Narwhal - monodon monoceros

The unicorn of the sea, except this one is a real live thing.

These are medium sized toothed whales.

It's often only the males that show this long tusk which is actually an elongated canine tooth that grows right through the Narwhal's upper lip.

No one can confirm why Narwhals have this unicorn-like feature. The only explanation is that it's prominent in mating rituals or impresses the females during courtship.

These mammals are related to Bottlenose Dolphins, Orca Whales, Belugas and Harbour Porpoises.

They have no dorsal fin, like most whales and dolphins do.

Narwhals are on average 4-6.1 metres in length.

Most commonly found in the Arctic ocean around Greenland, Canada and Russia. 

Like most dolphins, Narwhals travel in groups of 15 to 20, but have been seen in pods of hundreds or thousands, and feed on fish shrimp and squid.

They can live up to 50 years.

The Inuit people often hunt Narwhal for their long tusks and their skin, which contains high levels of vitamin C.

They are also victims of Walruses and Polar Bears.

Many Narwhals die from suffocation during the winter when the ice freezes over their breathing holes.

The Narwhal population stands at approximately 75,000 so they are near threatened and some small pods have shown signs of declining.

But, the only people allowed to hunt these whales are the Inuit people.

SOME PAINTINGS I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS YEAR..

Am hoping to produce more and more, so will keep posting as I go!

Enjoy.

"All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came."

― John F. Kennedy

Starfish - Asteroidea

We all know these pretty little stars as 'starfish', but recently scientists have begun to correct their name to 'Sea Stars' as the organisms do not come under the kingdom 'fish' but they come under the kingdom 'Echinoderm' closely related to Sea Urchins and Sea Biscuits.

Sea stars are fairly unique in that they're found almost everywhere on the ocean floor from shallow tidal beaches to deep sea.

To cover this massive ocean space, there are at least 2,000 species of Sea Stars. Most having five arms, but some can have 10, 20, even 40.

These critters are sort of magic in a way. If a predator were to break of one arm (or shed it in defence), this arm can not only be re-grown on the body, but if a tiny segment of that arm survives, some species can re-grow a whole new body around that piece. This is because some Stars store their vital organs in their arms rather than central bodies.

Sea Stars aren't all pretty shapes and magic powers though. They have some pretty gruesome table manners. Rather than doing the same as almost every other organism on the planet, (entering food into the mouth then digesting it) they decided to come up with a unique technique for dinner time. The National Geographic has a nice explanation for this: "Most sea stars also have the remarkable ability to consume prey outside their bodies. Using tiny, suction-cupped tube feet, they pry open clams or oysters, and their sack-like cardiac stomach emerges from their mouth and oozes inside the shell. The stomach then envelops the prey to digest it, and finally withdraws back into the body."

Another crazy fact, from National Geographic, is that Sea Stars also have no brains and no blood. They have seawater circulating through their bodies rather than blood.
To keep up with the weird theme, some Sea Stars are hermaphrodites, meaning they can produce both sperm and eggs. These are made in an organ called an "ovotestis" coming from "ovary" and "testicle". These then fertilise to become little sea stars. Other species start as males, then as they grow older they become female. If this grown female were to then split into two, the re-growing two would both be male until they reach a certain age again.

These pretty stars aren't all weird adaptations though. Some species are among the most invasive marine organisms. An introduced species from Japan has been destroying coral reefs in Northeast Australia and French Polynesia. They are expected to have been introduced as larvae in off run from Japanese ships.

Currently Sea Stars are unaffected by pollution or human impacts. But scientists believe that high levels of ocean acidification (too much carbon dioxide in the ocean) will stunt the growth of these organism's skeletons. And also some species are unable to survive in water with high temperatures, which may happen with global warming.
But, on the bright side, for now they're a healthy group of marine organisms holding up the food chain whilst being pretty.
That's what we like!

Puffer Fish - Tetraodontidae

These little guys are the puppies of the ocean. Their big eyes and round bodies create the illusion that they are completely innocent and harmless.

Think again.

These are the second most poisonous vertebrates in the world.

One adult Pufferfish contains enough poison to kill 30 adult humans. Not so innocent?

They have this crazy elastic skin/bodies that can double, or even triple in size on demand. This stops predators because their prey is suddenly too big to swallow.

Scientists think Pufferfish adapted this because they were too slow and clumsy to swim away from their predators, which is likely true. They have tiny little fins that make precise but slow movement.

If the predator managed to catch the Pufferfish before it inflates, it would soon regret it's decision because Pufferfish contain a chemical called Tetrodotoxin which is foul tasting and in most cases poisonous to fish and humans.

