Survival Characteristics

Another gallery... this time one of venomous fish! These fish may use their venom in defensive (against predators) or offensive (against prey) ways, but either way their venom helps them to survive. Maybe this is a reason for why some fish live so long.

Another attribute shown by some of the fish in this gallery, is that they are so well-camoflaged. They blend in so closely with their surroundings that they can easily sneak up on prey, and easily escape predators. On the flip-side, though, many of these fish are so brightly coloured and have such strange patterns that their venom is obviously needed....

Venomous Fish
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=868&gid=55&index=0

Ocean Fact

In keeping with the theme of the previous post, this week's fact also shows how old the creatures of the oceans can be.

'The blue whale, the largest animal on our planet ever (exceeding the size of the greatest dinosaurs) still lives in the ocean; it's heart is the size of a Volkswagen.'

A creature that huge must be extremely old. Facts such as these really show how large and old the oceans are. It makes me wonder why humans think we are the most important beings on this world...

http://www.savethesea.org/STS%20ocean_facts.htm

Oldest Creatures

MSN UK is featuring a gallery of some of the creatures that have hardly changed over time. These creatures bear a striking resemblance or are identical their ancestors from millions of years ago. Some of these creatures, including the bowfin fish and the frilled shark, belong to the oceans.
These creatures have hardly changed over the millenia that they have existed because of their traits and characteristics. These characteristics, such as the bowfin fish's low metabolism and ability to survive out of water, have let them survive unchanged, needing no/little adaption to continue on.
It's fascinating to find that creatures such as these look exactly as they did millenia ago. For example, modern horseshoe crab is identical to its fossils from 445 million years ago. And the bacteria stromatolites have left similar fossils for up to 3.45 billion years. Humans truly are the children of this world, having been around for nowhere near as long as any of these creatures.

Living Fossils: the creatures that time forgot
http://environment.uk.msn/wildlife/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=10558175

Boulders Against Bottom Trawling

Ever since first hearing about bottom trawling, I've found that the method of fishing is despicable. It may be a surefire way of getting fish, but it's so destructive and lethal (there's a lot of bycatch) that it's inexcusable in my eyes. So I found out about a method Greenpeace is using to stop trawling from being used. They've been putting large granite boulders out along the ocean bed - any trawler that tries to destroy the seabed would be hindered by these boulders, and if not by completely destroying the trawling equipment, hopefully it will make the people behind the trawlers stop and think about their way of fishing.

Boulders against bottom trawling
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/boulders-against-bottom-trawli

Learning More.

Want to learn more about some of the issues in our environment, and the campaigns fighting for their awareness? I found this site very informative and helpful, especially with some of the concerns that I didn't even know existed. The site gives an overview of some issues and their campaigns, and provides links to each campaign's main site.

Ten things you should know
http://environment.uk.msn.com/climate-change/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=10112656

Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd is an activist organization dedicted to protecting the Galapagos Islands, seals, dolphins and whales. I initially thought it was admirable to get out there, doing what they were to save the animals. I supported them, but their methods have proven to be not so constructive.
I first heard about the organization in Sharkwater. In this, I agreed with their beliefs, but their methods (ramming the bad guys' boats) put me off a little. I was not too surprised to find that they were also campaigning for an end to the seal hunt. But some of the arguments that they come out with, and some of their 'facts' do not match up with some of the other facts that I'm to believe are true. So who to believe???

Sea Shepherd
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seal-hunt-facts.html

The Seal Hunt

In a recent class, we learnt about the seal hunt. Going into that class, my thoughts on the hunt included the words 'disgusting', 'unneccessary' and 'cruel'. I'll admit that I knew next to nothing about the hunt before that class. All I knew came from the media coverage - various celebrities campaigning against seal killings, the pictures of cute baby seals, the pictures of those seals having their heads smashed in by a guy with a pick-axe and blood everywhere.
In the class, we learnt about the myths of these hunts, and the facts. It changed my mind. My thoughts on leaving the class were that the hunt is controversial but still widely over publicized.
From what I learnt, it seems that the seal hunt is near the same as, if not less inhumane, than some methods of cattle farming. The hunters do it for the same reason farmers raise cattle - its a way of life, a tradition, and a source of income. The way in which the seals are killed is humane compared to some of the things done to cows in slaughterhouses - a fast, strong whack on the head, an instant death. Also, baby seals are not allowed to be killed. The only seals to be hunted are those that are independent.
So why is the plight of seals covered more widely than the plight of cows? In my opinion, it's because a baby cow is not as cute as a baby seal. Also, because most humans love a good beefburger. The use of seal meat/organs/etc is not as widespread as is beef. We are not as quick to defend something that can be used so easily....