Long-Term Study Links Box Jellyfish Abundance, Environmental Variability at Waikiki Beach

The box jellyfish, Alatina moseri, is known for showing up in big numbers on Waikīkī Beach 8 to 12 days after each full moon. Researchers at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa have published an analysis of 14 years of monthly jellyfish collection data. They have seen 173 full moons and 66,000 jellyfish since they began, "Although there have been long-term studies of jellyfish abundance and climate in recent years, none have looked at box jellyfish species," said Luciano Chiaverano a Research Scholar and head author of the paper. "This is quite surprising, as box jellyfish are among the most venomous animals in the world. Often their habitat overlaps with human recreation, resulting in painful, sometimes even lethal, stings and causing beach closures at various locations around the world."

The researchers' analysis confirm that box jellyfish arrive in Waikīkī with predictable timing based on the moon cycle more than likely to reproduce. In a 400-meter section of the beach, on average about 396 jellyfish arrived, with actual numbers ranging from 5 to 2,365. The total number of box jellyfish arriving to Waikiki shows no overall increase or decrease in the past 14 years, but follows an oscillating pattern with periods of increase and decrease, each one lasting approximately four years. The UH scientists propose, that these are probably caused by climate changes, which regulates food availability, and ultimately affecting the numbers of local jellyfish.

Chiaverano, PBRC Associate Research Professor Brenden Holland, and Waikīkī Aquarium Marine Biologist Jerry Crow analyzed three climatic indexes, 13 oceanographic variables, and seven local weather parameters. Although no significant relationship between beach counts and the weather parameters were found, jellyfish counts showed a strong, positive relationship with the primary production, abundance of small zooplankton.

It was concluded that the number of box jellyfish at Waikīkī is probably caused by an index of water mass movement, where the higher the mass, the higher the transportation of nutrient-rich waters from the northern Pacific into the oceanic waters around the Hawaiian Islands. This boost may drive regional primary production, and in turn increase zooplankton which are food for box jellyfish. "Jellyfish are known to have increased growth rates and reach larger adult sizes in response to increased food availability, and because body size positively correlates with fecundity in jellyfish, more eggs and more larvae are produced when food is readily available" said Chiaverano.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131023183904.htm

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World Ocean Systems Undermined by Climate Change by 2100

"Oct. 15, 2013 — An ambitious new study describes the full chain of events by which ocean biogeochemical changes triggered by humanmade greenhouse gas emissions may cascade through marine habitats and organisms, penetrating to the deep ocean and eventually influencing humans."

Previous studies have focused on ocean warming and ocean acidification while not taking into consideration the biological consequences of climate change in the ocean. A new study, led by Camilo Mora and Craig Smith, now suggests that by 2100, no part of the world will be untouched by the climate change. One of the following consequences of the climate change is the deficiency of dissolved oxygen in seawater and a decline in oceanic ecosystems. "The consequences of these co-occurring changes are massive -- everything from species survival, to abundance, to range size, to body size, to species richness, to ecosystem functioning are affected by changes in ocean biogeochemistry," says the lead author of the study, Camilo Mora. There are large human consequences to this as well. 470 – 870 million of the world’s poorest people depend on seafood. With the possible decline of seafood, this can affect several jobs, the lives of people, and food chains.

The researchers used the newest and strongest models that project climate change to form their analysis. They ran two different models; the first model is the way the world would be in 2100 if we continue to release CO2 the way that we release it now, the second model is the way that the world would be in 2100 if we were to start intervention now. They found that most of the ocean surfaces around the world would have a synchronous effect in terms of “ocean warming, acidification, oxygen depletion, or shortfalls in productivity”. Nowhere in the oceans will there be cooling or pH increase and a very small part of the oceans, mostly in the polar areas, “will face the opposing effects of increases in oxygen or productivity”. This is bad because some intrusive animals will continue to migrate to these areas and threaten the species that live there and the people that depend on them says a co-author of the study.