Tetrodotoxin is found mainly in the ovaries and liver, but can be traced through other parts of the body also.

Apparently sharks and some large fish are immune to the pufferfish's poison, and in some places in Japan, farmers have bred un-poisonous Pufferfish by limiting their diet to certain foods.

In Japan, Fugu(Pufferfish) is a delicacy that is only prepared by trained and licensed chefs because if prepared wrong, it could kill customers, which happens annually up to 44 times in Japan alone. 

Tetrodotoxin paralyses the victims muscles, while the victim stays fully conscious and eventually dies from asphyxiation which is when the body can't get enough oxygen.

Not so cute.

There are 120 species of Pufferfish, and some can grow up to 100cm in length.

These fish are only found in tropical seas.

All species of Pufferfish can move their eyes independently and some are similar to chameleons in that they can camouflage into their surrounding environments.

Pufferfish eat algae and small invertebrates  Some larger species break open clams, mussels and shellfish with their four big teeth (which is where their scientific name comes from).

Pufferfish mating has never been witnessed in the open ocean, but divers and scientists have come across male Pufferfish creating spherical shapes in the sand on the seafloor which is believed to attract the female and serve a safe place for her to lay her eggs.

Some species of Pufferfish are considered threatened by pollution , due to habitat loss (coral reefs etc), and over fishing. But most populations are stable and not in need of urgent action.

Refreshing to hear hey?

If we keep up the good work all marine species will be as bright as this one!

Hector's Dolphin - Cephalorhynchus hectori

New Zealand is home to only two endemic mammal species, the short tailed bat, and the Hector's dolphin.

The population of Hector's dolphins, due to water levels rising and ice ages, has divided into two species. The north island group called "Maui's dolphin" and the south island holds the name "Hector's".

The Maui's dolphin is the rarest marine mammal in the world with only 55 animals over one year of age estimated for the whole population. And the Hector's only grows to 1.5 metres in length and is one of the world's smallest marine mammals, but has a larger population, estimated at 7,270.

Maui's dolphins are only found on the west coast of the North Island, and Hector's have been seen regularly on the north west coast of the South Island and amongst Banks Peninsula on the east coast of the South Island.

I have been extremely lucky to have grown up in Lyttelton Harbour, catching the ferry to and from my home town. All my life I've been aware of the Hector's dolphins, as they regularly come right into the harbour and swim around the boats.

Black Cat Cruises takes trips out Akaroa and Lyttelton harbours to swim with and view the dolphins, encouraging the conservation of these animals and teaching tourists and locals about what is around them.

These dolphins are the only dolphins found in New Zealand with a rounded dorsal find which makes them easier to spot.

Males are smaller and lighter than females.

They life for a maximum of 20 years.

Females reproduce from nine years of age, and even then only have one calf every two to three years. Generally a female dolphin will give birth to four calves in their lifetime, keeping population sizes extremely low.

Meals for the Hector's dolphins includes Ahuru, Yellow-Eyed Mullet, Kahawai, Arrow Squid, Herring and Red Cod. These dolphins are also a snack for many shark species and Orca Whales.

Like all other dolphin species, Hectors and Maui dolphins use echolocation, but not constantly. Which is thought to be why they get caught in fishing nets so often.

The biggest threat to Hector's dolphins is set-nets or gill-nets. These nets are made of fine netting which is un-detectable for the dolphins. They get caught in the nets and are stuck underwater and are unable to reach the surface for oxygen, and drown.

It has been estimated that these nets kill 110-150 dolphins each year, and as you read earlier, the small numbers in the populations can no longer afford to lose that many.

There have been two Marine Protected Areas created for the Hector's dolphins, the first in and around Banks Peninsula in 1988, and the second on the West Coast of the north island in 2003. Though the numbers are still expected to drop as these areas don't reach as far offshore as the dolphins do.

While Helen Clark was the prime minister a few more restrictions were made to protect the dolphins and reduce set-nets, but it appears that since then no further changes have made. These changes are desperately needed to reduce chance of extinction for these little dolphins.

Please do your bit!

Sharks - Selachimorpha

What makes a fish a shark?

-cartilaginous skeleton (not at strong as bone, the structure in your ears and nose),

-five to seven gill slits behind the eyes/head,

-pointy pectoral fins which are separated from the head.

There is said to be more than 470 species of shark lurking in the oceans today, some of which have been ruling the ocean for 420 million years and 200 of the 470 species are in critical danger of extinction.

Of these 470 species, there are some which grow up to around 12 metres in length (Whale Shark), and the smallest only 17 centimetres (Dwarf Lanternshark).

