News to implement sharks protection by CITES

List of species of sharks and rays protection. Photo by CITES.

Several species of sharks and rays have been threatened by fisheries and the strong market of shark fins around the world. But now great news happened last month to protect the sharks and rays! The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) focused on start stronger protection on more five species of sharks and two species of manta rays. This international convention is strong and with several stakeholders and policy makers they will began a direct control on fisheries landings and also the marketing of shark fins. Recently people of many signatory countries are being trained to identify the five species of sharks through their shark fins and now control and punished the countries and people who had fished these species.
To know more about this new click on the links bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

Implementing New Shark Protections Worldwide

14 SEPTEMBER 2014ENTRY INTO EFFECT OF NEW CITES LISTING OF SHARKS AND MANTA RAYS 

The Giant Clams: a scientific new inspiring new technologies

Giant Clam (Tridcna crocea) in Great Barrier (Australia) - Photo by Simone Marques

Do you already ask how this amazing marine species of mollusk produce this beautiful color in their tissue? Recently researchers of University of Santa Barbara (CA) discovery how visiting some special places of Pacific Ocean and testing in some species of Giant Clams with different colors in their tissues. First this wonderful color was provide by algae that use their interior clam as a house and also make this awesome color by a symbiosis with the clan by the photosynthesis. This symbiosis results on energy back to the clams. But the great challenge for this research was discovery how these algae inside of the clams capture the sun light for this symbiosis. They describe that this species presenting iridescent cells with ability to keep solar energy hiding in their shells and also with spectacular capacity to illuminate millions of cells of symbiotic algae that live inside. This discovery impressed the science to think about and inspiring in new technologies for solar energies for humankind.

This amazing research was published in the paper bellow! Click, enjoy and share with your friends!


Shiny Giant Clams May Inspire New Solar Tech

The chock of plastic bags in the oceans

Plastic debris in the oceans - Photos by Google Images

If we have the minimum of conscience about the plastic trash we produce we could improve the health of our oceans.

Click on the link bellow, watch the video, enjoy and share this conscience with your friends!

Plastic is choking the oceans

Coral's fish crushing raises conservation dilemma

Parrotfish Species from Great Reef - Photo by Simone Marques

Parrotfish species are considered a key species in several communities of reef ecosystems promoting balance mainly by the coral polyps as their preferencial food. In last 20 years the hard exploitation mainly from artisanal fisheries have declined several species of parrotfishes in reef ecosystems around tropical regions. 

Actually several studies from this reef fishes species have shown feeding behavior and their main function in reefs ecosystems. To know more about this interesting reef fishes and how they feed on coral reefs click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends.

Bumphead parrot fish declare their arrival with a crunch

The beauty and importance of Kelp Forests

Kelp Forests - Photos from Google Images

This wonderful coastal and ecosystems ever surprise us with beautiful kinds of habitats and biodiversity. The Kelp Forests are so beautiful to appreciate and a great relevance for marine and coastal ecosystems as well in several parts of the oceans Pacif, Indic, Atlantic and Mediterranea Sea.

This special ecosystem shelter thousand of species and keep balance provide protection and food for fishes, invertebrates and also marine mammals. Many species of kelps are distributed mainly in temperate regions of Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

To know more about this ecosystem click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

Seaweed Spotlight: A Rare Glimpse into Beautiful Ocean Kelp Forests

The harsh reality of fisheries

Artisanal Fisheries in the Northeast of Brazil - Photo by Simone Marques

"Most seafood eaters know the sad story of the Atlantic cod. The ill effects of the postwar buildup of industrialized American fishing are epitomized by that fish’s overexploitation: Gorton’s fish sticks and McDonald’s Filets-o-Fish all once rode on the backs of billions of cod. The codfish populations of North America plummeted and have yet to return."

"...According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, even though the United States controls more ocean than any other country, 86 percent of the seafood we consume is imported."

"...most wild Atlantic salmon populations have been fished to commercial extinction, and today a majority of our lox comes from selectively bred farmed salmon, with Chile our largest supplier."

"To make things triply strange, a portion of that salmon, after heading across the Pacific, returns to us: Because foreign labor is so cheap, many Alaskan salmon are caught in American waters, frozen, defrosted in Asia, filleted and boned, refrozen and sent back to us. Pollock also make this Asian round trip, as do squid — and who knows what else?"

"We can have no more intimate relationship with our environment than to eat from it."

These texts above were copied from a great report about where the fish that you eat come from, written by PAUL GREENBERG. 

