Ocean Weekly 10th July 2014

The Magazine for Ocean Things

#45

EXCLUSIVE

OCEAN

DANGER

THE DOLPHIN

SLAUGHTER

SHARK

P 8—9

P 12—13

P 6— 7

Editors Notes

In this Issue we take a loo

k at a wide variet

y of

topics and problems. First we lo

ok at some milita

ry

ocean technolog

y. A monster of a

ship the Type 45

Destroyer i

s something to be re

ckoned with. Next

we look at ev

olution in actio

n and how the modern

shark came to be. T

hen we look at th

e complex eco

-

system that is

the coral re

ef. Explore

the symbiotic

relation

ships and amazing sights. Finally we look

at ocean danger a

nd the problem with plastic.

We

hope you enjoy

Contents 4-5

4-5 Ocean of War

8-9

Shark Adaptions 6-7

10-11

12-13

Dolphin Slaughter

Coral Feefs

Ocean Danger

8-9

10-11 12-13

Features

THE OCEAN OF WAR

The ocean can be a dangerous place. Not only for animals but for humans

as well. Humans have designed and created technology for Ocean combat

for decades. But nothing is destructive as a Type 45 Destroyer

Destroyers are considered the backbone of the navy. For 365 days a year

it hunts pirates, drug runners, submarines, defending fleets from air at-

tacks and providing support after natural disasters.

This destroyer is mounted with

a MK8 Gun - it can be found on

the forecastle and is the provid-

er of the destroyers firepower.

Capable of firing up to 2 dozen

high explosive shells at targets

of a maximum 12 miles away.

The purpose of it is to give fire

support towards shore targets.

It is also equipped with a

“Sampson”. It is a multi-functional

radar and is an essential to the air

defence system of the Type 45.

The Sea Viper provides all round de-

fence - not just for the destroyer but

also for an entire naval task group.

It can eliminate threats 70 miles

away at a speed of Mach 4 (over

3,000 mph). It uses a series of tiny

jets to make manoeuvres and sharp

turns at G Forces no human could

endure.

The Phalanx is the last line of de-

fence for the destroyer. It is de-

signed to hit targets that have

penetrated the other defences. It

has a short range of 1 mile but

can fire 20mm shells at 3,000

rounds per minute. It is so pow-

erful it is known to be removed

from ships to be used on land

against powerful enemies

Shark Adaptions The skin of a Great White Shark like many

other sharks is made up of tiny little tooth

like scales called “dermal denticles”. Der-

mal denticles protect the skin from damage

and as soon as one breaks another denticle

replaces it. Each denticle has a flat, table-

like crown that has a series of raised ridges.

These ridges are used to reduce the drag

and noise made by the shark’s movement

therefore allowing it to glide more effi-

ciently and silently.

Differently from other sharks the upper jaw

of the Great White is not fused to the skull

instead they are slung loosely beneath the

skull and are held in place by flexible con-

nective tissue and braced by accessory carti-

lages. Special muscles pull the jaw complex

forward and down, riding on grooves on the

under surface of the skull. This helps the

Great White to push its teeth out from its

head allowing it to suck in prey.

The eyes of a Great White are relatively

large and quite developed, the retina of this

species contains rods and cones of a similar

ratio to humans. This would suggest that

Great White is highly visual and has an acute

colour vision. Although the Great Whites

retina is adapted to both bright and dim

light conditions it is believed that it’s primar-

ily a daytime hunter.

The teeth of a Great White shark have

broadly triangular blades with coarsely

serrated edges. The upper teeth are

broader and flatter than the lower teeth

which reflects there different roles in

biting. The lower set grips and holds the

prey whilst the upper teeth gouge out a

hunk of flesh, this arrangement of the

Great White’s teeth allows it to be able

to eat prey too large to swallow whole

and also allows it to be able to scrape

the calorie-rich blubber from the whale

All sharks breathe by the use of gills but the gills of the Great White are exceptionally large. Each gill filament is made up of a feather-like arrange-ment of thin-skinned plates. The Great Whites capillaries carry blood in the opposite direction of the water flow which allows the Great White an efficient uptake of dissolved oxygen from the water, enabling it to pursue an active predatory lifestyle.

The Dolphin Slaughter

The Dolphin, An animal considered intelligent

and majestic by the public. Most favoured by

children as they beg their parents to take them

to SeaWorld or swim with the dolphins. The

shocking truth about dolphin captivity is

something most companies don’t share with

the public. This is the story of The Slaughter of

the Dolphins.