TEETH:

Shark's teeth grow in rows and are only attached to their gums, when time for replacement, they move forwards in a conveyor like way towards the opening of their mouth. Some sharks will lose up to 30,000 teeth in their life time.

JAWS:

Sharks jaws are not attached to the rest of their cartilage. This comes in handy for Great Whites when biting their prey. They can push their jaw forwards, almost as far as their nose, to grab their prey. As shown in this picture:

FINS:

Sharks usually have 8 fins altogether. These fins mean that the sharks can only swim forwards. If met with an object face on, the shark has to drift away, not swim backwards.

Without fins sharks cannot swim. They propel movement, keep balance and steer direction.

The Mako shark is the fastest shark and can swim up to 50kph.

Sharks have been given a sinister image due to the movie "Jaws" and their inhumane appearance of which we can't find a way to relate to or understand.

This fact seems to make people less worried about the population numbers and lives of sharks, and more accepting of the huge wastage and mass murder these organisms are facing.

In reality more people are killed by hippopotamuses than sharks each year. 3,000 Hippo attacks and only 6 Shark.

The largest threat to sharks is us, mankind, if you've ever paid for shark fin soup, that's your choice but just know that you're supporting the possible extinction and may want to re-think what you order next time you're in your fave asian restaurant.

Many Shark fisheries will catch the sharks and slice off their fins while they're still alive, to then throw away the remaining 98% of alive shark back into the sea. They do this because;

1. The body of a shark is not a delicacy or great to eat,

2. It saves precious time not killing the animals,

3. Less fuel is needed to transport the fins back than the heavy bodies of the sharks and

4. They can store more fins on the fishing vessel.

This practise is illegal in 98 countries around the world including Australia, U.S, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, European Union, Guam, Guatemala and Belize.

On the other hand, shark finning is still legal in New Zealand as long as the sharks are killed before having their fins removed.
People haven't stuck to this law though, and this is video evidence that live shark finning took place in the Marlborough Sounds (Shark Finning Marlborough).

Around 24,000 tonnes (the same as 300,000 people) of shark meat are taken from New Zealand waters every year. More than 100 million sharks are caught around the world every year. 

2 species of shark, (of the 115) in New Zealand waters, are protected. They are the Great White and Basking.

Why fin sharks?

It's not the New Zealand people that are demanding these fins, it's south-east asian countries that use it in their shark-fin soup. 1 kilogram of shark fins exported from New Zealand can sell for up to $1200, and annually we make around $4.5 million from this practice.

The main reasons nothing has been done to stop this in New Zealand is firstly because the government won't see a problem if huge money is involved, and secondly because nobody knows enough about sharks to know how many there are, were and are dying. Population numbers are just guessed, so it's hard for conservation to know if urgent protection is needed.

On sunday the 10th November, the government proposed that Shark Finning is banned in New Zealand waters, but this proposal won't take effect for at least another 2 years. No one knows if the population numbers can hold up until then, as the fishing numbers are increasing rapidly.

If you have a minute and disagree with shark finning in New Zealand fill out Green Peace's submission to stop it immediately.

(Submission)

Thanks fellas.

Crayfish - Jasus Edwardsii

These large ten-legged crustaceans are generally associated with New Zealand's East-Coastal town Kaikoura which was named after the organism itself (Kai-food Koura-Crayfish) due to the crazy abundance Tama Ki Te Rangi, Maui's grandfather, found when he reached Kaikoura. Crayfish is generally the name given to freshwater lobsters, not the bright orange spiny lobsters (Jasus Edwardsii) which we find off our coast today but New Zealand slang has classed them as the same thing. Koura may be a general name for all lobsters but are thought to specifically be smaller, dark green and are found in rivers and lakes, also known as Yabby.

It's the spiny lobsters that I'm interested in so here are some nifty facts and figures;

Jasus, which we find in our waters, are only found in the Southern Hemisphere.

Some can live for more than 50 years, continuously growing their whole life.

They don't have the organs which all other lobster's carry to make sound. It's called 'Stridulation' and is the act of making sound through rubbing parts of the anatomy together-as crickets and cicadas are famous for. This sound, when made by Lobsters, is a screeching noise which scares of predators.

Spiny Lobsters don't have the large pincers on their front legs which fresh water Lobsters do.

Whilst being nocturnal, and hiding in small caves during the day, they are also carnivorous and feed on small shrimps, snails, crabs, clams and kina.

Maturing usually occurs when the crayfish are 7-11 years old.

These Lobsters take the longest to develop their eggs than any other marine organism-up to 2 years.

Males can grow up to 58 cm long whilst females only reach 43 cm.

