Marine Biology Podcast Launch

Check out my new podcast all about the ocean!!!
The first two episodes are live now!!!
I hope you enjoy this new format but I'll still be posting blog posts here too!!!

Available at the following sites

Breaker:
https://www.breaker.audio/sweat-and-saltwater
Anchor:
https://anchor.fm/sweatandsaltwater
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2HBYjM3lGKvnyBQxhuSOs4
Google Podcasts:
https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9hZGQyZGE0L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz
Radiopublic:
https://radiopublic.com/sweat-and-saltwater-6pdega

Piglet Squid

This is the piglet squid Helicocranchia pfefferi.

  Filmed at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, by Mike Schaat 

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Mike Schaat 

It is a small oceanic species of cephalopod which so far has only been found in the temperate North Atlantic waters. Adults measure only 10cm in length. They have small tentacles and chromatophores which can make it look like it’s smiling. It has bright eyes as a result of photophores behind each eye. They develop from planktonic larvae which are 3cm long and live in the top 300m of water as they age, they descend to depths of 100m (age-dependent changes can be described as ontogenetic shifts)/ as they mature, they lose their tentacles and change to a red hue. Due to its deep-water home, little research has been done on this species.

Classification 

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Cranchiidae
Subfamily:	Taoniinae
Genus:	Helicocranchia
Species:	H. pfefferi

References

Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Helicocranchia pfefferi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T162906A951921. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T162906A951921.en.
Young, R.E. and Mangold, K.M. 2008. Helicocranchia Massy, 1907. Piglet squid. Version 27 October 2008.

Salps

Salps are gelatinous animals that live in the open ocean, but are closely related to the “sea squirts” (tunicates) seen in tidepools. Colonial salps such as this one in the genus Heliosalpa often form long chains, with new animals budding off from others in the chain. By rhythmically contracting
their bodies, salps propel themselves through the water and pump water through their guts, filtering out microscopic algae and other tiny organisms for food. This allows them to swim and eat at the same time. With such a simple feeding strategy, salps can multiply very rapidly when they have plenty of food. Most salps are found within 100 meters of the sea surface, where there is enough sunlight for algae to grow. Along the Central California coast, salps are typically seen in fall, when warm, open-ocean water flows toward shore.

Fiery-red coral species discovered in the Peruvian Pacific

Fiery-red coral species discovered in the Peruvian Pacific

 A new coral species, Psammogorgia hookeri,  was collected by scuba divers from rocky ledges at depths to 25 meters in Peru's Paracas National Reserve in 2014. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of Costa Rica have named the coral after Yuri Hooker, a biologist and naturalist at the Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University in Lima, Peru.

The corals' form hand-sized colonies which are slightly smaller than the colonies of their closest relative. The coral was also found attached to mussels at a local fish market.

 The new species is thought to be endemic to the area meaning it is found nowhere else in the world. However Peru’s Coral Reefs have never been systematically and thoroughly studied.

25 new species of coral have been found so far in the Pacific. Most specimens from this area are over 90 years old.

Yuri Hooker says "With logistical support from the Peruvian National Protected Areas Service, we're beginning to discover the amazing biodiversity of corals and marine invertebrates in the Peruvian Pacific"

The discovery of this new species highlights the importance of Peru's still largely unexplored marine protected areas.