OUsnakebyte

Submitters: Mike Henley, OUsnakebyte Location: My 120 Gallon Camera Used: FujiFilm - can't remember the rest Subject: A. formosa

Hard to tell from the page if these come only in SE or also DE, but maybe worth a phone call. Sunlight Supply Cheers Mike Edit - now that I look at it, looks like the 250s are indeed SE...

For any students looking for experience. Cheers Mike MOTE MARINE LABORATORY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES OVERVIEW In summer of 2009, Mote Marine Laboratory will host a 10-week, National Science Foundation-funded program focused on providing research experiences in estuarine science to 10 undergraduate students. Students will be paired with Mote scientists and conduct research on major threats to estuaries such as aquatic pollution, natural toxins, habitat alteration, and coral reef decline. Students will gain experience in science communication by presenting the results of their independent project in a manuscript-style research paper and orally at a laboratory-wide research seminar series. Students will also attend research seminars, workshops on career skills in science, and may have the opportunity to present their research findings at professional conferences. ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for the Mote REU Program, students must be: . U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or its territories . Currently enrolled in a degree program (full-time or part-time) leading to a baccalaureate degree. Students cannot have already graduated at the time of their REU internship. . First-time REU participants. In addition, applicants should: . Possess a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4-point scale) . Make efforts to receive academic credit for participation in the REU Program /*- Students from minority groups underrepresented in science are strongly encouraged to apply -*/ TRAVEL, STIPENDS AND HOUSING Students participating in the REU program will receive: . Stipend of $4,000 over the 10-week period . Housing in a local dormitory . Support for transportation between Mote and their home institution APPLICATION PROCEDURE Students interested in applying to the 2009 Mote REU program can acquire information on the application procedure from the program website, *www.mote.org/reu*, or by emailing *reu@mote.org*. /*The deadline for applications is February 16, 2009.*/ ABOUT MOTE Mote is an independent, nonprofit research laboratory with a 54-year history in marine science research and education. Mote is located in Sarasota, Florida on a 12-acre campus overlooking Sarasota Bay, with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. For additional information about Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, please visit www.mote.org. Visit Mote's REU Program website at www.mote.org/reu

I could not agree more with this assessment. I found this year's Shark Week to be all about sharks doing harm to people, how not to be eaten, what kind of damage they can do - all the classic Jaws fear stuff that doesn't do much for helping sharks' images and/or showing how important they are to ocean ecosystems and their alarming decline - shark finning anyone? I recall there only being one truly educational program that even remotely addressed these. All in all I was disappointed with Shark Week this year. Hopefully that will change in the future... Cheers Mike

That's the only option we have to run in an Invertebarte Exhibit!

A tank with no powerheads in the display - I'll be getting to this right after the New Year...

This previous thread came to mind: The Wrath of the Carpet...

My very large female GSM clown has brought blood to my hand more times that I care to remember. It especially hurts when she gets the soft web of flesh right between the fingers. Joy... Tis natural though. In the wild they would be chasing away butterflies or any other anemone predators...

Isn't that one titled, "Got Milk?"

Submitters: Mike Henley, OUsnakebyte Location: Grand Cayman Camera Used: Fuji - that's all I know (it was Bob Dewitt's camera...) Subject: Blenny in Porites

Yeah, we still do the tuning fork "trick." It vibrates the web at the same frequency an insect would, so the spider thinks something is caught in the web. It's a very mild toxin - harmless, as are 99.99% of more than 38,000 identified species of spiders. I've never been bitten, but I'm told it's less painful than a bee sting. I don't know about dangerous, but the larger of the two species does have a formidable set of chompers. Most dangerous? Elephants. Second - zebras.

NY Times Link Cheers Mike

That was funny... I know that scream. It's the same bloodcurdling scream I hear when people come upon the orb-weavers and realize there is no glass. Only one thing you can chalk it up to - ignorance...

Did you purchase this rock recently from a store and/or had the rock/coral been recently wild-harvested (i.e. come from the ocean recently)? I only ask b/c many hitchhikers that are not normal aquarium stock will make it for a while. Can you rotate the rock to get a pic from another angle to help confirm our suspicions? Oh and, + another 1 for tunicate. Cheers Mike

FANTASTIC!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat find!

Yeah, we have that set at work, and it is indeed the gold standard for stony corals. I often wondered why people would buy the set when they had access to it online, for free... Looks like someone finally figured that one out... Bummer too; it was so convenient.

Has anyone else noticed the coral search from Australia Institute of Marine Science's website is gone? Or at least moved? I can't seem to access it: AIMS Coral Search Too bad - this was always a great taxonomic tool for stony coral references...

I went to the new hall just after it opened for a staff preview early in the morning. I got there just as it opened for us (well... me...), and I was the only one there for the first hour - it was so peaceful and quiet. So, I took my time to look around the entire exhibit at my leisure. It was certainly a lot to take in... Overall, I like the layout - prehistoric oceans on the left, showing mass extinctions, evolution and extinctions of major groups of invertebrates, etc. Wasn't megaladon impressive? I don't think I would have gotten in the water with that guy looming around... I think they have done a nice job - it's a lot of information, but I like the hand print signs on various locations, showing human impact. Science On A Sphere ROCKS! We are supposed to get one for Amazonia here. Take time to watch the entire loop - you will learn a lot about how the oceans' conveyor belt of currents works to to determine the Earth's climate, temperature, etc. and why the oceans are a global ecosystem. The tank - yes, it is nice, very colorful, etc. I took the tour behind the scenes, and they have some impressive filtration, frag tanks, etc. Finally, toward the end of my stay people started showing up. I took several minuts to stand back and watch people's reaction - the ooo's and ahhh's... What I noticed is that eyes are drawn to "the lure of the lights." Aren't we all? But, people watch the tank so much that they don't take time to see the graphics along the side of the tank that talk about coral reef decline and its causes - a VERY important take-home message that I believe a lot of people miss. Mike