Spiny Lobsters sometimes migrate across the sea floor in groups of up to 50 animals. They know where to go because somehow they can detect the earth's magnetic fields and follow them to their next spot.

If one Lobster from a group becomes ill, all others will migrate away from it to protect themselves and leave it to fend for itself.

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The Lobster is one of the most heavily harvested creatures in the world with over 200,000 tonnes caught and distributed yearly worldwide.

Only a few of the hundreds of species are caught for delicacy though.

Of course there is a down side, because this organism is so popular for eating, there is a decline in population numbers, and pollution has taken it's toll by causing shell rot and disease in species which normally could defend off any illnesses.

Keep on eating your Crays, but in moderation, and don't support mass industry fisheries. If you're craving some Cray, catch it yourself, or go to Kaikoura and support awesome locals like Nins Bin. That is all.

Sea Turtle - Chelonioidea

6 of the 7 species of marine turtle are highly endangered.
The only reason for this is us, humans.
Accidental capture in fishing nets (by-catch), coastal development destroying nests and feeding sites, and last but not least, poaching. These are all ignorant human actions that have bought the se turtle populations to diminish.
The ancient Chinese see sea turtles to be extremely fine dining, and some cultures still hunt these animals for food.

The Leatherback is the only sea turtle without a hard shell to protect it and grows to around 2 metres long and 1.5 metres wide when completely matured, being the largest of the sea turtles as well.

When males take to water for the first time, they will never return to land again. The turtles go to deeper waters just above continental shelves when first in the sea, then slowly move closer to shore as they grow older. The female will return to land to lay her 50-200 eggs at night time, she buries them in the sand. She'll do this every two-to-four years once reached maturity. Supposedly they continue this procedure until they're around 80 years old.
The hatchlings gender depends on the temperature of the sand they;re buried in, if it's higher temperatures decrease incubation time which results in more females.
It's common for only one or two hatchlings to survive, many are killed on their journey to the sea by birds, crabs and other predators.

It takes several decades for sea turtles to reach sexual maturity, this is a reason why they're such a fragile population, many are killed before they have the chance to reproduce.
The sea turtles also live for about 100 years, the oldest recorded died at 250 years old.

A Wish.
Please take a look at this talk on marine reserves and ocean preservation..

Sylvia Earle's Wish

Ps. apologies for the lack of activity, will resume writing asap.

Jellyfish - Cnidaria

Gelatinous umbrella shaped bell with long tentacles flowing underneath around the mouth. The bell for moving, and the tentacles for catching prey. This what we know as the jellyfish. In reality, they should be called Jellies because their body is nothing of a fish.
They're found in every ocean, from the surface, to the sea floor, the most colourful lurk around coastal zones. Theses strange creatures have roamed the sea for at least 500 million years, being the oldest multi-organ animal alive.

A group of jellies is called a "Bloom", a "Smack" or "Swarm".
Jellies form in the same way as Anemones (almost like plants), but instead of staying clinging to the rocks, they have an extra phase of their development and are released into the open sea to swim around.

There are problems around the world in places where either global warming has killed the jellies' predators, or over fishing has had the same effect, causing the jellyfish populations to increase so greatly that it's dangerous to swim, and they're taking over the seas.
Smallest Jellie, Irukanji Jellyfish, is around one millimetre and the largest, Lion's mane jellyfish, is up to 2 metres in diameter.
Most have lethal stinger on their tentacles, but a few, like the moon jellyfish that's commonly found around New Zealand, won't sting if you were to pick it up.

They're strange little critters, but somehow extremely fascinating and gracious.

Crabs-Brachyura

These aren't the ones you find in spiral shells (hermits), the creepy ones with massive claws (porcelain), the crazy soldier like crustaceans (horseshoe), or the microscopic critters that live in pubic hair (or any course hair). These are the true crabs.

They have a thick external skeleton, two claws, live in the ocean, fresh water, and tropical land.

They can be a few millimetres wide (the Pea Crab), or up to 4 metres wide (the Japanese Spider crab).

Males have larger claws and a skinnier, pontier abdomen pouch on their belly, the female's is wider so she can fit her eggs in it whilst fertilising.

Crabs tend to mate belly-to-belly, and attract each other through hormones, dances, vibrations, or sounds.

They usually mate soon after the female has moulted her shell and is still soft. She can store the sperm for a long time before she choses to fertilise it.

When a female is carrying eggs, it's called "berried" because the eggs resemble little berries.

Throughout a crab's lifetime, it will moult many times. It's old shell starts to erode around it's body, while the new shell starts to form underneath. The crab will absorb large amounts of water to crack the old shell and spend hours if not days removing every part of it's body from the old shell. If it gets stuck, it has no chance of survival. 

