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GUE Divers Welcomed By BSAC

Leading personnel from the British Sub Aqua Club and Global Underwater Explorers have confirmed a review has been completed on how to integrate GUE divers into BSAC branches.

The useful discussions centred around reinforcing common training features and identifying any mismatches that might cause inconsistencies on branch dives between GUE and BSAC-trained divers.

Tiger shark embryos in the uterus
Tiger shark pups in the uterus, lying perpendicular to the mother's body.

New Strategy for Embryo Nourishment Found in the Tiger Shark

Drs. José I Castro, Keiichi Sato, and Ashby B. Bodine, have discovered a new method of embryonic nourishment in sharks. The tiger shark secretes a nutritive liquid which fills the egg sacs where the embryos are growing, permitting higher numbers of offspring to attain a large size. Their paper, entitled "A novel mode of embryonic nutrition in the tiger shark, (Galeocerdo cuvier)," has just been published in the journal Marine Biology Research.

Compound in nudibranchs toxic to cancer cell lines

Natural products play an invaluable role as a starting point in the drug discovery process, and plants and animals use many interesting biologically active natural products as chemical defence mechanisms against predators. Among marine organisms, many nudibranch gastropods are known to obtain toxins from what they are eating, such as sponges.

These toxins are used as chemical defences and bright colours to warn potential predators away,

  Salt marsh, Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada
Salt marsh, Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada

Hurricanes have minimal impact on salt marshes

New research suggests that major hurricanes, though devastating to humans, have a minimal impact on salt marshes. The Boston University study reveals coastal ecosystems are more at risk of erosion by waves from moderate storms than from full-fledged tropical storms. In eight different marshes studied in the United States, Italy and Australia, extreme storm events accounted for less than one per cent of erosion.

Florida power plant closures may evict manatees

If current indicators follow suit, a large percentage Florida’s manatees may soon need a new winter home. Over the next 10-20 years, the state’s coal-fired power plants are expected to close. As 60 percent of the manatee population utilize the plants for refuge during winter, many will be forced to move to the natural springs such as those on the Crystal River. The springs’ constant 74-degree temperatures could soon be overcrowded with the gentle giants.

Racoon butterflyfish
Racoon butterflyfish

Fussy butterflyfish avoid corals touched by seaweed

A new study has revealed butterflyfish are particularly fussy about their food and shelter needs, avoiding corals that have come in contact with seaweed. Conducted by the University of Delaware, the study is the first to critically evaluate how coral-seaweed interactions will impact coral associated reef fishes, a key component of coral reef resilience.

Airport security lines

TSA changes body scanner rules

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can now order some passengers to go through a body scanner, even if they request a full-body pat-down. The change comes at a time of heightened concern about aviation security and terror plots against commercial aviation.

Mandated screening for some passengers would be "warranted by security considerations in order to safeguard transportation security," the TSA said in a document updating the protocol.