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Carnivorous sea squirt: Venus fly trap of deep


Agence France-Presse
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:43 UTC
sea squirt
© AFP/CSIRO
New to science: The carnivorous sea squirt springs shut on unsuspecting prey much like a venus fly trap, say researchers.

Biologists have uncovered new marine animals in a search of previously unexplored Australian waters, including a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt and ocean-dwelling spiders.

A joint U.S.-Australian team spent a month in deep waters off the coast of the southern island of Tasmania to "search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters," said lead scientist Ron Thresher with Australian government research agency the CSIRO's Marine and Atmospheric division.
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Info

Army worms decimate crops in north-central Liberia

Alphonso Toweh
Reuters
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:47 UTC
Monrovia - Swarms of army worms have attacked crops in a food-producing district of Liberia, forcing the West African state to declare a state of emergency in the area at the weekend, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Monday.

Army worms, which can grow to around 5 centimetres (two inches) in length, are moth caterpillars and when present in large numbers can destroy swathes of vegetation and crops.

"We are calling for international assistance to combat these insects. They have affected over 19 villages in Bong county," Agriculture Minister Christopher Toe told Reuters.
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Cloud Lightning

Less Fog Explains Warming Europe, Study Says

Michael Kahn
Reuters
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:21 UTC
Fewer foggy, misty and hazy days help explain why Europe's temperatures have risen so fast over the past 30 years, a finding that could help predict future climate change, researchers said on Sunday.

Clearer skies due to changing weather patterns and less air pollution have contributed on average to about 5 to 10 percent of the region's warmer temperatures during this period, said Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

"The temperatures in Europe have been going up twice as fast as climate models had predicted in the past decades. Less fog means more sunshine on the ground and hence higher temperatures," Van Oldenborgh, who worked on the study said in a telephone interview.
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Question

US: Mystery of sick pelicans still puzzling experts


Associated Press
Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:42 UTC
Los Angeles - A mysterious illness afflicting California brown pelicans continues to take its toll.

The Northern California-based International Bird Rescue Research Center said Thursday it had counted 460 sick or dead birds so far, up from 265 last week. The birds were found along the West Coast from Baja California in Mexico to Oregon.
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Better Earth

Japan: Nine-limbed octopus gives aquarium a leg up


The Mainichi Daily News
Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:35 UTC
Nine-arm octopus
© Mainichi (file photo)
The nine-armed octopus is pictured in Susami, Wakayama Prefecture in this Dec. 25, 2008
Susami, An octopus found off the coast of Susami is attracting attention for an unusual reason -- its nine arms.

The blue-ringed octopus, found by a researcher from the Susami Crustacean Aquarium, is on display.

"Octopus arms grow back if they are cut off, and it's possible that the ninth arm grew out of a wound or from some other stimulus," said aquarium head Takuya Mori.
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Igloo

On the Brink of Climatic Disaster: the Coming Ice Age

Selwyn Duke
The John Birch Society
Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:44 UTC
Politicians can't talk enough of carbon taxes and credits and cleaner technologies, but are they just fiddling while Rome freezes?

If the climate were a sentient adversary with a will, he might be laughing right now. Because while mankind is doing a Chicken Little worrying about anthropogenic global warming (AGW), nature just might be preparing an attack we least expect: another ice age.

For sure, many Americans feel like we're already in one. While last winter's frigid temperatures - with record cold in many parts of the world (South America experienced its coldest winter in 90 years) - might seem a tough act to follow, Old Man Winter has risen to the occasion. Parts of Alaska have experienced temperatures reaching 78 degrees below zero, North Dakota had record December snow, a Minnesota sled-dog race was actually canceled due to heavy snow, and Ohio ski resorts have called a recent winter storm "a stimulus package for their industry." Yet, critics may point out that this is anecdotal evidence and thus not scientifically significant. This would be true, only, in this case the science happens to coincide with the anecdotes. As Gregory F. Fegel at Pravda.ru tells us:
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Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 6.7 - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand


US Geological Survey
Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:29 UTC
Date-Time

* Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 14:11:46 UTC
* Monday, January 19, 2009 at 02:11:46 AM at epicenter

Location 30.046°S, 177.951°W

Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program

Distances

* 89 km (55 miles) S (185°) from Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands

* 1026 km (638 miles) SSW (195°) from NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga

* 3193 km (1984 miles) WSW (239°) from PAPEETE, Tahiti, French Polynesia
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Fish

Scientists Find New Creatures of Australian Deep


PhysOrg
Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:11 UTC
ascidian
© Unknown
One of Australia's deepest residents a carnivorous sea squirt, or ascidian, standing half a meter tall on the seafloor on the Tasman Fracture Zone at a depth of 4006 metres.
Scientists said Sunday they had uncovered new marine animals in their search of previously unexplored Australian waters, along with a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt and ocean-dwelling spiders.

A joint US-Australian team spent a month in deep waters off the coast of the southern island of Tasmania to "search for life deeper than any previous voyage in Australian waters," lead researcher Ron Thresher said.

What they found were not only species new to science -- including previously undescribed soft corals -- but fresh indications of global warming's threat to the country's unique marine life.
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Question

UK: Crab riddle on Thanet beaches


Your Thanet
Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:19 UTC
Velvet crabs
© Unknown
Velvet swimming crabs
Mysterious circumstances surround the beaching of thousands upon thousands of crabs on the isles beaches.

Last week the bodies of velvet swimming crabs were washed up on shores all around the Thanet coast but no definitive reason can be found.

Some think the sudden death of the velvet swimming crabs could be due to the cold weather.

Tony Child of the Thanet Coast project said: "It does seem to be linked to the weather, as it's been particularly cold.

It is something which happened three or four years ago. It's very strange."

However, he added that some crabs have been taken away to test for disease and "it was odd that no other species had been affected" by the cold.

Crab numbers had just started to recover from the last wave of deaths.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Mysterious bird deaths solved?

Mike Taugher
MediaNews Group
Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:28 UTC
A rash of brown pelican deaths and illnesses was probably caused by a severe mid-December storm in the Pacific Northwest, state wildlife officials believe.

An estimated 400 birds turned up dead, injured or sick along the California coast beginning about Dec. 19. The episode has largely faded, state officials said.

"It doesn't appear severe (poisoning) or disease appears to be doing this. It appears to be more weather-injury and nutrition-related," said David Jessup, senior wildlife veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Game.
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