After releasing the shell, it hides until the new shell it hard enough for protection.

They walk sideways because of the way their legs are laid out, but some can walk forwards and backwards, some can swim, like the paddle crab, who's back legs are flattened into little paddles to help.

Crabs make up 20% of all crustaceans caught by fisheries, and about 1 1/2 million tonnes are caught each year.

Pretty Sad.

In the weekend, a Sperm Whale was found washed up near the Taramakau River mouth, south of Greymouth and on Saturday a Cuvier's Beaked Whale was found at Cobden Beach, also near Greymouth.

The Sperm Whale was about 17 metres long, massive.

When animals that large have lived in water their whole life, and have a body made to work with the support of dense ocean, being out of the water doesn't support their large bodies and their bones and organs can't withstand the weight of their huge body mass. That's why most beached whales don't stand much chance of survival.

 You're probably interested in why they're called "Sperm" whales, it's not what you think. Their heads hold a huge quantity of a substance called spermaceti, which is what the early whalers found when they started hunting this species, and they somehow came to the conclusion that it was the same as human semen, hence the name. But they later realised that this liquid was extremely valuable for cosmetics, candles, waxes etc. Which then started a big craze towards whaling for Spermaceti.

They're the largest of the toothed whale group and have the largest brains on earth. 

Both the species of whales found tend to hunt for squid-like creatures around 1,000m deep and both are spotted around New Zealand quite often.

It seems to be a common event , finding beached Cuvier's Whales, but the loss of the Sperm Whale is pretty miserable, there aren't thaat many left and we need to take care of them!

(A wee video showing the gentle heart of Sperm Whales and the opposite of the Orca) Orca vs Sperm Whale

An Amazing Human

http://paws.org.ph/UploadedFiles/Thumbnail/Temp/10_16_2010_595688726.jpg

Ric O'Barry (Richard Barry O'Feldman)

This guy is the brain behind the most notorious dolphin ever trained, Flipper. He was known as the best dolphin trainer in existence  until his dolphin committed suicide right before his eyes. O'Barry had gone out to train the captive dolphin (Kathy- one of Flipper's actors) one day and found her in his pool with near black skin from sunburn. The dolphin looked her trainer in the eyes, took a breath and sunk to the bottom of the pool. O'Barry jumped in trying to save her but didn't succeed.

He'd felt so bad about it that he went around releasing any captive dolphins he could and was arrested the next day for doing so.

Ric O'Barry's co-written three books and released captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, The Bahamas and around the U.S.

He puts his life at risk most days to save the dolphin population, as shown in "The Cove", and doesn't think twice about it. Now that he's got the word out about cruel captivity, celebrities are starting to get involved as well. This is a wee clip a guy called David Phillips made to promote the Dolphin campaign-http://vimeo.com/17129452#

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After releasing "The Cove", Ric O'Barry carried on with his movement and is still filming the little bay in Taiji, Japan for his tv series, Blood Dolphin$. His son Lincoln O'Barry is now involved and they work as a dedicated team in the series to stop the Taiji dry fisheries and to convince marine parks that dolphin captivity isn't very cool and they should probably get a real job about now.

Seahorse - Hippocampus

It's hard for scientists to know how well the seahorse population is surviving because they know so little about the wee creature, but they do know that loss of coral reefs and seagrass beds will be having a large impact on their existence.

The Seahorse is one of the only two fish which swim upright.

One species of seahorse was classed the slowest moving fish.

Their eyes can move separately (one cod be looking forward and one looking back).

A seahorse will just cling to something stable for a long time, sucking in small crustacean and nutrients from the surrounding water.

Courtship for these fish can last for days, they spend a lot of time together doing things like swimming side-by-side holding each other's tails or performing courtship dances or just clinging to the same strand of grass, until the female feels it's time to fertilise her eggs. Male seahorses have a womb-like pouch on their belly which is filled with up to 1,500 little eggs from the female whilst mating. He'll hold them for 9-45 days until they pop out as fully developed teeny tiny seahorses. The father will then abandon his babies to go off and mate again with another seahorse mistress.

Whilst pregnant, the male feeds the eggs some type of nutrients similar to the lactose in mammal's milk.

Less than 0.5% of the infants will survive to maturity which is why so many are born.

The little seahorse in the photo above is called a Pygmy Seahorse which is one of the smallest of this species. They grow to be less then 2cm tall (around 17mm).

And as you can see, they're extremely good at camouflaging into grasses and corals where they live.

Seahorses are said to be the head romantics of all species.