No, of course it doesn't always have to be millions of years; the quicker you can turn over your population, the more quickly those forces can act - elephants will "evolve" more slowly than bacteria, for example. Nope I have not, but you have just put it on my reading list. And yeah, I realize that's it's not always happening at the same rate (I actually thought about Gould's punctuated equilibrium when I wrote that - and Veron's Reticulate Evolution, since we are all coral lovers here... ) The point I was trying to make was that these fish have not evolved this better eyesight since the pollution started - it is the force of Natural Selection acting upon them - that's all. BINGO!!! Dave nailed it. I can't remember the exact statistic, but the majority of mutations have no effect or are deleterious. Gene mutation can be a driver, but is by far the weakest. Darwin keg party? I'm there! Cheers Mike

Disclaimer - I have not read the Nature article; just wanted to comment on the use of wording here... I have not seen in this entire thread the use of two very key words to describe what is happening: Natural Selection - or if you want to get really picky about it, you could distinguish natural from artificial selection. At any rate, what is happening with the cichlids, what happened with the Pepper Moth during the Industrial Revolution, etc. was natural selection - the most powerful driver of evolution, of which there are three (or four if you want to separate): - Natural Selection - Genetic Drift/Founder Effect - Gene Mutation Evolution does not happen in one or two generations, and we have certainly NOT seen speciation since the pollution started in this lake. The evolutionary time scale is geologic - millions of years. The "Act of Evolution" that these fish are 'involved in' is merely Natural Selection (or if you want to consider human interference, whether intentional or unintentional, Artificial Selection) - quite possibly the most powerful biological process on Earth. Adaptations take evolutionary time to develop; the fish with better eyesight are being selected for due to the changes in their environment - nothing more. Darwin is my hero - celebrate his 200th birthday this February 12, 2009! Cheers Mike

Thanks for posting this Doug - something I meant to do before I left an just ran out of time. I don't know if everyone kept up with the weblog, but we had a great spawn this year - MUCH better than last year. Settlement for me is going well (I'm starting to see primary polyps in my sleep...), and I see zoox in many of the settlers. I even saw one polyp today with secondary polyp formation!!! But, the next three months will be the worst in terms of die off. So, we'll see what happens. Hopefully there will be some left for everyone to see at the social. Yup, trying to grow coralline - chemical flypaper for larvae. Cheers Mike

I am vaguely recalling an email on the aquarist listserve a while back where Delbeek pointed out a study saying that excessive use of carbon leads to HLLE in fish. Now, I know what your next question is going to be... "well, what defines excessive...?" This is where I have to say that I don't remember at all, but I will try to dig up the email/paper when I get back from PR. I think the gist of the discussion is that you can use too much carbon on a given tank size - but again, I don't recall the details - sorry. In my own experience, years and years ago (geez... is it going on 10..? wow.), I put a filter sock over the drain line from my display and filled it with carbon, thinking I was being all smarty for getting higher flow through my carbon. Well, in about two days my display water was noticeably dark, and there was a fine layer of black soot on the wall of the glass in my sump, and a little in the display. It took me a month of water changes and wiping with a paper towel to get it all gone. Good thing is none of the livestock were worse for the wear... So yes, there can be too much flow over carbon. Where that cutoff is, I can't exactly tell you... Cheers Mike

They are the standard round plugs, just ceramic. HA! budget?!?! What's that? That was eaten through loooooong ago. I'd love nothing more than to make this easier, change the plans, etc., but we have all standardized what we are doing, and I can't change it up at this late hour - experiment has to be the same for everyone. With any luck, next year we will have most (no way all) of the kinks worked out. Cheers Mike

You don't want it - it's brown sps... I'll take what you have got. Are you going to the meeting this Saturday? I'll also take them. Meeting Saturday? Short time...? Well, I want to have everything set up and tested out before I leave on the 15th (Friday). I'm back on the 27th and will acclimate the larvae that afternoon. Depending on how the protocol is written, that day (Wednesday) will be day one or Thursday the 28th will be day one - I'm not sure yet (about MANY things, not just this...). Then, they are in settling tanks for 6 days - so, at the latest, done on September 2 (Tuesday). Given work constraints, I can hope to start getting them back to people that following weekend. If I get heaters from everyone thus far on this list, I should be good. I'll take some extras if I get them, which will give me options. Thanks again - everyone. Cheers Mike I'll take 'em! Meeting Saturday? Re tanks - Believe it or not, I actually think I am good for tanks. I am using some of our beetle larvae tanks that I have rinsed and scrubbed. I had to re-silicone three of them, but for now... they are seaworthy. Just so everyone knows - I will label all heaters appropriately so none of them get mixed up. If they are to break, I will replace. Anyone feel like filing down 1200 (that's not a typo), round ceramic frag plugs to squares to fit egg-crate? I know what I'm doing the next few days!!!

Awesome. Will you be at the meeting? Excellent. I'll take both. Meeting? And, I'm going to take back what I said about you on Reef Central... Great, I'll take it. I'll PM you about details. Sweet. I'll see you at NADC after 7pm Saturday. I'm making it official - this club rules. Cheers Mike