SCUBA News 123

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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 123 - July 2010
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
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Welcome to SCUBA News. I hope you enjoy the newsletter, but should you wish to remove yourself from our mailing list please go to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html

SCUBA News is published by SCUBA Travel Ltd, the independent guide to diving around the world.

Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Letters
- Win a a Suunto Dive Computer
- Creature of the Month: Three-spot dascyllus - Diving News from Around the World

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What's New at SCUBA Travel?
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Diving in India

Much of the diving in India remains isolated and unspoilt. Learn more about it at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/pacific/india-diving.html

Philippines Photo Gallery

From pygmy seashorses to sharks, see some great underwater photos in the new Philippines photo gallery.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photophil.html

:ADVERT__________________________________________________

Alvaro Diving Center is on the scuba diving paradise island Koh Tao. We specialise in a small-scale, personal service, a relaxed atmosphere and high standards, so you and your family can concentrate on having fun!
http://www.divingcourseskohtao.com/

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Diving Thailand

More on the dive sites and operators of Thailand is now on the SCUBA Travel site.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/

More...

For regular announcements of what's new at the SCUBA Travel site see the Diving Board at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=2

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Letters
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Diving Jubail (Saudi Arabia)?

Is there any possibility of a diving course in Jubail (Saudi Arabia) for a female?

Mhawy

Post your answers on the Diving Board at __________________________________________________________
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Take part in an international questionnaire about recreational scuba diving at http://diversdeltaeng.questionpro.com/, and you could win a Suunto Dive Computer, a Cressi-sub MC5 Ellips steel regulator, a Mares Prestige MRS+ stabilizing jacket or a Scubapro Titanium Divers Watch.

This questionnaire, from the Dutch Diving Federation, wants to discover your diving preferences and introduce you to diving opportunities in Zeeland.

The questionnaire is about the dive areas that you have been to, and your diving holidays.

To complete the survey go to http://diversdeltaeng.questionpro.com/

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Creature of the Month: Three-spot dascyllus, Dascyllus trimaculatus
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If you have dived in the Red Sea, Indian or Eastern Pacific Ocean, you will probably have seen shoals of these small fish. They live on coral and rocky reefs at depths of 1 to 55 m.

Youngsters often live in large sea anemones, alongside the instantly recognisable Clownfish. Adults, though, leave the anemone to congregate in small groups around prominant rocks or coral outcrops.

When young, the Three-spot dascyllus does indeed have three white spots: one on each side and one on the forehead. Adult fish lose the forehead spot, the side spots become less distinct and the black colour of the fish becoming less intense.

The groups of adult D. trimaculatus comprise around 10 individuals with one male to several females. When approached by an intruder, the male assumes a higher defensive position, while the females rest betwen the tentacles of the anemone. During spawning the male dances to attract females. They deposit eggs on coral branches which are watched and guarded by the male until they hatch.

D. trimaculatus is part of a complex of four species that vary in geographical ranges and colour patterns. Of these D. trimaculatus is the most widely distributed,

Further Reading:
Coral Reef Fishes Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, Lieske and Myers

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Diving News From Around the World
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Aqua Lung America Recalls Apeks Power Inflators

Aqua Lung America are recalling Apeks WTX Power Inflators as the oral inflator button can fall off during use. This poses a leak of the buoyancy compensator contents.

Activists liberate 800 bluefin tuna

Environmental activists from the Sea Shepherd group say they have "liberated" some 800 bluefin tuna that had been caught by what they described as poachers and were being towed by two fishing vessels off the coast of Libya. Five scuba divers cut open a circular holding net filled with fish below legal weight and caught after the fishing season closed.

Right whales yell over the ocean din

To cope with the blitzing level of noise in today's oceans, North Atlantic right whales are calling louder to each other. It is the first time a baleen whale has been observed compensating for the din in this way.

Whales and humans linked by 'helpful grandmothers

Scientists have discovered an evolutionary reason why humans and whales both have grandmothers. As post-menopausal females age, the researchers say, they become increasingly interested and helpful in rearing their "grandchildren". This could help explain why female great apes and toothed whales (cetaceans) have lifespans that extend long beyond their reproductive years.

Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Efforts Miss the Mark

Conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered Caribbean corals may be overlooking regions where corals are best equipped to evolve in response to global warming and other climate challenges.

Super goby helps salvage ocean dead zone

A resilient fish is thriving in an inhospitable, jellyfish-infested region off Africa's south-west coast. And crucially it is helping to keep the local ecosystem going.

Antidepressants in sea may damage food chain

Second-hand Prozac in waste water could be sending shrimps' swimming patterns haywire, making them easy targets for predators. 'Crustaceans are crucial to the food chain and if shrimps' natural behaviour is being changed this could seriously upset the natural balance of the ecosystem.'

Submarine robots learn teamwork

Studying the deep ocean floor is cumbersome, expensive and dangerous. The majority of exploration efforts have to employ an autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV), which works without control cables. But many AUVs are specialised, they cannot travel far alone and they can only provide a narrow range of data. Moreover, there are few AUVs and the unexplored kilometres of ocean are many. The work of one European project, however, has the potential to dramatically increase the range and functionality of the world's AUV fleet using networking technologies and software.

Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland

Rising seas from global warming, coming after years of coral reef destruction, are forcing thousands of indigenous Panamanians to leave their ancestral homes on low-lying Caribbean islands.

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SCUBA News
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PUBLISHER: SCUBA Travel, 5 Loxford Court, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6AF, UK
EDITOR: Jill Studholme