After read this  terrific report about fisheries, the reality in my country is not so different. Really we don't know nothing about where the fishes and other marine organisms (lobsters, slumps, shrimps) that we eat come from and what's happen after the fisheries in the foreign trade. In these days all of us living in busy way, and we never stop to thinking about what we are eating and where this animal, fruit, vegetal come from. And how are the population of each species from marine ecosystem that humanity like and consume since they begun to explore?

In Brazil several products from fisheries are exported and we don't know what will make with this fishes in the other countries. Is a "swap"? In the other pathway several fisheries products are imported and we think this a good product produced by other country as salmon, Kani and others products used in Japanese and Chinese food for example. 

Now is time to think about it and look for where this food come from, how they were fished and where they were produced. Our country should have the rules and legislation in each food that you consume and how they are produced. You as a citizen could be informed better and try to consume more natural products from the coastal and marine ecosystems produces by our own country.

To know more about what's happening in the fisheries and their trade around the world click on the image bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

Rising Sea Level

Image by Helm et al., The Cryosphere (2014)

Climate change is great matter of concern. During the last decades many changes and forecasts about climate change, global heating, rising sea level, ocean acidification have been recorded. So it was and is happening or this will happen independent about the human impacts in the natural environments?

Most of forecasts of climate change sounds that the human impacts are accelerating the effects of global heating, rising sea level and negative impacts on the coastal and marine ecosystems. The IPCC (Intergovernamental Painel on Climate Change) also make forecasts with several projects and researches with great expertise in climate change showing what will happen in the next 40 years in our oceans and earth surface. Every forecast is true?

Click on the link bellow, think about what's happen, and share with your friends!

Antarctica and Greenland 

Losing Ice at Fastest Rate Ever Recorded

Threats for coral reefs

Healthy Coral (Millepora brasiliensis) - Photo by Simone Marques

Bleach Coral (Millepora brasiliensis) - Photo by Simone Marques

Do you knew why coral reefs can loss their colour?

Coral reefs are so fragile and due the increase temperature of the ocean and also the increase of carbon dioxide. These physical and chemical water changes promote negative changes in the life cycle of coral reefs and first the corals losing their beautiful and varied colours to white colour and second they became vulnerable to diseases by bacterias and virus as well die by increase of algae growing over the reef.

This bleaching phenomenon in coral reefs have happened in last 10 years fasten than we can imagine reducing the biodiversity in their communities mainly among the coastal ecosystems from tropical regions. Several researches have studied this bleaching process in coral reef trying to find solutions to avoid it.

One of the main solutions is so close to human diary life... who lives near to the beaches and coastal regions may have attention on the amount of water used, the garbage, waste and the drain and efluents produced day by day..

To know more about the threats of coral reefs click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

Falling ocean pH levels means rising threats for coral reefs

The ghost of marine ecosystems

Figure representing the effects of marine debris - Image by Google Images

The main impacts in marine ecosystems are the marine debris by human waste caused by lack of conscience or attention with the garbage produced day by day.

Fisheries as a important livelihood and water services for many coastal communities also have brought a lot of problems to seabed. Recent studies have showed that several kind of fishing gear which are abandoned or lost over the sea have been compared as a dangerous ghost that have threatened and killed many species of fishes, turtles, seabirds and cetaceans.

Your worry and behave can change the sea life and protected them in their natural habitats.The next time that you'll go to the beach and get in to the water think and help us to save our marine ecosystems only collecting your garbage and telling your friends about this consciousness.

To know more about the marine debris click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

Os verdadeiros Monstros do Mar

How to know more about coral reefs without leaving home?

Google Maps for Coral Reefs - Image by Google Images

Example of mapping of Coral Reefs - Image by Google Images

In last years the Google Earth develop several tools to see in a high definition scale more details about our land and aquatic ecosystems. Actually Google Earth in partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) is developing a new app to mapping the underwater ecosystem. This tool will be essential to monitoring the health of coral reefs in tropical regions without leave the office or home and generate a huge dataset among these fragile ecosystems.

To know more how  this tool works click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends.

Google 'street view' maps coral reefs

Relationship between humans and sharks

Sharks - Photo by Thomas P. Peschak

This adorable fish was a nightmare for someone and fascinate animal for others. In last few years many projects of research about several species of shark has increased mainly due the threatens that they face. Among these studies some photography works have showed how this animal behave near humans and despite they are wild and dangerous in their natural habitat we can respect and admire them.

To know more about about this amazing marine fishes and appreciate wonderful photos click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

THOUGHT PROVOKING PHOTOGRAPHS EXAMINE OUR COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH SHARKS

Great example of seabirds' monitoring

Atobá-marrom - Sula leucogaster. Photo by Simone Marques

Seabirds decorating the sky, islands and coastal regions around the world. But several species became vulnerable or critically endangered due the effects of human impacts mainly by fisheries, human occupation or a simple presence of more than 10 people with high frequency.

