Did you know that there is a kind of octopus called a wonderpus?
Sounds like a Dr. Seuss creation, doesn't it? But no, it's a real animal! The wonderpus octopus (Wonderpus photogenica) is a beautiful creature, with dark red skin marked by bold, white stripes on the arms and spots on the mantle. These spots are extremely distinctive, and vary for each individual octopus - so much so that they allow for the identification of specific animals. In fact, the wonderpus's distinctive appearance is what enabled its discovery. They are close relatives of another type of octopus called a mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). In fact, it is highly likely that people have observed wonderpus for many years, but didn't realize it because it is very similar to the mimic. The mimic, however, has much more muted colors than the wonderpus. It was only in 2006 that scientists realized that mimics and wonderpus were 2 different creatures.
The mimic octopus is, in an of itself, pretty interesting, too. Found in the seas off southeast Asia, the mimic shows an amazing ability to hide itself in plain sight simply by looking like something else. It has been observed disguising itself as more than a dozen different species, including sea snakes, crabs, stingrays, jellyfish and sea anemones. It accomplishes this amazing feat of deception by altering the color and texture of its skin, as well as contorting its arms with a high degree of flexibility. While all octopus are able to hide themselves with camouflage, the mimic is unique in its ability to not just blend in to the environment, but to actively disguise itself to look like something else. While that makes it difficult for predators to find the mimic, it also makes it difficult for scientists to find them!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Deep sea creatures
The other night I was watching one of the episodes of the Discovery channel's documentary "Planet Earth." In case you haven't seen any of these shows, they are truly amazing. They captured some of the most amazing video of creatures in places all over the globe - from the topics of mountains to the depths of the sea, from the lushest jungles to the most barren stretches of desert, from the poles to the equator - and everything in between. In the episode "Deep Ocean," the viewer is introduced to the largest habitat on the planet - the sea.
Deep ocean is considered anything away from the coasts and beyond the continental shelves. Out in these areas, the water can reach several miles deep. Historically, water this deep has been impossible for man to reach - the crushing pressure associated with it has been too much to overcome. But while it is too deep for man, it is not too deep for machine. In recent years, the use of remote underwater submersibles has allowed scientists to see just what is down there in the deepest parts of the world. And it turns out that this region, once considered barren and devoid of life, is not quite the wasteland we once believed. In fact, the deepest oceans in the world contain some amazing life. Amazing - and quite bizarre!
Here are a few examples of what lives in the depths of the world. (Some of these creatures are very poorly understood, given how hard it is to even find them.)
Vampire squid: The Vampire squid lives at depths of 2000 feet or more in what is called the OMZ, the oxygen minimum zone. At this depth, the amount of oxygen in the water is too low to sustain life in most oxygen-utilizing higher organisms. However, the vampire squid survives - and even thrives - in water with as little oxygen as 3%. (It is the only known cephalopod capable of this.) Interestingly, the vampire squid uses light as a defense mechanism. While shallower-dwelling squid squirt ink when startled, the vampire squid instead squirts a bioluminscent mucus that can glow for up to 10 minutes. This presumably blinds would-be predators in the inky darkness of the deep sea, allowing the squid to escape.
Sawtooth eels: These eels are so named for their inward-slanted teeth, arranged in a saw-like pattern. There are 11 known species of sawtooth eel, and they live in waters up to 2000 feet deep.
Tube worms: Tube worms are arguably some of the most well-understood deep water creature. Tube worms live around deep sea hydrothermal vents. The giant tube worm is the easiest to recognize - they can reach up to 4 feet tall, and grow more than 33 inches a year. Giant tube worms are only found in the Pacific ocean; other oceans contain tube worms such as Jericho worms, benthic worms and palm worms. These worms have a symbiotic relationship with deep see vent bacteria, which colonize the worms and provide them with energy as a byproduct of bacterial metabolism.
There are no doubt countless deep sea creatures that we know nothing of, given how difficult it is to get down there. But what little we do know about the creatures who make this region home makes me really appreciate how amazingly diverse a planet we live on.
Deep ocean is considered anything away from the coasts and beyond the continental shelves. Out in these areas, the water can reach several miles deep. Historically, water this deep has been impossible for man to reach - the crushing pressure associated with it has been too much to overcome. But while it is too deep for man, it is not too deep for machine. In recent years, the use of remote underwater submersibles has allowed scientists to see just what is down there in the deepest parts of the world. And it turns out that this region, once considered barren and devoid of life, is not quite the wasteland we once believed. In fact, the deepest oceans in the world contain some amazing life. Amazing - and quite bizarre!
Here are a few examples of what lives in the depths of the world. (Some of these creatures are very poorly understood, given how hard it is to even find them.)
Vampire squid: The Vampire squid lives at depths of 2000 feet or more in what is called the OMZ, the oxygen minimum zone. At this depth, the amount of oxygen in the water is too low to sustain life in most oxygen-utilizing higher organisms. However, the vampire squid survives - and even thrives - in water with as little oxygen as 3%. (It is the only known cephalopod capable of this.) Interestingly, the vampire squid uses light as a defense mechanism. While shallower-dwelling squid squirt ink when startled, the vampire squid instead squirts a bioluminscent mucus that can glow for up to 10 minutes. This presumably blinds would-be predators in the inky darkness of the deep sea, allowing the squid to escape.
Sawtooth eels: These eels are so named for their inward-slanted teeth, arranged in a saw-like pattern. There are 11 known species of sawtooth eel, and they live in waters up to 2000 feet deep.