In the United States alone over 2300 bottle-

nose dolphins were captured for display pur-

poses between 1972 and 1994 in the USA. Even

more were killed for food. In the wild the aver-

age lifespan for a dolphin is 45 years. In cap-

tivity half of them die within 2 years of captiv-

ity from stress and shock related diseases.

Some commit suicide.

Dolphins are captured for 2 reasons - Food and Entertainment. With the huge success of the

dolphin show Flipper everyone jumped on the dolphin bandwagon. Sea World is infamous for

their Dolphin captivity. Dolphinariums such as SeaWorld advertise that they’re protecting dol-

phins through research and public education. The truth is that the only research going on is to

increase dolphin lifespan in captivity for more profit. The entertainment side is one that can be

stopped but will not be because people continue to go.

The Less profitable side of the dolphin slaughter

is for food. In places such as Taji, Japan which is

dependent on seafood for its economy and food,

dolphins are killed every hunting season. In 2012

-13 2,089 dolphins were killed in the dolphin

hunt. Dolphin meat isn’t a meat that’s eaten a

lot. This is why the meat is disguised as other

seafood such as whale. The problem is that dol-

phin meat is high in mercury. There used to be a

scheme in Japan that gave free dolphin meat to

school children. As it’s high in Mercury this is a

problem - although one that has been stopped

there have been effects

Films such as “The Cove” exist to raise public

awareness of this needless slaughter. Although

it’s still going on it’s getting better

Ecosystems of the Ocean

One of the largest and most com-plex ecosystems are the coral reefs. They are usually in warm areas. The reef is like one big or-ganism. The animals are cells and other structures make the or-gans. Following this analogy the Bryozoans would be the skeleton. Spread out among the reef it ce-ments it creating a structure. Home to an abundant variety of ocean dwellers it is also home to symbiotic relationships.

A symbiotic relationship is an

agreement that organisms build

up over time. They learn to trust

each other and this agreement will

continue over generations. In the

coral reef clownfish and anemones

have created such a relationship.

The anemone will not sting the

clownfish and provide it with ref-

uge and let it lay its eggs. In re-

turn clownfish will eat the al-

gae,other smaller fish (like butter-

fly fish) and some parasites. The

anemone has built this relation-

ship with other fishes. These fish-

es are called anemone fishes.

The anemone are not the only fish that pro-vide refuge for ocean dwellers. Sponges are one of the early parts of the coral reef eco-system. They provide shelter for shrimps, crabs, and other small fishes and animals.

As well as having an abundance of animals the reef has an abundance of food. Octo-puses, squids, clams, scallops and marine snails are all molluscs that live on/near the reef. Most feed by eating food particles in the water. Those who do not have this abil-ity have other ways. Carnivorous Snails drill into shells and eat the owner. Others just eat algae, bacteria or anything they can find on the reef. Most fishes just eat each other and make food chains.

A lot of predators on the reef

don't even live there. Ani-

mals such as Sharks, skates

and rays live near the reef

but come there to feed.

Some sharks only come dur-

ing a certain part of the year

for mass feeding and don’t

eat until that time again

THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC

Marine litter and in particu-lar plastic waste, is a global problem. The vast majority of plastic waste is destined for a landfill site which lim-its the impact through ‘containment’ however does not solve the problem. A significant proportion of plastic gets into the water course and eventually ends up in the oceans. As might be expected the plastic waste on the coastlines is more prevalent around more populated coastal are-as. However, once the plas-tic waste enters the oceans it is influenced by global cur-rents that distribute it around the world.

Plastic has been found in all of the major oceans, not just areas of human habitation, often travelling vast distanc-es. It does not respect inter-national boundaries and has invaded even the most remote places. 46% of plastics float and they can drift for years before eventually concentrat-ing in the ocean gyres. These ocean currents create zones of convergence where large amounts of plastic waste ac-cumulates; much of this is particulate plastic that has been broken down through wind, wave and UV action over a period of time.

• The North Pacific has been the focus of the majority of research; however, studies in oth-er oceans show that con-centrations of plastic waste are at a similar level

• Media descriptions of a solid mass of plastic twice the size of France in the Pacific are mis-leading. The majority of the plastic in these areas are small parti-cles, creating a ‘soup’ of waste

• The area that we know least about is the Indian Ocean; however, we do know that the region has developed a high concentration of plastic waste over a very short space of time. Academics believe that it is likely to get worse as the population of the region con-tinues to grow along with a more consumer orientated economy.

The fact is that it doesn’t mat-ter where you live; plastic waste is pervasive, pernicious and persistent. It reaches eve-ry part of the planet and it is all of our responsibilities to re-solve this issue.

The only aquarium

Visible from space

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