Resilience pays off in oyster research
Researchers led by Louisiana State University (LSU) alumna Joanna Griffiths from Portland, Oregon, and her faculty advisor LSU Department of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Morgan Kelly reveals why some oysters may be more resilient to freshwater than others.
Griffiths wanted to find out whether, due to transgenerational plasticity, oysters that lived in low salinity would have offspring that was more resistant to low salinity.
Transgenerational plasticity occurs when a generation’s flexibility is passed on to the next generation.
Cuttlefish smart enough to wait for better reward
Using a modified version of the Stanford marshmallow test, researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (The University of Chicago) discovered that cuttlefish had the ability to delay gratification for a better reward—and those that were able to do it for a longer duration possessed better cognitive learning abilities.
The findings, which demonstrated the link between self-control and intelligence, was published recently in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal.
Why restore Hong Kong's lost oyster reefs?
Research jointly conducted by The Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS), Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) emphasises the importance of oyster reefs in mitigating some problems associated with coastal development, like storm-surge damage and biodiversity loss.
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Clam lived to be over 500 years old
This makes the otherwise unassuming Arctica islandica clam the longest lived animal species on record, though some corals are probably much older. The clam was initially named Ming by Sunday Times journalists, in reference to the Ming dynasty, during which it was born.
Researchers from Bangor University in North Wales – unaware of the animal’s impressive age – determined the age by drilling through and counting rings on its shell (a technique known as sclerochronology). In the process the clam died.
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The low-key, dull-coloured flamboyant cuttlefish
Based on a recent study, researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory have found that the flamboyant cuttlefish doesn't spend the day flashing its vibrant colours for our cameras.
Rather, it spends almost all its time camouflaged, in dull, subdued (safe!) colouration.
Shipworm: The Scourge of Wooden Wrecks is Really a Mussel
Have you ever wondered why some bodies of water, such as the Baltic, have so many wooden wrecks in great condition while other areas have almost no wooden wrecks at all? It has something to do with salinity; however, it is not the salt in seawater that consumes the wrecks but a mussel, which somewhat confusingly is called a worm—and it only lives in saltwater.
Why sea shells vary in size across different regions
Seashells come in various shapes and sizes. And it appears that the seashells from the tropics tend to be larger than those found in the temperate regions.
Far from being just a coincidence, it seems that there is a rational explanation for it. Simply put, this is because the sea snails in the tropics have to devote relatively less energy to shell growth, compared to those in the cold-water regions.
Great Barrier Reef's saviour—a giant snail?
A giant sea snail may turn out to be another line of defense against the destructive crown-of-thorn starfish that is currently plaguing Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Called the Pacific triton sea snail (Charonia tritonis), it can grow up to about 50 to 60cm and is indigenous to Australian waters. More importantly, the crown-of-thorn starfish happens to be part of its natural diet. However, the sea snail is currently endangered due to the consumer demand for their shells.
Giant Australian Cuttlefish
The giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) is the largest cuttlefish in the world, reaching up to half a metre in total length and weighing in at around 11kg. Solitary animals, they are found all along the coastline of the southern half of Australia—from Central Queensland on the eastern coast, right around the bottom of the continent and up to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.
Cuttlefish can go into electric stealth mode
Sharks home in on faint bioelectric fields generated by the bodies of their prey which they pick up using sensitive detectors on their snouts.
When researchers from Duke University showed captive cuttlefish held in a tank videos depicting the menacing silhouettes of a shark or predatory grouper fish they reacted by lowering the electric field dramatically. Being shown the shadow of a harmless crab produced no reaction.