Tube worms: Tube worms are arguably some of the most well-understood deep water creature. Tube worms live around deep sea hydrothermal vents. The giant tube worm is the easiest to recognize - they can reach up to 4 feet tall, and grow more than 33 inches a year. Giant tube worms are only found in the Pacific ocean; other oceans contain tube worms such as Jericho worms, benthic worms and palm worms. These worms have a symbiotic relationship with deep see vent bacteria, which colonize the worms and provide them with energy as a byproduct of bacterial metabolism.
There are no doubt countless deep sea creatures that we know nothing of, given how difficult it is to get down there. But what little we do know about the creatures who make this region home makes me really appreciate how amazingly diverse a planet we live on.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
All things baby and science-y
Hi everyone! I'm starting to get back into the swing of things after the birth of our daughter, which means I'm hopefully going to be able to start blogging again! Over the last 3 months, my brain has been all-consumed with all things baby-related, so I thought I'd start off with the list of baby-related science thoughts.
1. Cradle cap: Our daughter had a pretty severe case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this is a skin condition characterized by thick, scaly flakes on the scalp, forehead and eyebrows. Some babies get it, some do not. But we really don't know what causes it. It seems to have something to do with the same reason why many adults get dandruff. Who knew - apparently it's not just a case of dry skin!
2. Hearing tests: Newborns are given hearing tests these days before they even leave the hospital. It's pretty neat how it's done, too, considering that a newborn can't tell you whether she's heard a noise or not. Sensors are attached to their foreheads, and then a tone is played in their ears. If they hear it, the sensors detect the neuronal signals passing through their brains, and output a signal to the detection machine. From a parenting standpoint, it was a relief to know that our daughter's hearing was normal. From a science standpoint, the process was really neat.
3. Colic: We were extremely fortunate to have a non-colicky baby. Many parents are not so fortunate. Despite it's prevalence, however, colic is poorly understood. Some believe that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed cases of acid reflux (otherwise known as heartburn). But what about those colicky babies who do not have reflux? No one really knows why they have such a fussy time during their first 3 months of life.
4. Speaking of reflux: Did you know that the sphincter that closes the stomach off from the esophagus actually weakens from birth until about 4 months of age? Only after that does it begin to get stronger. That's what babies do most of their spitting-up between the ages of 2 and 4 months.
5. Baby fingernails: These are really amazing. Baby fingernails are so soft and pliable - and yet incredibly sharp! If you don't keep them trimmed, a baby can give herself or you some strong scratches. I wonder when they start to become harder, like adult fingernails?
6. Baby blue eyes: Like many Caucasian babies, our daughter has started life with blue eyes. We strongly suspect that they will change color as she ages - many babies develop their adult eye color at around 6 months. But here's a question - why would a baby's eye color change from blue to something else? Why aren't they born with their final eye color?
7. SIDS: That dreaded fear of all parents - sudden infant death syndrome. A small percentage of babies suddenly stop breathing while sleeping, and thus they die. It's been known about for centuries, and the reasons for it are still a mystery. Here's some good news, however. The risk of a baby dying of SIDS has been drastically reduced in recent years due to current recommendations that babies sleep on their backs. While we may not know why this reduces the risk of SIDS so much, I'm grateful for it!
These are just a few of the science type thoughts I've had in the last few months related to parenthood. I'm sure I'll come up with many others, and I strongly suspect that my posts for a while will all relate to baby topics. Hopefully you'll all find this as interesting as I do these days!
1. Cradle cap: Our daughter had a pretty severe case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this is a skin condition characterized by thick, scaly flakes on the scalp, forehead and eyebrows. Some babies get it, some do not. But we really don't know what causes it. It seems to have something to do with the same reason why many adults get dandruff. Who knew - apparently it's not just a case of dry skin!
2. Hearing tests: Newborns are given hearing tests these days before they even leave the hospital. It's pretty neat how it's done, too, considering that a newborn can't tell you whether she's heard a noise or not. Sensors are attached to their foreheads, and then a tone is played in their ears. If they hear it, the sensors detect the neuronal signals passing through their brains, and output a signal to the detection machine. From a parenting standpoint, it was a relief to know that our daughter's hearing was normal. From a science standpoint, the process was really neat.
3. Colic: We were extremely fortunate to have a non-colicky baby. Many parents are not so fortunate. Despite it's prevalence, however, colic is poorly understood. Some believe that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed cases of acid reflux (otherwise known as heartburn). But what about those colicky babies who do not have reflux? No one really knows why they have such a fussy time during their first 3 months of life.
4. Speaking of reflux: Did you know that the sphincter that closes the stomach off from the esophagus actually weakens from birth until about 4 months of age? Only after that does it begin to get stronger. That's what babies do most of their spitting-up between the ages of 2 and 4 months.
5. Baby fingernails: These are really amazing. Baby fingernails are so soft and pliable - and yet incredibly sharp! If you don't keep them trimmed, a baby can give herself or you some strong scratches. I wonder when they start to become harder, like adult fingernails?
6. Baby blue eyes: Like many Caucasian babies, our daughter has started life with blue eyes. We strongly suspect that they will change color as she ages - many babies develop their adult eye color at around 6 months. But here's a question - why would a baby's eye color change from blue to something else? Why aren't they born with their final eye color?
7. SIDS: That dreaded fear of all parents - sudden infant death syndrome. A small percentage of babies suddenly stop breathing while sleeping, and thus they die. It's been known about for centuries, and the reasons for it are still a mystery. Here's some good news, however. The risk of a baby dying of SIDS has been drastically reduced in recent years due to current recommendations that babies sleep on their backs. While we may not know why this reduces the risk of SIDS so much, I'm grateful for it!
These are just a few of the science type thoughts I've had in the last few months related to parenthood. I'm sure I'll come up with many others, and I strongly suspect that my posts for a while will all relate to baby topics. Hopefully you'll all find this as interesting as I do these days!
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