CSB#3:The Increasing Population of Jellyfish by Albert Lin

Definitions:
JellyFish: any of various marine coelenterates of a soft, gelatinousstructure, esp. one with an umbrellalike body and long,trailing tentacles; medusa.
Global Warming: an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature thatcauses corresponding changes in climate and that may result fromthe greenhouse effect.

Summary:
The population of Jellyfish has appeared in many parts of the world. For example, the Gulf of Mexico is swarming with Jellyfish in recent years. Chad Widmer, a 37 year old man who works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium just south of San Fransisco, noticed these dramatic changes. Many people are blaming jellyfish for the main cause of global warming, which would be bad if the population is increasing. However, David Packard, a veteran scientist, created a test to prove the theory wrong. After the results were received, the jellyfish were not the ones that were causing harm to the environment, instead humans were the reason of global warming.


Disscusion:
I chose this topic because it was the most interesting article about wildlife in the ocean that I could find. The fact that the population of the jellyfish can grow in different place surprised me. This article also taught me that jellyfish do not have either a brain or a spine. Also, I was surprised that Jellyfish do not increase the effects of global warming.


Questions:
How can the population of jellyfish decrease of stay constant?
How can the population of jellyfish increase at a higher rate?


Sources:
www.Dictionary.com
Mallon, Thomas. "DO JELLYFISH RULE THE WORLD?" Discover Magazine: n. pag.
     EBSCO Animals. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/
     detail?vid=1&hid=10&sid=c6199267-0069-4fd6-9adc-4000031cf6b5%40sessionmgr13&bdata
     =JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=26204508>.
http://thundafunda.com/33/underwater-animals-fish/Drifters,%20Jellyfish%20pictures%20underwater%20photos.jpg

CSB#2:Hadal Fish Aggregate Together

Definitions:
Hadal fish- Fish that are found in the Hadal Zone, about 6000m to 11,000m underwater.
Hadal trench- Hadal trenches account for the deepest 45% of the oceanic depth range and host active and diverse biological communities.

Figure 2. Images of liparid Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis at 7703 m in the Japan Trench taken from the baited video lander. (a) View of an aggregation of P. amblystomopsis at bait 5 hours and 30 minutes after touchdown. (b-d) Sequence of images 1.0 second apart showing a spiral swimming pattern of a small individual of P. amblystomopsis with the (b) dorsal, (c) flank, and (d) ventral sides of the fish in view (indicated in the red circle). (e-g) Typical postures when individuals were not actively feeding or swimming and presumed to be resting. In panel (g), the bait was covered by individuals of large amphipods, including Eurythenes species, sandwiched between two stationary individuals of P. amblystomopsis. All scale bars are 10 centimeters.

Summary:
A video camera was put 1m above the ocean facing toward the bait that was recently put in, its field of view is 0.35 square meters. The bait contained approximately 0.5 kilograms of mackerel. The fishes that came to the bait were small, having a length of 10cm to 12cm long. 15 species, belonging to 6 families, were found eating the bait in the hadal depths. There was a maximum of 20 fish within 6 hours of videotaping. Most of the fish that were found in the camera's range were resting or feeding on the bait, the rest were swimming in spirals. Hadal fish are mostly reproducing in hadal trenches, which over 6000m below sea level, but it is clearly unlikely compared for the size of the fish, which is relatively small.


Discussion:
I chose this topic because it was the first topic that interested me. I was amazed that fish that are as small as 10cm can live 6000m below sea level. Also, they should improve the radius of the camera view so the scientist can improve the results so it can be more accurate. More bait can also be added to attract more fish so they can be viewed under the camera.

Questions:
What are the physical traits of the hadal fish?
What are the mental traits of the hadal fish?
What can be done to increase the accuracy the tests taken by the scientists?


Source:
Alan, Jamieson J, et al. "A Large Aggregation of Liparids at 7703 Meters and a
     Reappraisal of the Abundance and Diversity of Hadal Fish." Bioscience: n.
     pag. EBSCO Animals. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://puffin.harker.org:2092/
     ehost/
     detail?vid=3&hid=10&sid=75571afb-1649-4164-9032-8ef18d9bd75b%40sessionmgr11&bdata
     =JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=52381284#db=sch&AN=52381284>.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VJ1-4XGTJ78-1&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1498787012&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=13fad47958f1adc8f4023459443b987b&searchtype=a

CSB#1: Wolves and Their Surroundings

Definition:

1. Wolves- any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis,  of the dog family Canidae
2. Forage- food for horses or cattle; fodder; provender.

Summary:

The population of wolves are decreasing in North America. This is because wolves are traveling out of their protected boundaries, giving hunters an easy excuse to kill them. Although this happens, nothing is done to prevent this except to expand the protected boundaries, which does not make many residents living near the boundaries very happy. The main reason the wolves are traveling outside their boundaries is because their prey, white tailed deer, are found in forages that are far away from their boundaries. Most of these shootings are commonly found in Yellowstone and Banff national park in Alberta, Canada because of the large amount of forages in the area.

Disccusion:
I was interested by the fact that the wolves travel so far away from their boundaries to get cattle and horse near residential areas. They can just hunt near their own homes, where there is plenty of food to eat. Also, most of the people that protect the wolves do not protect the wolves in effective ways about the poachers that try to kill the wolves for money.

Questions:
How can people prevent poachers from killing wolves around some places?
How can the  people that supervise the park prevent wolves from traveling outside the boundaries?
What can be done about the white tailed deer?
Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Sharon, Levy. "Wolf Family Values." New Scientist 12 June 2010: n. pag. EBSCO
     Host. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.
http://blog.sierratradingpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Wolves-kill-runner-in-Alaska.jpg