at the Vancouver Aquarium that show marine life at it's best and demonstrate what we stand to lose; or using exhibits such as the one at the Vienna Zoo that show natural life at its worst and demonstrate the harsh reality of an undesired future?

All photos in this post (except for the first): © Steinbrener/Dempf
www.steinbrener-dempf.com

Finding Coral Expedition Wraps Up

The Finding Coral Expedition has now concluded. So, after all the effort and excitement, at the end of it all, did the members of the FCE team really "find coral" as they had intended?

Did they ever. The Finding Coral Expedition documented over 14 species of coral, ranging from small orange cup corals to metre-high red tree corals.

And while the Finding Coral Expedition has officially come to an end, the work has really only just begun. Over the next few months, the expedition scientists will be examining the samples, studying the underwater video footage, and documenting their findings. The Living Oceans Society's conservation strategy and community education efforts will then be based upon the scientists' research and conclusions.

Here is the last video from the ship. Mark and Tavi, your work speaks for itself: amazing. Thank you for the incredible videos that allowed me to live vicariously through my colleagues over the past couple of weeks.




Also, a special thanks to my fellow bloggers for posting about our expedition along the way: Ava at the Reef Tank, the folks at Oceana, Greg Laden, Jeff at Frag'd it, Mark Powell at Blogfish, the Deep-Sea News team, MCBI, and Rick at Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets. I'm sorry if I've left anyone off this list that has written about the FCE as well.

Bottom Trawling

Dr. Lance Morgan talks about bottom trawling:

Great Whites "Plan" Seal Attacks

I'm not sure how those who think that sharks are unfairly demonized in today's popular culture are going to feel about sharks being compared to serial killers, but Matt Walker at BBC Earth News just published a very interesting story about the hunting style of great white sharks. I'll post the full text below.



Great white sharks do not aimlessly wander the ocean waiting to stumble upon their next meal.

Instead, the biggest sharks identify a location from which to strike, and then search the surrounding killing zone for their next victim.

That suggests that the sharks use a premeditated hunting strategy akin to that used by some human serial killers.

Scientists made the discovery while observing hundreds of great white attacks on fur seals off South Africa.

Despite the reputation of many large sharks as effective hunters, few studies have examined whether they follow any pattern in their foraging behaviour.

So shark experts Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami in Florida, US, and Aiden Martin of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, decided to study the predatory habits of great white sharks hunting off Seal Island, in False Bay, South Africa.

The island is home to some 64,000 Cape fur seals, which must swim across water that reaches depths of 20m just 50m from the shore.

During the winter of 2004, the researchers observed 340 attacks by great whites on fur seals within 2km of the island.

After each attack, the scientists recorded the precise geographical location and the depth of the water, as well as whether the attack was successful or not.

Anchor point

To help analyse the attack pattern of the sharks, Hammerschlag and Martin then teamed up with Kim Rossmo, a criminal justice expert based at Texas State University's Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation in San Marcos, US.

Rossmo specialises in the geographical profiling of criminal acts, including those by terrorists and serial killers. For example, by using the locations of a series of linked crimes, such as murder or arson, it is possible to predict the location of a criminal's anchor point, usually a home or place of work.

By applying these analytical techniques, the researchers established that great white sharks also follow a similar hunting strategy.The largest most dominant sharks would regularly pick a particular anchor point, and search for their next victim close to this location.

Most large sharks regularly returned to a spot some 100m due south of the main place where seals came ashore on to the island.

The anchor point did not itself provide the shark with the best chance of intercepting a seal. But the location did provide an optimal balance between detecting prey and capturing it.

Smaller sharks seem to avoid competition with larger ones by widening their search strategy. But they also tend to be less successful, suggesting that great white sharks learn through experience which are the best hunting sites.

"White sharks, like other predators, may refine their search patterns with experience," the researchers write in the Journal of Zoology, published by the Zoological Society of London.

- Matt Walker, BBC Earth News

Day 10 - Deep Sea Coral

The Finding Coral Expedition is coming to a close early this week. Thankfully the expedition did indeed "find coral" as we can see in the most recent video clip:

Day 9 - The Search