![Point-of-Rocks, Sarasota, FL [240x180, 25K]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/78/216538512_a1c04734ba_m.jpg "Point-of-Rocks, Sarasota, FL")
[via bioephemera]
ATTENTION!
Sunday is the first annual International Rock-Flipping Day.
The point is simply to have fun, and hopefully learn something at the same time. We don’t want to over-determine what that something should be: those of a more scientific frame of mind might focus on i.d.s or ecological interactions, while those of an artistic or poetic bent could go in a different direction entirely. Pictures alone would suffice, of course. But whatever you do, please be sure to replace all rocks that you flip as soon as possible, so as not to disrupt the natives’ lives unduly.
![IRFD web badge [200x200, 45K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/pic-irfd2007c.jpg)
Here at Cephalopodcast HQ we are making plans to visit our favorite rock flipping site. You can share your results via Flickr or email your efforts to the organizers below.
UPDATE: I made a couple of optional and complimentary web badges to accompany any IRFD events. Available in various sizes and with or without a grass border.
Rare dolphin ’sighted’ in China: “A fresh-water dolphin believed to be extinct has been sighted in the Yangtze River, Chinese state media report.”
[via BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition]
This is also a test to see if I can post via NewsFire + MarsEdit. Looks like this feature works.
Some osteological curiosities have been collecting in my cabinet inbox. It’s hard to articulate why I find these so humerus since some of them are quite gross.
And if you want to take these things more seriously, try the teaching kits.
We had a shark bite in Sarasota Bay recently. A hapless New College student went night swimming and got nibbled on by a (suspected) bull shark. She is expected to recover after receiving several dozen stitches. If you care to see the damage, she has posed for inspection. 
Remarkably, it is only the seventh reported unprovoked1 shark bite in Sarasota County since 1882. These statistics are literally kept on file at the International Shark Attack File. They advise not being in the water during darkness or twilight hours when sharks are most active and have a competitive sensory advantage. Indeed. My buddy SB and I didn’t follow that advice in our undergrad days either. We took a couple turns snorkeling along Lido at sunset. But the severed head of a stargazer and a disemboweled cownose ray were pretty good clues we weren’t alone.
Of course, I kind of like the notion put forth by NBA star Gilbert Arenas. He recently opined that there are no such things as shark attacks:
There are these things called shark attacks, but there is no such thing as a shark attack. I have never seen a real shark attack. I know you’re making a weird face as you’re reading this. OK people, a shark attack is not what we see on TV and what people portray it as. We’re humans. We live on land. Sharks live in water. So if you’re swimming in the water and a shark bites you, that’s called trespassing. That is called trespassing. That is not a shark attack.
A shark attack is if you’re chilling at home, sitting on your couch, and a shark comes in and bites you; now that’s a shark attack. Now, if you’re chilling in the water, that is called invasion of space. So I have never heard of a shark attack. When I see on the news where it’s like, “There have been 10 shark attacks,” I’m like, “Hey, for real?! They’re just running around? Sharks are walking now, huh! We live on the land, we don’t live underwater.”
Perhaps the co-ed would have been less attractive had she slathered on some Shark Defense. This is a new sun tan lotion that purports to also repel sharks. Testing for the product took place at the Bimini Biological Field Station. This is also the location where a classic Mythbusters segment was filmed, one dealing with the notion that sharks can smell one single drop of blood in a thousand drops of water. It’s a shame Discovery hasn’t cottoned on to the idea of letting users embed their video into posts, a la Comedy Central. But you can follow the links below to see how Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman used condoms and syringes to bust this myth.
Unprovoked attacks are defined as “incidents where an attack on a live human by a shark occurs in its natural habitat without human provocation of the shark.”
[via digg]
Design palettes inspired by the Great Barrier Reef available over at COLOURlovers.
COLOURlovers is a resource that monitors and influences color trends [and] gives the people who use color…a place to check out a world of color, compare color palettes, submit news and comments, and read color related articles and interviews.
