Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Brilliant Pics of Bizarre Sea Critters

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the tales-from-mos-eisley-cantina dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Today, scientists have announced the completion of the first ever Census of Marine Life. The colossal 10-year effort involved 2,700 researchers from 80 countries. To mark the occasion, Discover's blog 80beats has a photo gallery of some of the most marvelously strange sea creatures photographed in the course of the census. The blog post also explains some of the census's most important findings, including the dramatic decline of many commercially important large marine animals, and troubling new evidence of a decline in the phytoplankton that serves as the base of the marine food chain."

19 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. It amazes me by LiquidLink57 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We seem to want to look toward space, toward distant planets trying to find even scant evidence of strange, spectacular creatures. And yet ones as strange and spectacular as you can imagine remain undiscovered right here at home.

    1. Re:It amazes me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      We seem to want to look toward space, toward distant planets trying to find even scant evidence of strange, spectacular creatures. And yet ones as strange and spectacular as you can imagine remain undiscovered right here at home.

      Just give 'em more mercury.

    2. Re:It amazes me by Monchanger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think that depends on one's definition of "strange". Sure there's definitely room for marine biologists, physicists and chemists to learn from creatures inhabiting the deep. But all these newly discovered lifeforms are, as strange as they seem, still just distant cousins, restricted to evolutionary limitations. Glibly put, there are only so many fields which care about yet one more species of jellyfish.

      Scientific knowledge would grow by leaps and bounds with something truly alien. They'll settle for unrelated carbon-based life, but would love to study something which doesn't even have that in common. Other fields of science would absolutely love locating sentient life. I'm not sure how much spending that's worth, but it's far from worthless.

    3. Re:It amazes me by Urkki · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We seem to want to look toward space, toward distant planets trying to find even scant evidence of strange, spectacular creatures. And yet ones as strange and spectacular as you can imagine remain undiscovered right here at home.

      You wish we want to look towards space. In reality "we" on average want to look towards a TV set or a gaming/internet device.

      Fortunately some of us are still looking towards space, while others are also looking into the oceans (as proven by TFA). Even with all the attention wasted on rectangular displays showing imaginary things, or at best irrelevant trivia, we may still have hope.

    4. Re:It amazes me by Bertie · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And we're busily killing them off.

  2. coml.org images by slshwtw · · Score: 5, Informative

    coml.org Image Gallery (since for some reason I can't seem to find where the pictures are on the discover blog)

  3. Already Sladshdotted! Here's a CORAL link by Announcer · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm glad I got this just in time! Here is the CORAL link to this:

    http://blogs.discovermagazine.com.nyud.net/80beats/2010/10/04/first-marine-census-describes-the-wonders-and-troubles-of-the-seas/

    --
    Willie...
  4. How can a "first ever" census... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...show a decline?

    Wouldn't this census establish the baseline?

    1. Re:How can a "first ever" census... by Monchanger · · Score: 4, Informative

      Because it's not a census-wide decline:

      including the dramatic decline of many commercially important large marine animals

    2. Re:How can a "first ever" census... by calderra · · Score: 2, Informative

      There have been other attempts to measure certain populations like plankton, so this is not the baseline for this census, but a confirmation when added to other studies that build a picture of a decline over time.

  5. Re:Census? by flaming+error · · Score: 3, Informative

    > Isn't a census where you count every member of a population?

    No. It's where you count as many as you can, and from that number, estimate the total.

    Etymology Latin, from cnsre to assess

  6. Re:Census? by gstoddart · · Score: 2, Informative

    Isn't a census where you count every member of a population? Given that you can't really do that for every sea creature aren't they using the term as kind of a misnomer?

    I think they know that, but here's their "about" page.

    It's as complete as it has even been, and they've been working on it for a decade. I'm sure they know it's not 100% coverage, but they probably need to be able to explain it to lay-people.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  7. Re:Census? by calderra · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A census is an attempt to measure the populace. You can measure as much as you can, then guess at the rest, which is what every population census tries to do. (We measured X immigrants, and we know that's not all of them, but with reasonable certaintly we can assume there are between W and Y immigrants).

  8. Content is shared with the Encyclopedia of Life by Chuckles08 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Another great thing about the Census is that much of the information is feeding into the Encyclopedia of Life project (www.eol.org) with the content being shared under a Creative Commons license.

    --
    Twenda Learning: Educational Apps that Engage.
  9. Re:Census? by alta · · Score: 3, Funny

    No a census is when you hire WAY more people than necessary, forgoing all logic and prudence, in an effort to ease the unemployment rate on the population. Then the first month after you bask in the glory of how you have reduced unemployment. Then you admit that it was temporary once the right people start pointing out what you did. Then 6 months after you hired all of these already redundant people you let them all go...

    It would have been cheaper to just send them their check instead of creating all the administrative (busy work) of 'employing' them.

    That's what a census is. You have an outdated definition. That was so 1980.

    --
    Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
  10. Re:Sweet by Anarki2004 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm...It would appear that in my haste to get a semi-relevant first post, I neglected to type the word "the". This is almost as bad as the time I accidentally my whole hard drive.

    --
    The teachers will crack any minute, purple monkey dishwasher.
  11. Re:Sweet by Nidi62 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It probably saw it's reflection in the camera lens.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  12. Re:It depends on your point of view. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    That is a female blobfish, you insensitive clod !!!

  13. The question in everybody's mind... by rleibman · · Score: 2, Funny

    How do they taste?