In last 2 years a great project of identification and monitoring of species of seabirds in Marine Protected Area created in 2014 in coastal island of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) had contributed so much with the preservation of Atobá's species (Sula leucogaster). This wonderful study could be enjoy visiting the activities of this project in site http://maradentro.org.br/ilhasrj/

Also one of the expeditions of the seabirds' monitoring can be watched in the link bellow filmed by Globo TV. Click, enjoy and share with your friends!

Protected Areas and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Great Barrier - Australia - Photo by Simone Marques

Protected areas in general constitute an important stock of natural, cultural and social capital, yielding flows of economically valuable goods and services that benefit society, secure livelihoods, and contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Moreover, protected areas are key to buffering unpredictable impacts of impending climate change. The CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas provides a globally-accepted framework for creating comprehensive, effectively managed and sustainably funded national and regional protected area systems around the globe.


To know more about this goal in the CBD Programe click on the link bellow enjoy and share with your friends and colleagues.

Take care of sealion

Sealion Otaria flavescens - Photo by Google Images

The sealion Otaria flavescens is a huge marine mammal whom eat some fishes in cold water of south America. Some years ago some fishers thinking this species is a guilt for stealing the most of fishes during the fisheries. But recent studies showed the otherwise where this amazing species eat some smaller fishes during their swimming and this fishes are not target for the fisherman. Now many environmental education about the biology of this sealion species is being made with the local communities and mainly with the fishermen.

To know more about the researches with this species click on the link bellow, enjoy and share!

Se a pesca está ruim, não culpe os leões-marinhos

Great White Shark Meeting

White Shark Carcharodon carcharias - photo by Google Images

Amazing moment with a Great White Shark! Click on the link bellow, enjoy and share!

Chicks Riding White Sharks Ocean Ramsey & Kimi Werne

Amazing moment with whale shark feeding

Photo by Adriana Basques

This amazing moment registered by underwater photographer Adriana Basques happened in Indonesia in few inches from her. 

Click on the link bellow, enjoy and share this unforgettable record with your friends!

What lurks beneath: Moment whale shark looks ready to swallow boat of fishermen

Environmental Education with science access

Photo by National Museum of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil (FAPERJ)

Environmental education arrived to approach human to the nature and their animals. Can you imagine  or fell how marine life is in your hands? Many initiatives have brought the nature to people to fell and understand the high importance of the wild life for conservation. Recently the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro assembled a great exposition of marine organisms in evolutive scale since the sponges until dolphins. People can touch in every marine organism and fell the design and the texture.

Click on the link bellow to know more about this exposition, enjoy and share with your friends!

Para diversificar a educação e democratizar o acesso à ciência

Coral Reefs Decline

After many years of human degradation in our marine ecosystems through pollution, overfishing and human occupation along to coast regions, coral reefs have declined.
Around last 40 years of coral reef studies and  monitoring in tropical regions several key species of this ecosystems reduced by overfishing and during this period the coral reef beginning to die... pollution arise at coast region and coral reefs beginning to die... many reef fish species beginning to disappear and going toward to local extintion..
To know more about what's happening with coral reefs click on the link bellow, enjoy and share with your friends!

http://www.iucn.org/?16056/From-despair-to-repair-Dramatic-decline-of-Caribbean-corals-can-be-reversed

Humpback Whale in migration to reproduce

Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae - Photo by Google Images

Humpback Whales need to migrate to hot waters to reproduce. In Brazil this amazing moment could be watch during their migration which this giant marine mammals swim from cold waters of Antarctica (Southern Hemisphere) to Northeast of Brazil mainly in Abrolhos region (Marine Park of Coral Reefs) where they reproduce.
Click on the link bellow and enjoy a Brazilian report of these animals being recorded recently in Rio de Janeiro coast.

Baleias jubarte se exibem no litoral do Rio

Sardine Run and Meeting with Sharks

Shark's meeting with sardine run - Photo by Google Images

It's wonderful video of sardine run and amazing frenzy with sharks feeding! Click on the link bellow and enjoy this video!

Shark Explorers - Sardine Run 2013

Great novel history about shark fins

Foto by Scuba Diving Site - Tiger Shark
Galeocerdo tigrinus

Foto by Google Images - Tiger Shark
Galeocerdo tigrinus

We are having several notices about the traffic of shark fins around the world mainly to satisfy the oriental culture of shark fins soups. Many environmental agencies are worried about this practice and have tried to reduce this action through manifestations among temperate and tropical coastal regions where shark populations have declined. Shark species became vulnerable mainly by the late maturation and fishing exploitation. Now we have to read and to generate huge conscience to defend this wonderful fishes and apex predators of our oceans.

