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The dottyback changes its colour to match surrounding damselfish species, enabling it to counter the defences of its damselfish prey by disguising itself as a harmless part of their community, then swooping in to hunt their young.

Dottybacks imitate a whole variety of other reef fish

"By changing colour to imitate local damselfish communities, dottybacks are able to overcome the predator avoidance behaviour in the juvenile fish they hunt," said Dr William Feeney, co-author of the study from the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology.

"The dottyback behaviour is comparable to the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' scenario from Aesop's Fables, where distinguishing the predator from the harmless 'flock' becomes increasingly difficult when they look alike - allowing the dottyback to creep up on unsuspecting juvenile damselfish," Feeney said.

Beluga

Churchill tour operators say new boat rules threaten livelihoods

Operators claim new federal regulations meant to protect marine mammals could put them out of business. Wally Daudrich, president of the Beluga Whale Tourism Association and owner of the Lazy Bear Lodge in Churchill, Manitoba, claims rules prohibit boats from approaching belugas any closer than 50 metres.

(Unrelated filephoto). Frequent fliers and air crews health threat from toxic fumes
(Unrelated filephoto). Frequent fliers and air crews health threat from toxic fumes

Frequent fliers and air crews face health threat from toxic fumes

According to a coroner probing the death of an Edinburgh pilot, frequent fliers and aircrews are risking their health by breathing in toxic fumes inside aircraft cabins. Stanhope Payne, senior coroner for Dorset, said people regularly exposed to fumes circulating in planes faced "consequential damage to their health".

Malaysia's new airline in $1.5bn deal with Bombardier

A new Malaysian airline has signed a $1.5bn deal with Canadian manufacturer Bombardier for 20 new CS100 aircraft. Called flymojo, the new private carrier would be based out of Johor Bahru in the south and Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia.

The launch was announced at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition with Prime Minister Najib Razak in attendance. According to deputy minister of transport Aziz Kaprawi, it would play a vital role in improving air travel between the Malaysian Peninsula and other parts of the region.

Adamstown, the only settlement on the Pitcairn Islands

Britain creates world's largest marine reserve

The British government has created the world's largest marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, one of the world's most remote locations. Offering unprecedented protection to more than 1,200 species of marine mammals, fish and sea birds in the South Pacific, the 322,138-square-mile reserve is located is approximately three-and-half times the size of the United Kingdom.

Scuba diving pioneer Bob Soto dies age 88

Though there are nearly 50 operators on Grand Cayman now, Bob Soto was the first. He ran the business for 20 years before selling it to Ron Kipp who called it Ron Kipp’s Bob Soto’s Diving and spent the next 22 years expanding it further. Ron retired in 2003 and sold the business to Dan Tibbetts of Reef Divers who called the new company Bob Soto’s Reef Divers.

Soto created his own equipment and promotional diving videos to assist the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and diving clubs throughout the United States, as well as

Musashi under attack by American carrier aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf

WWII Japanese battleship Musashi found

A team led and funded by Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen has located the Musashi on the seabed of the Sibuyan Sea in the Philippines. Allen, 62, whose father served in World War II, says his research team discovered the Musashi's wreckage on March 1 and uploaded a number of pictures of what he described as the ship’s rusty bow, with a Japanese seal clearly visible.

Wetpixel Oceanic Whitetip Shark Expedition 2015

The Wetpixel Oceanic Whitetip Shark Expedition 2015 will run from 12 to 18 April 2015, and will be based on Cat Island (flights into New Bight airport (TBI)).

The trip includes:

7 days 6 nights hotel accommodation hotel on double occupancy (single occupancy available at a supplement). 5 full days of oceanic whitetip shark encounters. Airport pickup/drop-off from TBI to the hotel. Daily Dive Boat Shuttle from the hotel to the boat. Continental breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages on the boat. Tanks, air fills, weights, and weight belts.

Eugenie Clark
Eugenie Clark

Shark Lady "Eugenie Clark" has Died

Her pioneering work in marine conservation and shark behaviour helped to reveal that sharks were not the stupid and vicious animals they were reputed to be. Though she also did research on fish, her main focus was to improve the public image of sharks.

She began her research in the 1950s, and her fascination with the marine world inspired her to find ways of conducting research underwater. She was one of the first to do so while using SCUBA, and also made over seventy deep dives using a submersible, into the deep ocean.

Update from Shearwater: Battery Contact Issues on Petrel 1

Upon conducting a root cause analysis, we suspected that the issue most likely stemmed from an issue with the battery contacts. This problem can result in lower-than-expected battery life or, in some cases, the computer resetting underwater. We then changed to using full gold plating on all contacts in January 2014. Zero problems have been reported on gold-plated units, confirming our suspicions.

Easy Steps You Can Take

While gold plating (as on all Petrels since Jan. 2014) is the best solution, these steps will allow the older contacts to be used trouble-free.

Research and Adventure on the White Sea Coast

A new eco-tourism project has just been launched on the spectacular coast of the White Sea, from the village of Chupa. Run by Vasily Efimov and Yulia Suprunenko, it offered tours of the sea coast and forest, seal and bird watching, and a trip to see the beluga whales of Nilma, for the first time this winter. The programs for this spring and summer will soon be announced.