Links to interesting news and research:
“COOL JAZZ: BOWHEAD WHALES IMPROVISE WHEN SINGING, STUDY SAYS” A.P. News (Audio recording, “woo woo woo riffs” included)
“MYSTERIOUS DEEP SEA LIFE BELOW ANTARCTIC” National Geographic Below the ice, plants and animals thrive – A terrific slideshow.
“HOW A SEA URCHIN IS LIKE A RUSHING RIVER” Science Magazine News Feed On rocky reefs around the world, spiky sea urchins find homes in depressions in the sandstone, mudstone and granite reefs. Researchers have determined that they create their safe spaces by digesting the rock – a generating a great deal of sediment.
“OFF THE GREEN AND INTO THE BLUE” Hakai Magazine At the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links, a lot of golf balls end up in the ocean. What happens to them?
“THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS IS THE OCEANS’ MOST EFFICIENT JET ENGINE” New York Times (with video) Like squids, jellies and other sea creatures, chambered nautiluses suck in water and squirt it out to move, like little jet engines. But their efficiency at doing it in terms of engery used and produced in much higher than other swimmers.
“ONCE AGAIN, A MASSIVE GROUP OF WHALES STRANDS ITSELF” Atlantic Magazine Some 150 short-fin pilot whales came ashore on Australia’s western coast. Possible reasons for mass standings abound but definitive answers are elusive.