Recently i have read one of chapter of a great novel by Eric Douglas about tiger shark in Caribben Sea and the tragic stories about the shark fins fisheries. Click on the link bellow and enjoy.

Sharks on Land, Chapter 1: A Story for Scuba Diving Readers

Alien fish species

Photos by Google Images

Do you have know about alien or exotic species?
Alien or exotic species are non native species that could be animals, plants or other organism which may cause several damages into the ecosystems and became a plague harming the economy and affecting the human health.
In marine ecosystems many species of invertebrates, fishes and algae could be non native and the human activities as aquarium trade, ballast water and others have brought these non native species.
One example of most recent alien among reef fishes is the lion fish from Family Scorpaenidae (e.g. Pterois volitans) in Caribbean sea. This alien reef fish was registered in Atlantic Ocean in 1985 near Dania Florida. Also the lion fish invasion was record in a accidental realize of some lion fish from aquarium during Hurricane Andrew, Walter Courtney that was quoted in 2010 where was saying he would like to "put this idea to rest".
Today this invasive species is dominating most of reefs of Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean sea and Gulf of Mexico with some records for South Atlantic. The main problem of this beautiful and dangerous species for Atlantic ocean is that this fish has a great capacity of reproduction, is a top predator of fishes and invertebrates and don't have predator for this species. The biological strategies of this invasive species have caused several damages to reef ecosystems reducing coral cover and native reef fishes.

To know more about the invasion of lion fish in marine ecosystems click on the links bellow and enjoy!

NOOA

Lionfish Invasion & Population Explosion in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico

Lionfish invasion is threatening the Atlantic Ocean

Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitansreduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes

Possible solution to marine debris

Photos by Google Images

Is possible reduce the marine debris into the oceans?
Many species of marine birds, turtles, marine mammals and other marine organisms could mistake plastic debris with food and die in few days. Some younglets of marine birds also could affect by plastic debris in a single moment when their mothers take the food by her throat. So if this food contain any kind of plastic debris, this indefensible younglet  could die in hours. Another examples of plastic debris occur with marine turtles who confuse their preferential food with plastic debris floating and have showed several deaths around coastline of the oceans.
Recently, a young ducth of only 19 years old, Boyan Slat, create one of the possible solutions to reduce the marine debris, mainly plastic debris, into the oceans. He proposed a solution to clean half of the Pacific Ocean in 10 years. The project's Slat consist in a floating barrier which take advantage of oceanic currents making a trench that blocks the debris floating in the waters.
To know more and contribute to this huge project click on the links bellow, read, watch and share!

Holandês de 19 anos cria sistema que promete limpar metade do Oceano Pacífico

Itinerant Exhibition of Ilhas do Rio - Brazil

This Itinerant Exhibition is wonderful! Click on the link bellow and enjoy!

Exposição Itinerante Projeto Ilhas do Rio

Initiatives to Climate Changes

Great Barrier - Austrália
Photo by Simone Marques

Worries about environmental global changes have been increase in last years and many research projects and studies have been done to understand their mean causes as well. Recently many non governmental international institutions are making hard works to create and execute actions not only to understand the causes of climate change but also to apply methods to keep save our oceans and their essencial resources for goods and services to humanity in these actual conditions.

To know more about some examples of great initiatives about projects and funds of climate changes to coastal ecosystems in Coral Triangle region click on the links bellow and enjoy!

http://www.ecoadapt.org

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/coraltriangle/

Effectiveness of marine protected area management

Marine Protected Area APA Costa dos Corais, Pernambuco, Brazil
Photo by Simone Marques

Do you know how Marine Protected Area (MPA) have been handling of form it accomplishes?

It's so important to know how the governments and environmental institutions made great and systematic  evaluations about effectiveness of management to make better the system of MPAs in the present and in the near future.

To know more about effectiveness of MPAs management, methods more used and the problems identified in their management click on the link bellow published by Leverington et al. (2010) and enjoy.

A Global Analysis of Protected Area Management Effectiveness

Relevance of herbivores fish in coral reefs

Parrotfish Sparisoma axillare from coast of Brazil - a herbivore fish
Photo by Simone Marques

Reef fishes use their habitats not only as refuge but mainly to find their preferential foods. Understand how they shift to foraging their food is essential for their connectivity between reefs and for the management actions for conservation as well. Recently a great article was written by Welsh & Bellwood to tell us how this feeding strategy works. Click in the link bellow to know more and enjoy!

