Biophilia Programme - Finding Nemo

The morning started out with a nice view of the seashore exposed by the low tide (0.3m). The sky was clear and the sound of the ebbing waves beckoned.


The students were to carry out their transect study. I was with a group of them when they set up a 40 m long line transect across the intertidal zone. It must have been one of those fulfilling days as a bio teacher. The sun, the sand and the ebbing waves washing at our ankles as we looked for yet one more creature to surprise us with its existence in its strange form. The day's new creature of the day started off with the slender seamoth.

Its not uncommon on these fieldtrips to the shore to hear students go "wow" in amazement at an entirely new creature they have seen.... Come to think of it.. how many times in our lives do we come across anything really new in the flesh.



The slender seamoth was really calm as we comtemplated it... see the shadows of our heads hovering over it as we trained camera lenses on it. We pondered over whether it was a stargazer or seawasp.

That's the 40m transect which took a group an hour plus to complete documenting the creatures they saw.


And here's a makeshift square transect that the group who had done were particularly proud of.


The low tide really exposed a lot of creatures and lots of carpet anemones were exposed in those pools. It was with Mr Nah's patience and keen eye that we spotted the prawn that was swimming within those tentacles of one. And soon enough what must have been quite the highlight of the day was to spot a clownfish, at home within the tentacle of the carpet anemone. Now, we have seen Nemo in aquarium and the movies, but to come across on in situ was a different thing all together... we all beamed at such a discovery.



It must have been on of the most fulfilling visits to that fieldsite. I think partly it could be attributed to the fact that we set up transects and had a more considered approach to our survey.



We work to the ominous backdrop of mega construction and each time I go there, I half expect the place to be cleared and cordoned off for some pointless attraction. The day that happens, I will be cynical, for I have come to know of creatures who await discovery by students.

Secrets of cuttlefish camouflage

Secrets of the Camouflage Masters. Cuttlefish seem to be able to camouflage themselves against any sort of background - rocks and pebbles, corals, even checkerboards. Robert Hanlon of the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory has classified the different cuttlefish camouflage patterns and shown that they fall into three broad categories - uniform colour, mottled colour, and disruptive patterns (like stripes and spots). According to the article: "What he learned from cephalopods may apply throughout the animal kingdom. The fact that cephalopods may need just three camouflage categories could mean that there are just a few basic ways to fool predators." That puts a new spin on the age old problem of animal camouflage and concealment. The question to ask might not be 'why are these animal so good at blending into the background' but rather 'why are we (or why are predators) so bad at spotting these particular kinds of patterns against the background?' A predator-centered approach might need to bring in theories of cognition and pattern-recognition.

One puzzling problem remains, though. Cuttlefish are colour blind yet they can adopt different colours in their camouflage. How do they manage to do so? No one yet knows....

An Ode to Whales

There is something fascinating about whales and dolphins. I remember giving a lecture in school on Lipids (an 'A' level biology subtopic) and as a digression, I told the class a story about Whaling in Nantucket in the 18th century. Its somewhat related to lipids as the whaling industry was mainly based on the lipid found in the spermaceti of the sperm whale. A large whale could provide up to 3 tons of that valuable wax which was odorless and non-oily to the touch.

Anyway, I played some sound clips of whales singing (yes, they do sing and in different dialects too, depending on which pod they belong to) and after that auditory experience, the students (about 300) clapped and cheered. There must be something mesmerizing about whales in our human psyche. I was glad to know that most students displayed a sense of biophilia, sensu E.O. Wilson.

Scientifically, Cetaceans are animals belonging to the Order Cetacea, which, include whales, dolphins and porpoises.


Actually the reason why I am posting here is because I came across this article about whaling in Japan and its just inexplicable that whaling still occurs. Hey, I understand if the Iñupiat Eskimos do it to survive (see my post on a book I read about Eskimo whaling) but to state scientific reasons for whaling is entirely beyond reasonable acceptance. Its like killing cats randomly and saying we need data.



Note this statement - "Over a six-month period, it will kill 1,000 whales as part of what it says is a scientific research programme."

I am no whale fanatic but they are just lovely creatures. I have had nice dreams about dolphins and whales too and those were deep and meaningful ones for me. They at least represent the wonders that nature has produced. And at most, are inspiring to many people. Scientifically, the are really peculiar and interesting ends of the evolutionary tree. See link below about the recent fossil discovery that shed new light on the evolutionary research to trace which extinct land-dwelling mammals were the probable ancestors of Cetaceans



Ivan's Dolphins Galaxia and Into the Deep feature some whale and dolphin sounds. They are so enchanting and give a sensitive dimension to the music.

My point is "Stop Whaling!"