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SCUBA News 95~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to Issue 95 of SCUBA News. This month we've a new competition to win a dive guide book. See below for details. I hope you enjoy the newsletter, but should you wish to cancel your subscription you may do so at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html Contents: __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? 
More underwater photos are now in the Maldives room of our photo gallery. Read about some of the diving in America at our new page on the USA. :ADVERT__________________________________________________ Diving in Koh Samui with Infinity Diving can be defined as "diving with that little bit extra". Find out more at http://www.infinitydiving.com/ ___________________________________________________ADVERT: More dive sites and dive centres are now in our Colombia section. __________________________________________________________ Red Sea Dive Guide Review and Competition Congratulations to Britta Krampe and Shelley Long. They have both won a copy of the Guide and Logbook of Safaga, courtesy of Travelling Diver. This month we have a new competition to win a diving guide to Hurghada. Review of Site-by-site dive guide & integrated logbook - Hurghada - Egyptian Red Sea  This is the forth guide in the series and covers the very popular diving area around Hurghada. The format remains consistent with the other guides - loose sheets designed to fit into a diving logbook binder. The guide covers 16 dive sites, usually with 2 dives per site. Most of the sites are reefs but there is one wreck at El Mina. There is an A5 double sided page for each site which can be slid into a 3-ring binder with your other dive logs. The first part of the guide allows you to write in all your personal dive details (time, gas consumption, conditions, weight, temperature, cylinder details). There then follows a description of the site, its location including co-ordinates, a 3-D map and usually a couple of recommended dives. The maps are excellent - showing the dive site very clearly. Turning over there is a more detailed description of the site covering, geography, history and marine life you are likely to encounter. It really packs in loads of information. At the bottom of the page is a space for you to add your own dive notes. All in all these are great little guides and money well spent if you are going to the area as nearly all the dives you will do are covered. If you are planning a trip to Hurghada then this will help you prepare and give you a good idea of what to expect. Review by Andrew Reay-Robinson To win a copy of this diving guide to Hurghada, e-mail the name of the author to news@scubatravel.co.uk. To find out go to the Travelling Diver web site at http://www.travellingdiver.com/find_your_dive_site/hurghada.phtml. __________________________________________________________ Creature of the Month: Soldierfish, Myripristis vittata 
A member of the Holocentridae family, soldierfish are medium sized fish with big eyes. All species are primarily nocturnal. By day they hover in groups in or near caves and under coral formations. By night they swim above the bottom to feed on large zooplankton (invertebrates and young fish). Like many nocturnal fish, soldierfish are mostly red. To us it is easy to spot during the day, but to other fish it blends into its dark crevice or cave. Long red light wavelengths don't penetrate water well, so fish colour vision tends to be tuned to the shorter, blue and ultra-violet, end of the spectrum. This means that red and pink fish are inconspicuous. Their big eyes are another clue to their nocturnal habits. Large eyes, with a wider pupil and increased retinal surface can collect more ambient light for better seeing in the dark. In fishes' eyes the rods, which detect brightness but not colour, are physically retractable. When light levels are high the rods are retracted into the back of the retina. When light levels fall and colour vision declines, the rods move upwards to provide low-light vision. Nocturnal fish, who eat invertebrates, tend to eat larger food than their daytime counterparts. Possibly because they are easier to see in the dark. You see soldierfish in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Pictures of soldierfish are at Further Reading: __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World If you would like to read the diving news as it happens, without waiting for this newsletter, then grab the SCUBA News feed from http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.xml It's free and automatically updates you with the latest SCUBA news via your web site, e-mail or any news feed reader. Mediterranean leaders urged to save tuna Atlantic Bluefin tuna populations have declined alarmingly over the past few decades due to overfishing fuelled by an increasingly expensive industry. A new WWF report shows that the international fleets hunting are this species to extinction in the Mediterranean. If you want to buy a tin of tuna off the supermarket shelf don't worry though - you almost never find bluefin tuna in a tin. Most tinned tuna is yellowfin or skipjack. For fresh tuna ask your restauranteur or fishmonger if the Atlantic Bluefin tuna was caught in the Med. If so, avoid it. Global warming turns fish deaf Is it important that global warming turns fish deaf? Yes. For coral reef fish, sound is vital for them to judge where to settle down and live. After hatching, reef fish larvae are dispersed by ocean currents for a few weeks. The larval fish must then find their way back to a suitable reef to make their home. It's thought that the young fish home in on high-frequency noises. Coral reefs are extremely noisy environments, with the crackle of snapping shrimps and the chatter of fish set against a backdrop of wind, rain and surf. Sound carries well underwater, and most fish have great hearing. Scientists Reveal First-Ever Global Map of Total Human Effect on Oceans More than 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, and few if any areas remain untouched, according to the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems. By overlaying maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change and pollution, the researchers have produced a composite map of the toll that humans have exacted on the seas. The study reports that the most heavily affected waters in the world include the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and several regions in the western Pacific. The worst affected ecosystems include coral reefs, rocky reefs and seamounts. The least impacted are soft-bottom areas and open-ocean surface waters. Butterflyfish May Face Extinction The case of the Chevroned Butterflyfish is a stark example of how human pressure on the world's coral reefs is confronting certain species with 'blind alleys' from which they may be unable to escape, says Dr Morgan Pratchett of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University. Turtles at risk from non-stick pans The same chemicals that keep food from sticking to our frying pans and stains from setting in our carpets are damaging the livers and impairing the immune systems of loggerhead turtles - whenever possible don't buy stain resistant clothing etc. Floppy when wet: Sea cucumber inspires new plastic The skin of sea cucumbers was the inspiration for a new material that can change dramatically from rigid to floppy when soaked in water. Sea cucumbers' skin is usually supple, allowing them to slide through narrow spaces between rocks and corals. But when touched a defensive reaction makes their skin go rigid in seconds, thanks to enzymes that binds protein fibres together. A second set of enzymes can break those bonds to make the skin soft again. Creature clones itself to avoid becoming fish food It's a novel escape route that makes a mockery of the status of the individual: if you run the risk of being eaten, just clone yourself. That is the approach taken by the larvae of sand dollars - marine animals related to sea urchins. A Simple Guide to Decompression Illness This new book enables divers to have a thorough understanding of some of the medical problems and illnesses associated with diving. After reading this book you will be able to fully recognise each of the individual conditions and have a clear understanding of the best action to take in the event of decompression illness. It is suitable for all levels of experience from novice to instructor. It explains topics in clear non-medical language. It is a guide to initial treatment and first aid. It includes emergency action charts and recompression tables. It contains emergency contact numbers and recompression tables. __________________________________________________________ * Copyright SCUBA Travel - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/ We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and even use parts of it on your own web site, providing the above copyright notice is included and a link back to our web site is in place. Previous editions of SCUBA News are archived at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING CONTACTING THE EDITOR ADVERTISING PUBLISHER Subscribe To SCUBA NewsOur newsletter, SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011), is absolutely free. It is a monthly publication, delivered by e-mail. To receive your copy fill in your details below. 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