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DAN Welcomes 2021 Research and Safety Interns

Clockwise from top right: Grant Dong, Christine Tamburri, Gabriel Graf, Rhiannon Brenner, Benjamin Kistler

The DAN Internship Program was created more than 20 years ago to give qualifiedstudents valuable experience in dive safety research. While the program is still research-oriented, its scope has expanded over the years to include projects that focus on other facets of DAN’s mission to help divers in need of emergency medical assistance and to promote dive safety through education. 

Table corals can regenerate coral reefs at a very fast rate.
Table corals can regenerate coral reefs at a very fast rate.

Why table corals matter in reef regeneration

Remember those large table corals (tabular Acropora) at the Great Barrier Reef?

A new study had shown them to be “extraordinary ecosystem engineers”, with the ability to regenerate coral reef habitats at the iconic reef at a rate 14 times higher—more than 20 years faster—than any other coral type.

In essence, the research indicated that overall reef recovery would slow significantly if these corals declined or disappeared at the reef.

John Volanthen, Rick Stanton, Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives, Thai Cave Rescue, Tham Luang Cave, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, XRay Magazines, cave rescue, scuba diving news, cave diving book
'Thirteen Lessons' was published on 1 June 2021, in hardback form | Price £20

'Thirteen lessons that saved thirteen lives' published today!

The 'Wild Boars' football team and their coach had become stranded after sudden, torrential monsoon rain poured into Tham Luang cave. Within days two British cave divers - John Volanthen and Rick Stanton - along with British caver Rob Harper were dispatched to Thailand to assist an army of rescue personnel.

‘Thirteen Lives' is a case study in courage. Ron Howard, Oscar-winning director of Apollo

Dray Van Beeck Portfolio

Parrotfish, 44 x 59cm, from the Hybrids digital art series by Dray van Beeck
Parrotfish, 44 x 59cm, from the Hybrids digital art series by Dray van Beeck

In this issue, we celebrate Dutch digital artist and dive professional Dray van Beeck, who passed away suddenly on 19 April 2021. Together with his wife, Karin, he managed the Bali Diving Academy Pemuteran in Indonesia. A fine artist, avid diver and underwater photographer, Dray created surreal and fantastical scenes in digital artworks composed using his own underwater images.

Clownfish at different anemones get stripes at different rates

Scientists have discovered that how fast the white stripes that run down the clownfish’s body develop depends on the sea anemone it lives in.

Specifically, they found out that the clownfish living in the giant carpet anemone and those living in the magnificent sea anemone develop stripe patterns (called “bars”) at different speeds as they matured from the larval to the adult stage.

Sharks can navigate via Earth's magnetic field

Since at least the 1970s, researchers have suspected that the elasmobranchs—a group of fish containing sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish—can detect magnetic fields. But up till now, no one had shown that sharks use the fields to locate themselves or navigate.

By exposing sharks to certain magnetic cue, researchers from Florida State University have now managed to demonstrate not only that sharks have an ability to detect Earth’s magnetic field but moreover that they are able to use it to travel long distances with accuracy.

Joanna Griffiths discovered that selective breeding in hatchery management practices may help to increase resiliency for low salinity for eastern oysters.
Joanna Griffiths discovered that selective breeding in hatchery management practices may help to increase resiliency for low salinity for eastern oysters.

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.