SCUBA News 125

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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 125 - September 2010
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
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Welcome to SCUBA News. I hope you enjoy this 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?
- Creature of the Month: Scorpion spider crab, Inachus dorsettensis
- Letters
- Diving News from Around the World

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What's New at SCUBA Travel?
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Diving the Galapagos Islands

We've updated our coverage of the amazing dive sites in the Galapagos Islands.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/americas/galapagos-diving.html

Diving Australia

More on diving the Great Barrier Reef and, on the other side of Australia, Ningaloo Reef.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/australia/
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/australia/ningalooreef-dive-centre.html

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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Liveaboard Diving

Hi there

My wife and I are newly quaified divers and have just booked a red sea liveaboard for November. I am looking for peoples' information on what expect from the trip and any tips that you woud be happy to share.

Thanks all

John

Post any answers on the Diving Board at __________________________________________________________
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Creature of the Month: Scorpion spider crab, Inachus dorsettensis
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This small, triangular, crab disguises itself from predators with tiny pieces of living sponge and seaweed. It sticks these among the hooked setae (bristles) on its back as camouflage.

You will often find it in the tentacles of the snakelocks anemone - as in our picture - another strategy to evade its predators. Research on a very similar species, Inachus phalangium, has found that the crab can walk through the anemone without the anemone trying to eat it. The crab only leaves the anemone during night-time to feed, and when moulting. It does not always return to the same anemone but sometimes migrates to a different area to find a mate or more food.

The crab takes food into the anemone; the anemone takes advantage of this and may grab the food from the crab for itself. However, the anemone may also collect more food than it can eat quickly, thus benefitting the crab.

The crab's legs are very long and slender but the claws are rather big and sturdy. It is difficult to distinguish from I. phalangium, but I. dorsettensis's carapace (upper shell) is not as pointed between the stalked eyes.

Inachus dorsettensis grows to just 3 cm across and lives from 4 to 300 m in the coastal waters of Europe, including around the British Isles and the Mediterranean. It has also been recorded in South Africa.

Further Reading
Great British Marine Animals, by Paul Naylor, Deltor (2011)
Wicksten, M. K. (1993) A review and a model of decorating behavior in spider crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura, Majidae). Crustaceana 64 , pp. 314-325
Wirtz, P. and Diesel, R. (1983), The Social Structure of Inachus phalangium, a Spider Crab Associated with the Sea Anemone. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 62: 209–234. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1983.tb02152.x

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Diving News From Around the World
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Protect corals with reef networks, UN says

The world should safeguard coral reefs with networks of small no-fishing zones and shift from favouring single, big protected areas, a UN study showed.

Taiwan marine park plans progress despite objections

Taiwan plans to set up a marine national park in the middle of one of its largest fishing grounds despite opposition from fishermen.

Galapagos still at risk

The World Heritage Committee decided to remove the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger, despite IUCN's recommendation to the contrary. "Threats from tourism, invasive species and overfishing are still factors and the situation in the Galapagos remains critical".

Genetically Modified Fish on Your Plate

If the US approves genetically modified fish for human consumption, the implications will be global. Farmed fish can wreak havoc if they get into the wild. Large numbers of Atlantic salmon have escaped and are breeding with their wild cousins, producing animals that are less likely to survive. Farmed Atlantic salmon have also escaped into Pacific waters, and there are fears that they may compete with native species of salmon. Add genes from other species into the mix, and the potential risks become even greater.

Trawlers damaging precious sponge beds

Deep-sea trawling is damaging the UK's sponge beds and threatening a potential source of medical cures, scientists have warned.

California's dolphins suffer mystery skin lesions

Dolphins in California aren't happy. Some 90 per cent of bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay are suffering from an outbreak of skin lesions. Nobody knows why but suspicion falls on contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, organochlorines and fire retardants.

Meet William the Concherer, the dolphin that can fish

A conching dolphin captured on film suggests the marine mammal uses the massive shell to trap and stun fish.

New technique to collect DNA from dolphin breath

A new technique to harmlessly extract DNA from dolphin breath could assist conservation efforts aimed at marine mammals.

Great Barrier Reef's great-grandmother is unearthed

Just 600 metres away from the Great Barrier Reef, the jewel in Australia's crown, a less spectacular but more ancient reef has been discovered.

Squeezing solar juice from jellyfish

From jellyfish to algae, the creatures of the sea are being recruited for solar power cells.

Sea level rise looks inevitable, even with intervention

New findings by international research group suggest that sea level will likely be 30-70 centimetres higher by 2100 than at the start of the century even if all but the most aggressive geo-engineering schemes are undertaken to mitigate the effects of global warming.

Think or swim: Can we hold back the oceans?

Not even massive geoengineering projects will stop the seas' relentless rise. Maybe it's time we found somewhere to put all that excess water.

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