54 posts · 20,359 views
Reporting on the world's largest environment - the deep-sea.
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- March 14, 2010
- 12:40 AM
- 54 views
Say Hello to My Little Friend
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
What looks like a worm, is completely symmetrical in cross-section, and in the words of Dr. Peter Holland:
“It has no mouth, no gut, no brain and no nerve cord. It doesn’t have a left or right side or a top or bottom – we can’t even tell which end is the front!” (quoted from Physorg)
Its [...]... Read more »
Jimenez-Guri, E., Okamura, B., & Holland, P. (2007) Origin and evolution of a myxozoan worm. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 47(5), 752-758. DOI: 10.1093/icb/icm026
- March 12, 2010
- 03:05 PM
- 28 views
Isopods Cause Reproductive Death in Shrimp
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
Isopods, you know them as those adorable little roly-poly bugs under rocks in the forest or the gigantic Bathynomus of the deep sea. They are also those cute and cuddly parasites in the gill chamber of shrimp too! Awww, How special! In a recent issue of JMBA-UK, Calado et al. describe how these fuzzy wittle [...]... Read more »
Calado, R., Bartilotti, C., Goy, J., & Dinis, M. (2008) Parasitic castration of the stenopodid shrimp Stenopus hispidus (Decapoda: Stenopodidae) induced by the bopyrid isopod Argeiopsis inhacae (Isopoda: Bopyridae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 88(02). DOI: 10.1017/S0025315408000684
- March 7, 2010
- 09:48 PM
- 47 views
Spinach, Popeye, and Fishy Pigeons
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
Originally, Popeye the Sailor gained strength from rubbing the head of a rare chicken. Not until 1932 and thereafter did Popeye gain superhuman strength and invincibility from downing a can of spinach. Besides being easier to carry than a chicken, spinach was purported to have extremely high levels of iron that would make [...]... Read more »
Jeffreys, R., Lavaleye, M., Bergman, M., Duineveld, G., Witbaard, R., & Linley, T. (2010) Deep-sea macrourid fishes scavenge on plant material: evidence from in situ observations. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2010.01.007
- February 28, 2010
- 03:42 PM
- 49 views
Family Gatherings and Free Swimming Sperm Packets
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
My wife is from a very large family. Inevitably at in-law gatherings, I find myself whispering into my wife’s ear, “How are you related to that person?” Unfortunately, my wife has never provided me a nice family tree so I can see how these dozens of people fit together. Much is the same for the [...]... Read more »
Miya, M., Pietsch, T., Orr, J., Arnold, R., Satoh, T., Shedlock, A., Ho, H., Shimazaki, M., Yabe, M., & Nishida, M. (2010) Evolutionary history of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): a mitogenomic perspective. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10(1), 58. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-10-58
- February 15, 2010
- 10:31 PM
- 73 views
Reconsidering the Origins of Marine Life and All Life
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
What is the origin story of deep-sea organisms? For decades, we thought shallow coastal waters were the cradle of marine life repeatedly pumping species into the deep. This is the simplest story. The more complex origin story involves multiple anoxic events, catastrophic events, survival of the fittest, so on and so forth with species originating [...]... Read more »
Lindner, A., Cairns, S., & Cunningham, C. (2008) From Offshore to Onshore: Multiple Origins of Shallow-Water Corals from Deep-Sea Ancestors. PLoS ONE, 3(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002429
Inoue, J., Miya, M., Miller, M., Sado, T., Hanel, R., Hatooka, K., Aoyama, J., Minegishi, Y., Nishida, M., & Tsukamoto, K. (2010) Deep-ocean origin of the freshwater eels. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0989
Raupach, M., Mayer, C., Malyutina, M., & Wägele, J. (2009) Multiple origins of deep-sea Asellota (Crustacea: Isopoda) from shallow waters revealed by molecular data. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1658), 799-808. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1063
Raupach, M., Malyutina, M., Brandt, A., & Wägele, J. (2007) Molecular data reveal a highly diverse species flock within the munnopsoid deep-sea isopod Betamorpha fusiformis (Barnard, 1920) (Crustacea: Isopoda: Asellota) in the Southern Ocean. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 54(16-17), 1820-1830. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2007.07.009
Lane, N., Allen, J., & Martin, W. (2010) How did LUCA make a living? Chemiosmosis in the origin of life. BioEssays. DOI: 10.1002/bies.200900131
- February 9, 2010
- 10:32 PM
- 78 views
LSDG: An Acronym Consuming A Field
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
You may never heard of LSDG (although some of you may have heard of LSD but I make no judgement here) but a lot scientific thought and time is spent contemplating it. In fact Google Scholar returns 113,000 published papers on the subject. Why are there millions of pages dedicated to this subject? Because it [...]... Read more »
Rex, M., Stuart, C., Hessler, R., Allen, J., Sanders, H., & Wilson, G. (1993) Global-scale latitudinal patterns of species diversity in the deep-sea benthos. Nature, 365(6447), 636-639. DOI: 10.1038/365636a0
Hillebrand, H. (2004) On the Generality of the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient. The American Naturalist, 163(2), 192-211. DOI: 10.1086/381004
Yasuhara, M., Hunt, G., Cronin, T., & Okahashi, H. (2009) Temporal latitudinal-gradient dynamics and tropical instability of deep-sea species diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(51), 21717-21720. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0910935106
- February 3, 2010
- 12:53 PM
- 94 views
Deep-Water Origin of Freshwater Eels
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
Larval eel jaw diversity from Michael Miller 2009 ASMB 2(4): 1-94.
