Trip To The Osa Pennisula

Behold the blue glaucus (Glaucus atlanticus), a tiny sea slug that packs a powerful punch! Growing only about 1.2 in (3 cm) long, it’s also known as the blue dragon, and it specializes in eating venomous siphonophores—like the Portuguese man o' war. It then repurposes the toxic chemicals from its prey as a defense for itself. The blue glaucus’ sting has been known to induce nausea, vomiting, and agonizing pain. Their venom can remain active even after death!

Photo: drmattnimbs, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

Sky Walk on Puente 3 (Bridge 3) in Monteverde, Costa Rica

FROM PANAMA TO MARIANA TRENCH:  FEMALE WHALE SHARK MADE A RECORD!

For two and a half years, scientists followed the movements of Anne, a whale shark, during which she swam from the coast of Central America to the Mariana Trench.

In 2011, researchers put a transmitter on Anne near Coiba Island in Panama. In the following 841 days, Anne’s transmitter sent a signal to the ARGOS satellite when it swam close to the surface. These trasmitter allowed the team to follow its movements to the south to the Galapagos Islands and throughout the Pacific to the Mariana Trench, to the south of Japan and the east of the Philippines. She traveled a distance of 20142 kilometers.

-Whale shark route from Panama to the Mariana Islands (black track) tagged in September 2011, and old record from Mexico to the Marshall Islands (red track, tagged in September 1995).

The finding reinforces the position of the whale shark as one of the animals that travels most, along with leatherback turtle, gray whale and the arctic tern. In 2016, the IUCN cataloged the species for the first time as threatened. Biologists calculate that tropical and subtropical seas have less than half of whale sharks that they had 75 years ago, which increases the urgency of their protection.

Read also: This is why whale shark aggregate just in 20 sites!

Photo: A whale shark at Gladden Spit, Belize. Source Heyman et al.,2001. 

Reference (Open Access): Guzman et al., 2018.  Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Marine Records

Prionace glauca by migueldesigns It’s no exaggeration to say the blue shark is one of the most beautiful sharks swimming in the earth’s waters today. It stands out with its slim, elongated, torpedo-shaped body and beautiful swimming style. Sadly, this shark species is among the most highly fished sharks around. Humans catch it for its fins, meat, oil, and as a display animal because of its beauty. About 10 million blue sharks are killed by humans every year! As a result, this shark is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Blue sharks have a deep blue back with white underbelly, large eyes, and long pectoral fins. It has a particularly strong and unique sense of smell.

Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates

(source)

EXPLAINED WHY WHALE SHARKS CONGREGATE IN JUST 20 LOCALITIES WORLDWIDE

We know whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), the biggest fish in the world, aggregate at just 20 coastal locations globally.  Why these animals, which can reach more than 18 m in length, choose these specific places, has perplexed researchers and conservationists. Although whale-shark aggregations had been recorded near tropics, including Mozambique, the Maldives, Honduras, Australia and others places, what causes these aggregations remain unknow.

Aggregations typically occur in the fore reef and lagoon areas, leading out to the reef slope, reef wall or continental slope, which has a steeper slope, leading whale sharks to deep-sea environment. Researchers sugests whale shark can filter food at greath depths, where the water is cold, and then bask in the sun at shallow depths, warming their cold-blooded bodies, as they depend on external sources of body heat.

-  Location of aggregation and non-aggregation sites. Hotspots are in red.

These places are very productive, where plankton and small crustaceans abound. However, sharks swimming in shallow waters near the surface are vulnerable to accidents caused by vessels, as tourist boats which approaches them. The whale shark is considered Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, these findings increase our understanding of whale shark behaviour and may help guide the identification and conservation of further aggregation sites.

Photo by  Abe Khao Lak

Copping et al., 2018.  Does bathymetry drive coastal whale shark (Rhincodon typus) aggregations?  Aquatic Biology section

natgeo  Photograph by @thomaspeschak This is a marine iguana, but I think they should be called ‘Ocean Godzilla’ instead. These are our planet’s only lizards that feed in the ocean and despite their fierce, dragon like appearance they are very sensitive to climate change. They rely exclusively on cold water seaweeds for nourishment which die off quickly as the water becomes too warm. For more “Ocean Godzilla” pics follow @thomaspeschak

Common Dolphin, West Ireland