An earlier post showing an weird fish pic has just been linked to by Fark.com, and we’ve had a sudden flurry of visitors and comments about it (go and join in!). Because I have form in the weird fish pic category, here’s one we took on a Field Course in the foothills of the Alps [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Fish’
30/12/2009
GRIM ANIMAL PHOTO OF THE DECADE
This alarming photo shows a rainbow trout fingerling peering from the mouth of a northern pike as it is about to be eaten. The unsettling scene was captured in January 2001 at an aquarium in Anchorage, Alaska, by Jim Lavrakas.
23/04/2009
SAVE THE PARROTFISH TO SAVE THE REEFS
November 2007 Parrotfish are major grazers of the algae that grow on coral reefs. Protecting them from over-fishing may be decisive for the survival of reefs in the Caribbean. Sea urchins can also do the trick. That’s the take-home message of a Nature article, most of which consists are rather hard to follow mathematical modelling – ecology is not all [...]
23/04/2009
OTTERS IN EDINBURGH
October 2007 Otters have been sighted in the middle of Edinburgh. No news on them romping about in the Medlock as yet, but you never know. (The Medlock is the river at the lowest point of Oxford Road, near the BBC. The University is technically in Chorlton-on-Medlock, which in 1843 Friedrich Engels described as being one [...]
23/04/2009
AND FAREWELL TO THE BLUEFIN TUNA?
October 2007 Depressing BBC article about the threats of bluefin tuna stocks. The story, as ever, is one of over-fishing – even the Spanish Fisheries Ministry admits as much.
22/04/2009
CICHLID SPECIATION
October 2007 My favourite display at Blue Planet Aquarium is of the Cichlids (pronounced SICK-lids) from East Africa. They were looking a bit sad this year. There’s an excellent “Primer” article from Current Biology (open access) about them and the way they are speciating.
22/04/2009
BLUE PLANET SUICIDE
September 2007 You may remember the massive Amazonian Arapaima (callled Harry) from your visit to the Blue Planet Aquarium. Well this year, it wasn’t there. A couple of months ago it managed to escape by jumping out of its tank – all 2m of it! – and sadly died, flopping on the floor. It has been sent to [...]
22/04/2009
MORAY EEL – THE ORIGINAL ALIEN?
September 2007 Moray eels possess a second pair of evertible jaws which come out and bring prey back into the throat, once it’s been seized by the nasty teeth you can normally see. Excellent set of videos and articles at the Nature website (you or your institution will need a subscription to see the full articles). The News [...]
21/04/2009
WHERE DID THAT BABY SHARK COME FROM?
May 2007 A female bonnethead shark (part of the hammerhead family) gave birth to a pup (yes, some sharks are viviparous – this was very important for realising that mammals have eggs. Read my book!). What was interesting is that she had not been in contact with a male – it was a case of parthenogenesis, unusual in such [...]