There are all sort of eels in this world. Big ones, small ones, gulper eels, morays. But the most tastiest are the Japanese freshwater eel. Nothing says Ohayo Gozaimasu like fresh eel sushi topped with a mountain of pickled ginger and lightly spackled with sweet [...]... Read more »
Inoue, J., Miya, M., Miller, M., Sado, T., Hanel, R., Hatooka, K., Aoyama, J., Minegishi, Y., Nishida, M., & Tsukamoto, K. (2010) Deep-ocean origin of the freshwater eels. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0989
- February 2, 2010
- 10:19 PM
- 99 views
‘Safe’ Water-Based Drill Cuttings Affect Seafloor Animals
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
Oil and gas extraction is pervasive among the coasts of the world. In many areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of west Africa, resource exploration companies have been moving into pretty deep waters. Many rigs use water-based muds in the drilling process. It is considered to the best alternative because [...]... Read more »
Hilde C. Trannum, Hans C. Nilsson, Morten T. Schaanning, & Sigurd Øxnevad. (2009) Effects of sedimentation from water-based drill cuttings and natural sediment on benthic macrofaunal community structure and ecosystem processes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. info:/10.1016/j.jembe.2009.12.004
- January 26, 2010
- 09:59 PM
- 122 views
Taking Fish and Leaving Trash
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
Monofilament fishing line is not what you expect to see on the deep ocean floor. What would your response be if I told that enough occurs at depths over 1000 feet you can tally it? And what if I told you it occurs frequently even in marine sanctuaries? What if I told you it is [...]... Read more »
Watters, D., Yoklavich, M., Love, M., & Schroeder, D. (2010) Assessing marine debris in deep seafloor habitats off California. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(1), 131-138. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.08.019
- January 21, 2010
- 10:06 PM
- 131 views
The Evolution of Iron-Clad Samurai Snails With Gold Feet
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
It is told in the Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
At the time of the attack on the castle at Shimabara, Tazaki Geki was wearing very resplendent armor. Lord Katsuhige was not pleased by this, and after that every time he saw something showy he would say, “That’s just like Geki’s armor.” In the light [...]... Read more »
Yao, H., Dao, M., Imholt, T., Huang, J., Wheeler, K., Bonilla, A., Suresh, S., & Ortiz, C. (2010) Protection mechanisms of the iron-plated armor of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent gastropod. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(3), 987-992. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0912988107
- January 19, 2010
- 10:19 PM
- 129 views
Great Abyssal Diversity Among the Microscopic
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
An area the size of a coffee table on the deep-sea floor would yield hundreds of species. A few species would dominate with numbers in the 10-100’s. Yet most would be rare represented by a single lone individual. These latter species are the “rare biosphere” and one of the most conspicuous phenomena of the deep [...]... Read more »
Scheckenbach, F., Hausmann, K., Wylezich, C., Weitere, M., & Arndt, H. (2009) Large-scale patterns in biodiversity of microbial eukaryotes from the abyssal sea floor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(1), 115-120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0908816106
- December 8, 2009
- 11:14 PM
- 191 views
Hammer Time
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
Every time you see me that Hammer’s just so hype
I’m dope on the floor and I’m magic on the mic
Now why would I ever stop doing this
With others makin’ records that just don’t hit
I toured around the world from London to the Bay
It’s Hammer Go, Hammer MC Hammer, Yo Hammer
And the rest can go and [...]... Read more »
McComb, D., Tricas, T., & Kajiura, S. (2009) Enhanced visual fields in hammerhead sharks. Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(24), 4010-4018. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.032615
- November 30, 2009
- 11:00 PM
- 232 views
Why Are There No Super Whales?
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
The question is not why are whales big but why are whales not bigger? The blue whales reached weights of 150 tons prewhaling. To appreciate how massive a blue whale is, consider it would take 15 school buses, around 10 tons in weight to equal one of these marine mammals. Why are there no 250 [...]... Read more »
Goldbogen, J., Potvin, J., & Shadwick, R. (2009) Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1680
- November 23, 2009
- 07:39 AM
- 210 views
Wood, It’s What’s For Dinner
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
A deep-sea crab walks into a pub and asked, ”Where’s the bar tender?”
