It’s hard to hear your friends when you’re in a crowded room! And right now, many places in the ocean are becoming like that crowded room, as noise pollution – like sounds from ships – makes the ocean environment much louder than it used to be.
That’s a major concern, since many marine animals, like humpback whales, depend on sound for everything from communicating with their mates and offspring to finding food.
Dr. David Wiley, research coordinator at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, has been studying the impacts of ship noise on foraging humpback whales. A recent study he collaborated on is among the first to show that humpback whale foraging behavior is significantly altered from exposure to ship noise. As the intensity of ship noise increases – from increased shipping, for example – humpback whales decrease the number of bottom-feeding events per dive, perhaps because ship noise interferes with the sounds they produce to coordinate their bottom-feeding behavior.
This blue-ringed octopus has been spotted lying on a beach near Melbourne, Australia.
Those octopuses are not especially known for their aggressiveness. On the contrary, they tend to stay hidden under rocks at the bottom of the sea.
The real risk is for a kid to find this creature and think “hey, why not play with it ? It seems funny and spongy!”. Indeed, their venom is the strongest of all among the cephalopod creatures, able to kill a human easily.
A giant Pacific octopus has more than 2,000 suckers spread across its eight arms, which they use for tasting, smelling, and clinging to the glass inches from your camera.
Our little kraken is still as feisty as ever! She is constantly amazing me with her unique behavior and with the things she is able to learn and do. We have yet to come up with an enrichment device that she is not able to figure out, and I am currently searching for some fun holiday-themed items to use with her in the coming weeks. It’s safe to say that my octopus obsession is far from over <3
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