Ocean warming and the effects on coral reefs

By 2100, the global average of the surfaces of ocean could experience a temperature increase of 1.2 to 2.6°, a dissolved oxygen concentration decrease of about 2% to 4% of the current value, and a pH decline of 0.15 to 0.31. Primary producers, such as phytoplankton, will produce about 4 to 10% from what they are producing now. But, the seafloor was projected to go through a less drastic change with very small changes in temperature and pH levels but would undergo through the same reduction in dissolved oxygen. Coral reefs, sea grass beds, and shallow soft-bottom benthic habitats would experience the most change while species that live in the deep-sea would experience lesser effects. Deep-sea communities, like coral reefs, would have a lower resilience because of the slightest changes in the environment, says a co-author Lisa Levin. Nonetheless, every part of the ocean will experience the effects of the climate change.

The study was published on October 15, 2013 in the scientific journal PLOS Biology.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131015191401.htm

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Innovative Deep-Sea Manned Submarine Under Construction

The University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory is teaming up with a local submersible company to build a new five-person submarine that will travel to almost 2 miles below the ocean's surface. This project will be completed in 2016 and will be the first deep-sea manned submarine project for the University of Washington. "If someday students routinely had the opportunity to go on a manned sub I think the research in deep-ocean science would explode." said director of the lab's industry and defense programs, Robert Miyamoto. The submarine is named Cyclops, and has a carbon-fiber hull that can take passengers to 9,842 feet which is deeper than all but some existing subs. Actually, submarines aren’t that popular, there are about 600 military subs worldwide, and only about 100 certified civilian subs, and most of those are on private yachts or in storage.

For one and a half years Miyamoto's team have leased a campus lab with OceanGate and has gone through more than 20 prototype designs before settling on the recently unveiled plan. The hull of Cyclops is shaped like a bullet built for plunging down in less than 60 minutes. Once Cyclops reaches its 3000 meter depth, it rotates to its cruising position and the passenger seats pivot to keep the riders upright. The Boeing Company worked with OceanGate and the UW on initial design of the 7-inch-thick pressure vessel. The battery will be made of lithium-polymer that will make the sub lighter and give it the ability to dive longer and faster than traditional subs. Now for how it got its name, Cyclops’ viewing area is designed as a 5-foot-wide dome of 4-inch-thick glass and passengers will sit inside the dome to have a 180-degree view.

Miyamoto plans to integrate modern control systems such as joysticks and more automated controls that allow operation with a single pilot. The University of Washington is funded by a 5 million dollar grant from OceanGate and the UW team now comprises of about six people. Miyamoto hopes to grow to about 10 when the project is at its height. The submarine is scheduled to be commercially available from the company in 2016. Passenger safety and cost are the two most common criticisms of man controlled submarines. But in the past 35 years there have been no serious injuries in non-military submarines. The team is aiming to build a smaller, lighter vehicle with a launch system that doesn't require a specialized vessel to keep total operating costs lower than today's manned submersibles.

Eilat's Corals Stand Better Chance of Resilience Than Other Sites

"Sep. 29, 2013 — Israel's southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, one of whose prime attractions is its colorful and multi-shaped underwater coral reefs, may have a clear advantage in the future over rival coral-viewing sites around the world, scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University have found."

Coral reefs, which are earth’s most diverse ecosystem, are rapidly decomposing. The reason for this rapid deterioration is because of coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is when the seawater temperature exceeds the summer maximum temperature by ½ to one degree Celsius. When the temperature of the seawater exceeds the normal summer temperature, the coral loses it’s symbiotic algae which 

leads to the coral bleaching and its imminent death. 

But, even though coral bleaching is increasing throughout the world, no bleaching event has been seen in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, which is in the northern tip of the Red Sea, even when bleaching conditions exist (warmth of seawater).

Israeli scientists say that the lack of coral bleaching is because of the “warm-water barrier” that exists at the southern Red Sea. This barrier only allows heat-tolerant genotypes of coral to enter the Red Sea. The coral is coming from the Gulf of Aden. The Israeli scientists believe that coral bleaching will not occur for the next century and the Gulf of Eilat/Awaba will be a good refuge for coral reefs.

The Israeli scientists published their findings, named “A Coral Reef Refuge in the Red Sea” on September 23 in the journal “Global Change Biology”. The paper comes from the result of a joint study of two doctors and one professor. The work was assessed in the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130929142700.htm

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