Few deep-sea organisms rely on food originally from land. Most deep-sea dwellers rely on marine snow (detritus raining from the surface), large food falls like dead whales, or chemosynthetic pathways like those at hot vents and cold seeps. This makes sense. How much land [...]... Read more »
Hoyoux, C., Zbinden, M., Samadi, S., Gaill, F., & Compère, P. (2009) Wood-based diet and gut microflora of a galatheid crab associated with Pacific deep-sea wood falls. Marine Biology, 156(12), 2421-2439. DOI: 10.1007/s00227-009-1266-2
- October 30, 2009
- 06:13 AM
- 232 views
New Species Friday 10/30/09 – Ophryotrocha fabriae
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
Say hello to my little fried… In fact, this guy is so small you might have missed if you didn’t use the right sieve mesh size! So small, that they are best viewed as a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) image like the one on the right. Ophryotrocha fabriae is a new polychaete annelid in the [...]... Read more »
Paxton, H., & Morineaux, M. (2009) Three Species of Dorvilleidae (annelida: Polychaeta) Associated With Atlantic Deep-Sea Reducing Habitats, With The Description of Ophryotrocha Fabriae, New Species. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(1), 14-25. DOI: 10.2988/08-22.1
- October 28, 2009
- 12:22 AM
- 264 views
(Sieve) Size Matters
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
Enter the sieve. It is a marine biologists best friend, saving hours of sorting and enabling quantification of fauna. In fact you can get these miracle workers at McMaster-Carr for a mere $40-50. You take good care of these puppies and they will last several graduate student’s lifetimes! I prefer the 500 micron mesh size [...]... Read more »
Gage, J., Hughes, D., & Gonzalez Vecino, J. (2002) Sieve size influence in estimating biomass, abundance and diversity in samples of deep-sea macrobenthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 97-107. DOI: 10.3354/meps225097
Breea Govenar, Derk C. Bergquist, Istvan A. Urcyuo, James T. Eckner, & Charles R. Fisher. (2002) Three Ridgeia piscesae assemblages from a single Juan de Fuca sulphide edifice: structurally different and functionally similar. Cahiers Biologie Marine , 247-252. info:/
Pavithran, S., Ingole, B., Nanajkar, M., & Goltekar, R. (2009) Importance of sieve size in deep-sea macrobenthic studies. Marine Biology Research, 5(4), 391-398. DOI: 10.1080/17451000802441285
- October 19, 2009
- 08:18 PM
- 327 views
Who likes protandric hermaphrodites?
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
Scientists love to group things. We also like to name things. We also like to plot data on bivariate graphs. On really crazy nights, we let our hair down, well not me per se but other scientists with hair, and do all three. 90% of science is grouping, naming, and plotting.
If you don’t know already [...]... Read more »
Tyler, P., Marsh, L., Baco-Taylor, A., & Smith, C. (2009) Protandric hermaphroditism in the whale-fall bivalve mollusc Idas washingtonia. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 56(19-20), 1689-1699. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.05.014
- October 16, 2009
- 12:20 PM
- 345 views
Friday Freak 10/16/09 – Gersemia juliepackardae
by Kevin Zelnio in Deep Sea News
TGIF IS DEAD LONG LIVE TGIF!
Craig and I are making some changes around these parts. You’ll notice them soon enough. One change starts now. We are getting rid of one of our longest running and most successful (not very) commerical franchises. We are disbanding the traditional Friday Deep Sea Pic and TGIF. We will [...]... Read more »
G.C. Williams, & L. Lundsten. (2009) The nephtheid soft coral genus Gersemia Marenzeller, 1878, with the description of a new species from the northeast Pacific and a review of two additional species (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea). Zool. Med. Leiden, 83(34), 1067-1081. info:other/
- August 25, 2009
- 09:34 PM
- 432 views
We Get Mail – Sea Sheppard Shenanigans Edition
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
A few days ago DSN received a letter from one of our fans,
[sic]
To whom it may concern,
After reviewing your comments concerning the Sea Shepard, it is quite apparent that you do not appose the killing of whales by the Japanese!! It is also apparent that you support such actions by these savages!! The efforts that [...]... Read more »
Nagtzaam, G., & Lentini, P. (2008) Vigilantes on the High Seas?: The Sea Shepherds and Political Violence. Terrorism and Political Violence, 20(1), 110-133. DOI: 10.1080/09546550701723658
- August 20, 2009
- 07:23 PM
- 371 views
DeepC Wormz R Da Bomb
by Dr. M in Deep Sea News
Or perhaps more appropriately have the bomb. Osborn et al. report in Science seven previously unknown species (0.7 to 3.6 inches) of annelid worms hailing from the deep pelagic (>1800m). All the new species form a distinctive group within the Cirratuliformia, a recently proposed higher taxonomic group that encompases seven other groups currently recognized as [...]... Read more »
Osborn, K., Haddock, S., Pleijel, F., Madin, L., & Rouse, G. (2009) Deep-Sea, Swimming Worms with Luminescent "Bombs". Science, 325(5943), 964-964. DOI: 10.1126/science.1172488
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