A Series of Special Dives by Divers From North Carolina Aquarium In a Marine Sanctuary

As part of an ongoing partnership between the NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, several Aquarium staff and volunteer scientific divers will participate in research dives within the first nationally designated marine sanctuary. All dives are planned on the wreck of USS Monitor August 1st thru August 7th, in waters over 230-feet deep approximately 16 miles off Cape Hatteras. The purpose of research expedition is to assist the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary identify and document emergent underwater biosphere issues, which will help in future management endeavors to protect sanctuary resources.

Archeology of the Monitor wreck site has been well investigated and documented, since there has been significant recovery of several large ship structural pieces along with numerous historical artifacts over the past couple of years. Interestingly enough an area of the Monitor that has been entirely overlooked to date is the underwater biosphere, specifically the various species of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, cnidarians and porifera that inhabit wreck.

Upcoming dive expedition will undertake a complete non-destructive and non-invasive inventory of the animal inhabitants, including the use of photography and film, which reside on or near the wreck of the Monitor. Those direct observations recorded will establish an inventory baseline of organisms found on the wreck that can be updated and modified as time and further expeditions will allow. Particular interest will be given to the number of native underwater plant and animal species found, distribution, population, and health. Additional emphasis will be place on identification and population numbers of invasive animal species such as Lionfish...[Link]

Tahoe submarine dive starts 5-year global research

A small submarine slipped below the surface of Lake Tahoe on Thursday, beginning a month-long study of depths that will be followed by a global underwater adventure.

The dive Thursday off the shore of South Lake Tahoe was essentially a shakedown mission for others planned in May around Tahoe and in nearby Fallen Leaf Lake.

The first manned submarine to research Tahoe’s depths in many years will help researchers learn more about earthquake faults, ancient submerged forests and invading creatures threatening the lake’s future.

Other submerged mysteries could emerge as well.

“There are a lot of things that haven’t been seen in this lake,” said Scott Cassell, president and founder of the nonprofit Undersea Voyager Project. “There are large portions of this lake that have yet to be seen.”...[RGJ.com]

Divers Attempt Underwater Coral Transplant In Japan

Divers below the waves of Sekisei Lagoon, Japan are hard at work with compressed air drills in hand and hopes of bringing new life to Japan’s largest coral reef near the southern end of the Okinawa chain of islands.

With revolutionary new technology and a substantial amount of taxpayer money, the Japanese government is hoping to combat what has been previously reported to be a 90 percent reduction of coral around Okinawa’s islands, according to the New York Times.

Marine biologists told the Times that the project is one of the largest coral restoration projects in the world. Biologists also hope to learn lessons during the project that will allow them to achieve similar goals in other parts of the world where reefs are endanger of being killed off due to a combination of overfishing, pollution and global warming.

Project workers told the Times that the project is being used as “a test bed for new techniques that they hope will one day make transplanting coral in the sea as routine as raising tree saplings on land.”...[RedOrbit]

Study sheds new light on whale sharks

Scientists have discovered that whale sharks, the biggest fish in the ocean, get around — as in really get around.

A just-released study by Chicago-based geneticist Jennifer Schmidt found that the bus-sized sharks not only swim across oceans, they apparently breed with their counterparts in far-flung areas of the globe.

Schmidt, a University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of biological sciences, now wants to expand the study by taking DNA samples from the four whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. The aquarium houses the only captive whale sharks outside of Asia.

The world’s biggest indoor aquarium obtained its whale sharks from Taiwan, an area not covered by Schmidt’s DNA study of 68 whale sharks in the wild.

“The opportunity to characterize these sharks genetically would nicely complement the existing study,” Schmidt said.

The study by Schmidt and her colleagues is one of the most comprehensive to date on the little-understood shark. It sheds new light on the behavior of the polka-dotted, filter-feeding giant that can reach 50 feet in length and weigh more than 20 tons...[AJC.com]

Divers urged to take snaps of sharks

DIVERS exploring the waters off the east coast are being urged to carry digital cameras, in case they come face to face with a shark.

Sean Barker, a Macquarie University marine researcher, is aiming to compile a computerised photo album recording every grey nurse shark.

Once wrongly suspected of being man-eaters, grey nurse sharks were almost hunted to extinction. In 2000 a NSW Department of Fisheries survey estimated there could be as few as 292 left on Australia's east coast.

"I think that's pessimistic," Mr Barker said yesterday. However, "there are probably no more than 1000".

Project Spotashark, launched in collaboration with a friend and keen diver, Peter Simpson, "will hopefully iron out the real number".

They want divers who spot a grey nurse to photograph it and to download the pictures to Spotashark.com.

"We need to see the shark side on, from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail," Mr Barker said. While divers could photograph either profile "the left side is preferable".

Every grey nurse has a unique array of dots "just like freckles". The researcher intends to log the photographed dots to create a data base that can be used "like fingerprints" to identify every shark.

"The software was developed by the same people who developed the FBI's fingerprint computer system."

In just four months the project has collected almost 100 grey nurse photos. However, shooting them all could take years.

By sending in shark snaps divers will provide researchers with information needed to track individual animals...[SydneyMorningHerald]

David Gallo - Amazing Video

David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square's worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean...[ExchangeMagazine]

In pictures: Tagging seahorses

Project Hippocampus, based in Mar Menor, south-east Spain, has been running a programme for two years to identify and tag seahorses in an attempt to learn more about the creatures’ movements and behaviour...[BBC]

Finding Chemo: Scanning the Sea Floor for New Drugs

Seafaring microbes and a room full of robots may be the key to the next big pharmaceutical breakthrough.

Two new compounds, one that kills the parasites that cause African sleeping sickness and one that destroys breast cancer cells, have surfaced in an automated lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A direct pipeline from the ocean to chemical-scanning robots makes it possible for researchers to screen thousands of unstudied chemicals each day.

“These marine sediments could contain the next big anti-cancer drug,” said chemist Scott Lokey, who runs the UC Santa Cruz Chemical Screening Center.

The sea is teeming with microbes, fungi and invertebrates, which produce and use chemicals for everything from defense to communication. Natural compounds are a huge source of inspiration for pharmaceuticals, but most marine chemicals remain unexplored...[Wired]

Big Isle gets undersea auditory observatory

Researchers are setting up an underwater observatory off the coast of the Big Island that will allow them to hear deep-sea earthquakes, erupting volcanoes and whale songs.

The University of Hawaii Kona Ocean Monitoring Network will continuously deliver data from 100 feet below the waves once it's set up.

An array of six low-frequency hydrophones and 15 thermometers will be installed this month to hear and measure conditions in West Hawaii waters.

"We will be finding Kona's voice," said Milton Garces, director of the University of Hawaii Infrasound Laboratory. "Through continuous monitoring, we will develop the ability to understand the language of this underwater environment and translate it into something we can use to forecast natural hazards or prove claims of long-term change."

This month, the observatory will allow researchers to start humpback whale identification and tracking, as well as geophysical monitoring of currents, tides and waves.

Other instruments eventually will be added to let scientists observe seismic, oceanic and atmospheric processes...[StarBulletin.com]