Herbivorous fishes, ecosystem function and mobile links on coralreefs 

Effectiveness of Marine Protected Area (MPAs) by connectivity

Image by Google Images

Can you imagine how MPAs may effective to fishes communities? Many studies have showed that design of MPA and the connectivity are essential to define the effectiveness of MPA to reef fishes. Although the MPAs created in our oceans is not enough to protect the marine ecosystem to the human pressure the studies realized in this areas have presented an effectiveness in the connectivity for reef fishes species in a mosaic of MPA adjacents.
 Click on the video bellow to know more about the effectiveness of MPAs and the benefits to connect fish populations.

Reefs at risk by climate change

After post about global warming i found two interesting videos showing how climate change can lead the coral reefs at risk. The previsions of what's gone happy in the near future and after 50 years. Can you imagine our oceans without coral reefs and marine life? Click in the links bellow, enjoy and think about.

Diagram representing the stressors in coral reefs ecosystems - Photo extracted by google images

Coral Reefs & Climate Change

Photo extracted by google images

Resilience of Coral Reefs in Fiji

Marine Protected Area is a great tool to protect marine species

Coral Reefs in MPA Costa dos Corais - Brazil
Photo by Simone Marques

Since the huge advance of protected area around the world in last 20 years ago, scientists have studied how protected area have restored and keep save threatened species. In marine ecosystems most of marine protected areas (MPAs) are proposed to restored target species in fisheries and also most of them are classified as sustainable use. Although many studies show that MPAs of integral protection restored fished species (eg. fishes, invertebrates) some researchers who study the cycle life said this tool is not enough. Beyond the implementation of MPA is necessary selected essencial habitat for juvenile phase (nurseries) and adult phase (shallow to deep habitat) because many species needs estuaries, mangroves, shallow reefs, sea gram in their early life and deep reef or rock reef in adult phase. This two kinds of essencial habitat is also called connectivity. Actually the MPAs may design this essential habitat to protect all life cycle of species tho preserve and restore the connectivity of species. This new concept have been discuss in last years to better design the effectiveness of any kind of MPA. Now we don't thinking only to protect target and threatened species but their life cycle and essential habitat that they need.

Recent studies of MPAs have analyzed how MPAs have effective for marine species in the 2 main kinds of Protected Area (PA): sustainable use and integral protection. Click in two links bellow and read the recent papers related with MPAs of Brazil. Enjoy!

Analysis of Progress Towards a ComprehensiveSystem of Marine Protected Areas in Brazil 

Marine Protected Areas in Brazil: An ecological approach regarding the largemarine ecosystems 

Can coral reefs survive to global heating?

Coral species from Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Photo by Simone Marques

This is a paramount question to answer nowadays, in the next 20 to 30 years to future generations about healthy and survive of coral reefs. Coral reefs are the most import aquatic ecosystem of the world that maintain higher biodiversity and keep a lot of resources to humankind. In last 30 years many coral species have been suffer with the sped up of global climate change and the consequences of global heating. The global heating bias to cause the coral bleaching in many species of coral and have changing the symbiosis tolerance with the zooxantelas and corals. Many species also became vulnerable to diseases going to death and future colonization by algae. However, some studies have showed some hopes about the resistance of coral reefs to thermal stress. Some experiments with Acropora species have indicated acclimatization of the coral species to thermal stress suggesting a physiological plasticity of the host (corals) and symbiotic components (bacterias and zooxantelas) playing an important role in response to ocean warming. 

To know more about the tolerance and resistance of coral reefs to thermal stress click on links bellow and enjoy 2 recent papers published by Bellantuono et al 2012.

Coral Thermal Tolerance: Tuning Gene Expression toResist Thermal Stress

Resistance to thermal stress in corals without changes in symbiont composition 

Marine debris

Example of Cleanup day Project in beaches of northeast coast of Brazil
Photo by Simone Marques

As a soup of plastic debris floating around our oceans... it's so sad to see most of debris produced by us going down to ocean and promote dangerous of aquatic ecosystems and species as marine turtles making mistakes with plastic debris as their preferential food is really a jellyfish. Most of this animals having suffering with this debris in our marine ecosystem and don't survive. This is not restricted about turtles but reaches marine birds, fishes, whales, dolphins and other marine organism that use or make mistake of their preferencial foods or refuges in their marine habitat. Also fisheries promote a lot of debris with fishnets and hooks where a lot of marine animals as birds, marine mammals and turtles can stay arrested and die.

Click on video bellow produced from Fantástico Report in Brazil and know more about the dangerous of debris in our marine ecosystems.