theBlu

NOC the white whale

For the first time, researchers have been able to show by acoustic analysis that whales — or at least one very special white whale — can imitate the voices of humans. That’s a surprise, because whales typically produce sounds in a manner that is wholly different from humans.

That’s all the more remarkable because whales make sounds via their nasal tract, not in the larynx as humans do. To make those human-like sounds, NOC had to vary the pressure in his nasal tract while making other muscular adjustments and inflating the vestibular sac in his blowhole, the researchers found. In other words, it wasn’t easy.

“Our observations suggest that the whale had to modify its vocal mechanics in order to make the speech-like sounds,” said Sam Ridgway of the National Marine Mammal Foundation. “Such obvious effort suggests motivation for contact.”

(via science daily)

Hermit crabs socialize to evict their neighbors

Social animals usually congregate for protection or mating or to capture bigger prey, but a University of California, Berkeley, biologist has found that the terrestrial hermit crab has a more self-serving social agenda: to kick another crab out of its shell and move into a larger home.

All hermit crabs appropriate abandoned snail shells for their homes, but the dozen or so species of land-based hermit crabs are the only ones that hollow out and remodel their shells, sometimes doubling the internal volume. This provides more room to grow, more room for eggs and a lighter home to lug around as they forage.

But empty snail shells are rare on land, so the best hope of moving to a new home is to kick others out of their remodeled shells.

When three or more terrestrial hermit crabs congregate, they quickly attract dozens of others eager to trade up. They typically form a conga line, smallest to largest, each holding onto the crab in front of it, and, once a hapless crab is wrenched from its shell, simultaneously move into larger shells.

underneath of a ray by cobalt123 on flickr

Google maps now with underwater streetviews!

Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset.

At Apo Island, a volcanic island and marine reserve in the Philippines, you can see an ancient boulder coral, which may be several hundred years old. And in the middle of the Pacific, in Hawaii, you can join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay and drift over the vast coral reef at Maui’s Molokini crater. 

via the Google Blog

blanket octopus

Pictured is a females of this species, which are thousands of times larger than males — two meters versus a few centimeters!

via scienceblogs

Beautiful force of nature: waterspout off the coast of the Grand Cayman.

Photo by Mark Hanrahan.

Turtle kiss (:

photo by Mavis C

“Sea otters lose body heat through their paws since they aren’t insulated with fur. So they will keep their paws out of the cold water and dry when possible.”

And being sea otters, of course they have to do so in the most adorable way. (:

Photographed at Monterey Bay Aquarium by Michael Yang.

Cyanea capillata, the lion’s mane jellyfish, can grow to nearly 8 feet in diameter, with tentacles training 120 feet — longer than a blue whale!

Excellent photography by Alexander Semenov. 

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