It’s No Secret That We Think Sea Otters Are Pretty Swell. 🦦🌊

(Feb 6, 2016) Photos from Volcano Irazú in Costa Rica.

Greta Thunberg, international climate activist.

An icon. 

To post about the miniature melo (Micromelo undatus) may seem a bit odd, as it is not a nudibranch but a closely-related sea snail! Its thinly-calcified shell is easily seen covering half of its back and is patterned with dazzling brown-red lines, a stark contrast to the blue, white-spotted body below. It lives in many tropic waters, whether that be Japan or Florida, and reaches about 3cm in length. It eats polychaete worms, and uses their toxins as its own.

First images of creatures from Antarctic depths revealed

Photos by Christian Åslund / Greenpeace

Phytoplankton

The word phytoplanton comes from the greek words phyto (plant) plankton (made to wander) And what they do for the world is amazing! They are a great example of doing SO much even though they are small. Without them we wouldn’t have enough oxygen. The fish and sea life would all most definately die, which would effect food for humans and land animals. It would effect cultures and peace in general, because without sea life many beliefs and practices would be effected as well. Without them the sea animals wouldn’t be able to “breathe”.  A good way humans can make sure to keep the phytoplankton around is by making sure we don’t litter, or pour harmful chemicals into the ocean that could kill them. A great place to learn more about this is here:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Phytoplankton/

http://save-as.org/GreenNews/News/phytoplankton-the-oceans-vital-force-is-dying-out_1675

http://www.savethesea.org/plankton.html

With Stephen Hawking’s passing, today is a sad day for science. But amongst all his praise and achievements in the fields of physics, for me personally his biggest achievement was making a grand, full life despite the terrible misfortune of being diagnosed with ALS. It would have been easy to become a recluse, embittered with the hand he’d been dealt, a brilliant misanthrope. But this was a man who maintained his sense of humor and refused to be mentally beaten. Three years ago, he told One Direction fans that the theory of alternate universes could provide a reality where Zayn Malik was still in the band. He conducted an interview with John Oliver where his factual, deadpan delivery was funnier than his interviewer, managing the cheekiest grins as he did so. And let us not forget that Stephen Hawking is the only person to have ever portrayed themselves in a Star Trek episode (Next Generation, “Descent, Part 1″), where he appeared alongside actors portraying Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton, whom he proceeded to defeat in poker.

Hawking’s observations on black hole radiation, string theory, alternate universes and artificial intelligence are things that will probably forever remain beyond most of us. But we could all learn a thing or two from his humanity.

This may look like a beautiful flower blooming beneath the waves, but it’s actually an animal! 

This stalked crinoid was spotted in the deep waters of National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. The feathery “petals” you see are arms, which this invertebrate uses to grasp small particles of food out of the current. Crinoids can also use these arms to crawl along the seafloor if they need to relocate! 

(Photo: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa)

Darwin is most famous for his theory of evolution. But did you know that much of his life’s work was influenced by his time at sea? 

In the spirit of Darwin Day, here is one of his observations of bioluminescent plankton while aboard the HMS Beagle on October 24, 1832:

“The night was pitch dark, with a fresh breeze. — The sea from its extreme luminousness presented a wonderful & most beautiful appearance; every part of the water, which by day is seen as foam, glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, & in her wake was a milky train. — As far as the eye reached, the crest of every wave was bright; & from the reflected light, the sky just above the horizon was not so utterly dark as the rest of the Heavens.” Charles Darwin

Learn more about Darwin’s connection to the ocean from this article at the Ocean Portal.

Photo Credit: unknown, Turin Museum of Human Anatomy