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Emperor Divers latest Covid Hero relishing a return to the Red Sea

Covid Heroes was an initiative put in place by Emperor Divers to recognize people who have stepped up during the pandemic by rewarding them with free liveaboard trips in the Maldives and the Red Sea.

Megumi â€“ the second of the eight chosen Heroes to take up her trip - is a music therapist from Berlin who volunteered to work in her hospital’s Covid department and used her skills to help ease the suffering of those afflicted by severe Coronavirus complications.

Diver documenting corals for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation's Global Reef Expedition survey.
Diver documenting corals for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation's Global Reef Expedition survey.

Global Reef Expedition Final Report released

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) has released a report of its findings from the Global Reef Expedition—the result of ten years of assessing the state of coral reefs worldwide.

Considered the largest coral reef survey and mapping research mission in history, the findings provides a baseline data on their status and offering key insights on how to save them in a rapidly changing world.

DEMA Offers Emergency Assistance to DEMA Show Exhibitors and Buyers

The DEMA Board of Directors has activated DEMA’s Disaster Assistance Program and Manufacturers’ Fund to help DEMA Member exhibitors and buyers struggling as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. “We understand that many companies are experiencing difficult times as a result of the pandemic,” indicated Tom Ingram, DEMA President and CEO. “The DEMA Board wants to help as much as possible so these professionals can gain education, learn about products and services and take advantage of Show-only specials that will help them make it through to better days ahead.”

Weddell seal and her pup.
Weddell seal and her pup.

Fewer Weddell seals than previously thought

Led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, the team of citizen scientists used hundreds of high-resolution satellite images of areas of the Antarctica to manually count the seals.

Publishing a paper on their findings in the Science Advances journal, the researchers concluded that there were about 202,000 sub-adult and adult female Weddell seals in Antarctica in November 2011. This number contrasts with previous estimates of female Weddell seals at about 800,000. 

Beware of the Corner Cutters

Beware of corner cutters. Underwater photo by Peter Symes
Know that cheaper prices always involve corner cutting of some sort. Sometimes you can see it and it just involves the level of comfort or service. Sometimes you cannot see it and it may be prejudicial to your safety.

There are thousands of dive centres, resorts and liveaboards all over the world. Some are very good and provide excellent, safe and highly professional service. Others are not so good and are best avoided.

Soft coral, cup coral, sponges and ascidians from Komodo National Park
Soft coral, cup coral, sponges and ascidians from Komodo National Park

Coral reef biodiversity predicted to shuffle, not decline

Rather than causing a collapse of biodiversity, the dual stressors of ocean warming and acidification could instead lead to significant changes in the relative abundance of species, resulting in a shuffling of coral reef community structure, according to a new study by researchers from University of Hawai'i.

Sprawling coral reefs are complex ecosystems that are teeming with life and most of this biodiversity consists of tiny organisms living deep within the three-dimensional reef matrix.

A short-snouted seahorse in the Red Sea.
A short-snouted seahorse in the Red Sea.

Seahorses—slow swimmers, swift hunters

Seahorses appear to be slow passive hunters as they use their tail to cling to coral or seaweed. However, this can be deceiving, as they are swift, efficient hunters. 

A recent study by Tel Aviv University, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, documents the speed at they hunt. 

Three species of seahorses with varying snout lengths were chosen for the study: Jayakar's seahorses, sea ponies and short-snouted seahorses. 

First ever Human Factors in Diving conference recordings are now available

Gareth Lock, The Human Diver

The event featured world-leading speakers speaking on how applying human factors can improve diving safety, incident reporting and team performance.

The first-ever event of its kind, the conference provided a unique opportunity to share the knowledge and skills to make diving safer, more effective, and more enjoyable, by allowing divers and instructors to take more informed risks and reduce uncertainty.