We recently finished listening to the audiobook of the last Harry Potter book. There seemed to be quite a few supposal elements in the story that gave me the same vague kind of disappointment I got from reading the Narnia Chronicles as a youth. I can’t believe that these are original observations (edit: they are not), but you can tell me what you think after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Harry Potter is Jesus Christ’
After purchasing the new iLife ‘08 suite, it occurred to me that I only have ~10% left on my laptop’s hard drive. Rather than wait for things to get wonky, I reinstalled the OS, eliminating all the cruft and dander that’s accumulated around the edges. But restoration is slow going. All my apps are back, but the data is taking longer to replace. At least I have a SuperDuper! back up.
It is nice clearing off the deck though, taking the time to re-evaluate which applications, newsfeeds and podcasts are really worth my time and resubscription.
Also, I received jury summons for tomorrow. All this means I may not be as responsive to email or blog posts for a little while.
[via Plankton forums]
Reports of an unusual “albino” sand tiger shark (aka, grey nurse, Carcharias taurus) are coming in from Austalia. Pictures and videos available by following the links.
This rare albino grey nurse has been spotted at Australian’s best known diving and fishing spot Fish Rock.
The photo of the 2.2m male was taken by Fish Rock Dive Centre owner Jon Cragg 2km off South West Rocks.
Mr Cragg was speechless when the amazing creature swam past him.
“I saw the big white shadow in the water with two other sharks then when I saw it I couldn’t believe it, it was like a ghost coming out of the darkness,” Mr Cragg said.
“No one has ever seen one like this before - it was pretty exciting.”
Must be something in the water down under, because this is not the first albino shark found there.
![Cassiopea xamachana, gulfspecimen.org [431x288, 57K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070809_gulfspec02.gif "Cassiopea xamachana, gulfspecimen.org")
Last summer we started noticing upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopeia sp.) appearing in abundance in Sarasota Bay, Florida. These are typically saucer-sized animals that are content to pulse upside-down (hence the name) on the bay bottom, exposing their frilly, weed-like tentacles to the sun. They aren’t supposed to have much of a sting, but apparently some people do get an allergic reaction to touching them.
These creatures have a symbiotic relationship with the algae that packs their tentacles. It is similar to the relationship between reef-forming, stony corals and their algae partners. These partners are called zooxanthellae (zoe-zan-thelly), or as we like to tell the kids, they are the green jelly in the belly of the corals. Not strictly accurate, but catchier than saying the dinoflagellate symbionts in the endoderm of hermatypic cnidarians. The algae photosynthesizes, producing oxygen and sugars that the animals use. In return, the animals give the algae a protective matrix to grow in, carbon dioxide and other waste products that act like fertilizers.
Typically you find these jellies further south in Florida and it’s unsual to see them this far north. This story just recently got some mainstream press coverage and by coincidence the inkspot blog posted some beautiful pictures and video of upside-down jellies nearly the same day.
It’s interesting to note that this article by Karla C. Garcia states that the upside-down jellies tend to expel their zooxanthellae under stressful conditions, like extreme water temperatures and changes in salilnity. In coral reefs, this process is commonly referred to as bleaching. Presumably the conditions in Sarasota Bay have change now in favor of recruitment by Cassiopeia larvae and their algae. Sarasota Bay has also been affected by several seasons of serious red tide outbreaks. It is interesting to speculate if this may have influenced the natural predators of the planktonic larvae.
And here’s the obligatory disclaimer. These animals are not fish, of course, and some people object to calling them jellyfish. They are an ancient lineage of animals that predate any finny creatures with backbones. Instead, simply call them sea jellies and you should be okay.
![my tattoo, by colinj [100x75 , 10K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070897_colinj.jpg "my tattoo, by colinj")
So the meme of the moment is focused on science tattoos. It is something the kids seem proud of today and they are not alone.
Naturally enough, cephalopods provide a lot of inkspiration when it comes to tattoos. Over at TONMO they did a reader survey to find out what motivates people to go under the “pen.”
The most popular location for a cephalopod tattoo is the lower back, with four (25%) tattoos residing there. The left arm was a close second (3), followed by a 3-way tie for right arm, left leg, and upper back (2 each).
So why do people choose to get a cephalopod tattoo over something different? Here is some of the insight provided by our responders. It’s interesting to note the prevailing observation that cephalopods are so “alien”-like.
