Friday, February 10, 2012

Engineers Find Inspiration For New Materials In Piranha-Proof Armor; 'We're Reaching The Limit With

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 10, 2012 (2 days ago)

It's a matchup worthy of a late-night cable movie: put a school of starving piranha and a 300-pound fish together, and who comes out the winner? The surprising answeriven the notorious guillotine-like bite of the piranhas Brazil's massive Arapaima fish. The... Full Story

The Dirt: This Week in Nature

PBS Nature, February 10, 2012 (3 days ago)

Salt Water Fish Have Fresh Water Roots. A study by scientists at the State University of New York at Stony Brook suggests a somewhat surprising origin for most of todays ocean fish. While studying ray-finned fish, a broad group that comprises almost all of todays ocean and fresh water species, they realized that the ancestors [...] Full Story

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Study: Ocean Warming Causes Elephant Seals To Dive Deeper; 'Food In The Sea Is Unevenly Distributed'

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 9, 2012 (4 days ago)

Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association cooperating in a joint study with biologists... Full Story

Study: Ocean Warming Causes Elephant Seals To Dive Deeper; 'Food In The Sea Is Unevenly Distributed'

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 9, 2012 (4 days ago)

Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association cooperating in a joint study with biologists... Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Full Episode

PBS Nature, February 9, 2012 (4 days ago)

Please view the original post to see the video. Watch the full episode of the PBS Nature film, Raccoon Nation. Are human beings, in an effort to outwit raccoons, actually making them smarter and unwittingly contributing to their evolutionary success? Are the ever more complex obstacles that our fast-paced urban world throws at them actually pushing the development of raccoon [...] Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: The Importance of Play

PBS Nature, February 9, 2012 (4 days ago)

This web exclusive video looks at the benefits of engaging in animal play— teaching animals about how things work, the physics of the world, and what to do and what not to do. Full Story

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Study: Global Glaciers, Ice Caps, Shedding Billions Of Tons Of Mass Annually; Sea Rising 0.4 Millime

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 8, 2012 (5 days ago)

Earth's glaciers and ice caps outside of the regions of Greenland and Antarctica are shedding roughly 150 billion tons of ice annually, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. The research effort is the first... Full Story

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Petition Seeks International Investigation Of Canada's Farmed Fish Operations, Protections For Wild

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 7, 2012 (5 days ago)

Conservation, fishing and native groups in Canada and the United States filed a formal petition (pdf) today requesting an international investigation into Canada's failure to protect wild salmon in British Columbia from disease and parasites in industrial fish feedlots. The... Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Raccoon Fact Sheet

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

Black masks, omnivorous eating habits, and dexterous paws. Facts and stats about Procyon lotor . Full Story

Report: 2011 Shark Attacks Remain Steady, Worldwide Deaths Highest Since 1993; 'Who's Killing Who?'

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

Shark attacks in the U.S. declined in 2011, but worldwide fatalities reached a two-decade high, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File report released today. While the U.S. and Florida saw a five-year downturn in the number of... Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: A Sense of Curiosity

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

In this web exclusive video, experts discuss the connection between raccoon dexterity, the animal's immense curiosity in objects, and intelligence. Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: Filming Raccoons is Hard

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

In this web-exclusive video, Producer Susan Fleming discusses the trials and tribulations that come with trying to capture high-quality images of raccoons in the pitch black. Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: Urban Territories

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

How does the size of urban raccoon territory compare to that of its rural counterpart? This web-exclusive video interviews experts who participated in a study to learn more about raccoon city geography. Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: First Night Out

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

A raccoon mother gathers her kits to leave the security of their natal den and descend 60 feet, head first, into the darkness for their first touch on solid ground. Full Story

Raccoon Nation: Video: Living for the City

PBS Nature, February 7, 2012 (6 days ago)

The raccoon's intelligence, adaptable nature, and omnivorous diet help them thrive in urban landscapes. Full Story

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Young Artist Gives Back

The Nature Conservancy, February 5, 2012 (1 week ago)

Vienna Vitek Read her remarkable story » Login to my.nature.org to read your personalized posts , or to share your thoughts with our online community. Full Story

Friday, February 03, 2012

Scientists To Install First Real-Time Seafloor Earthquake Observatory At Cascadia Fault; 'You Have T

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 3, 2012 (1 week ago)

damage Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Victoria, British Columbia, and generate a large tsunami. Yet there are currently no instruments installed offshore, directly above the fault, for measuring the strain that is currently building up along the fault. But a recent $1... Full Story

The Dirt: This Week in Nature

PBS Nature, February 3, 2012 (1 week ago)

Mammals No Strangers to Chemical Warfare. Toxins as a defense strategy are well documented in the reptile and insect worlds. However, this New York Times article discusses the many instances where mammals have evolved a chemical strategy of their own. Take for instance the African crested rat. It is big and sports a [...] Full Story

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Scottish Seal Killings Can And Must End Say Campaigners; 'Indelible Stain'

UnderwaterTimes.com, February 2, 2012 (1 week ago)

The Scottish Government has just reported that a total of 362 seals were shot in the first nine months of 2011 under its new 'Seal Licence' scheme, introduced at the beginning of the year. In 2012, 58 licenses have been... Full Story