- When I was a kid my uncle took me scuba diving, and I held a small octopus on that arm [where I got my tattoo]. It was such an amazing experience…
- I’m a scuba instructor, and they’re my favorite…
- my favorite animal since i was a kid
- Cephalopods are my favorite creatures on the planet. They are not only highly intelligent and full of personality, but they are both entirely alien looking (compared to all other animals) and adorable at the same time.
- I like cephs a lot, and have devoted a lot of time to them. More importantly, I found an image of a ceph that resonated with me, and seemed to reflect other aspects of my life besides cephs.
- …you can’t really sail to French Polynesia and not get a tattoo, so i got one of an octopus…
- I love cephalopods - the last (known) living sea monsters, intelliegent, and alien to us - but given that most of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans, they’re probably more abundant than even all 6 billion of us. Their colors and elegance of motion make them living art (to me, anyway).
- ‘cuz they’re just so gosh darn squidly!
They have galleries containing tattoo images broken down into three categories: octopus, cuttlefish, and squid. An interested cephaloblog reader was also kind enough to share his sinewy octopus tattoo with me and I am glad to see it turned out pretty well.
But I’ve never been inked myself. I’m afraid if I did, it would end up looking something like Dicrostonyx torquatus. 
See also
UPDATE: The meme continues.
![Carnival Of The Blue [100x100, 7K]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1148/531775421_125285bc74_t.jpg "Carnival Of The Blue")
The third Carnival of the Blue is hosted over at Rick MacPherson’s blog. Although I am still not sure if his blog is properly called Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets or Coral Notes From The Field. Anyone?
By the way, the Carnival of the Blue icon is available in a variety of sizes and colors.
![BioJar [400x300, 38K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070805_BioJar.jpg "The BioJar, tabletop biosphere project from Make magazine")
Make magazine has instructions on building your own miniature aquatic biosphere. I took the weekend challenge and made my own using specimens from a retention pond near work. There were snails and crustaceans in abundance, including grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), amphipods (aka, scuds) and copepods.
![Make:Biosphere - completed project [100x75, 6.5K]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1021494584_e93a2d2a6b_t.jpg "Make:Biosphere - completed project")
The instructions call for the use of a sea shell to help with buffering. I thought I would be smart and use a small deer antler instead. It looked good at first, but I never properly degreased the thing, so the set up went south pretty quickly. I removed the antler and restarted with a little crushed coral gravel. I also added the iconic econaut refuge (orange diver) and a little bit of hornwort purchased from the pet store.
Cephalovlog #2: 60 Seconds of Green Pond Scum
I made a little video featuring some of the critters. I used a jeweler’s loupe held next to my Canon ZR500 and Powershot A95 (movie setting) to get close-up shots of them in action. It was edited with iMovie and scored in Garageband.
Blip.tv | YouTube
Lessons Learned
Needless to say, this is a great lesson in ecosystem management. Unlike an aquarium, the tabletop biosphere is a closed system. All nutrients must cycle from the plants (producers) to the animals (consumers) and back again (via decomposers/bacteria). A well balanced biosphere can last a couple of years, with some commercial manufacturers claiming systems that have run for ten years or more.
In addition to the articles from Make, there are several lesson plans out there for starting biospheres in the classroom. It might be interesting to get students started with these at the beginning of the year and see which ones last the longest. See the links below for more ideas.
Tendrils
I also wanted to highlight another sources of inspiration for this project. It is an aquascaping photoblog simply called Green. I encourage you to marvel at the beautiful macro photography of Marcus Wallinder’s miniature worlds. And if its zen-like, award-winning design inspires you, then here are more than 130 palettes to “help you get your green on” too.
![Patrick Lynch - Rock Beauty thumbnail [80x80, 2.5K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070731_Lynch.gif "Patrick Lynch - Rock Beauty thumbnail")
I came across the coastal wildlife illustrations of Patrick Lynch over on Flickr. These are taken from his current book, A Field Guide to North Atlantic Wildlife
, and its companion on Southeastern and Gulf Coast marine wildlife coming out in 2008.
Lynch is a man of many talents. But it took me a moment to remember where I had seen his name before. Then I remembered he was the illustrator of my ornithology textbook.
In his 35 years with Yale University Lynch has been a medical illustrator, biomedical photographer, audiovisual producer, and for the past 20 years a designer of interactive multimedia teaching, training, and informational software and Web sites.
Jason Robertshaw
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