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Sea Star Wasting Disease
Sea star wasting disease or starfish wasting syndrome is a disease of starfish and several other echinoderms that appears sporadically, causing mass mortality of those affected. There are approximately 40 species of sea stars that have been affected by this disease. The disease seems to be associated with increased water temperatures in some locales, but not others. It starts with the emergence of lesions, followed by body fragmentation and death. In 2014 it was suggested that the disease is associated with a single-stranded DNA virus now known as the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV). Sea star wasting disease is still not fully understood. Symptoms Typically the first symptom of sea star wasting disease is refusal to accept food followed by listlessness for weeks and then white lesions that appear on the surface of the starfish and spread rapidly, followed by decay of tissue surrounding the lesions. Next the animal becomes limp as the water vascular system fails and it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dying Purple Ochre Sea Star
Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses. Signs of dying The National Cancer Institute in the United States advises that the presence of some of the following signs may indicate that death is approaching: * Drowsiness, increased sleep, and/or unresponsiveness (caused by changes in the patient's metabolism). * Confusion about time, place, and/or identity of loved ones; restlessness; visions of people and places that are not present; pulling at bed linens or clothing (caused in part by changes in the patient's metabolism). * Decreased socialization and withdrawal (caused by decreased oxygen to the brain, decreased blood flow, and mental preparation for dying). * Decreased need for food and fluids, and loss of appetite (caused by the body's need to conserve energy and its decreasing ability to us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solaster Dawsoni
''Solaster dawsoni'', the morning sun star, is a species of starfish in the family Solasteridae. It is found on either side of the northern Pacific Ocean. It has two subspecies: *''S. d. arcticus'' Verrill, 1914 *''S. d. dawsoni'' Verrill, 1880 Description The morning sun star has a wide disc and 8 to 13 (usually 11 or 12) long, tapering arms, often with turned-up tips. The upper or aboral surface is smooth, and its colour is usually red, orange, grey, or pale brown, sometimes with paler patches. It grows to a width of about . Image:Solaster dawsoni moribund.jpg Image:Dawsons Sun Star001.jpg, Eating. Distribution The morning sun star occurs in the northern Pacific Ocean at depths to about . Its range extends from Japan, China, and Siberia to the coasts of North America as far south as California. It is often found in rocky habitats, but can also inhabit other types of seabed. Behaviour The morning sun star is a predator, feeding mostly on other starfish. It is feared by ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (PDZA) is the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, located in Tacoma, Washington, US, owned by Metro Parks Tacoma. Situated on in Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, the zoo and aquarium are home to over 9,000 specimens representing 367 animal species. The zoo was founded in 1905; the aquarium was founded in 1935 near Commencement Bay and relocated within the zoo in 1963. Both are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In Pierce County, Washington, this is said to be one of the most popular tourist destinations. Bringing in over more than 600,000 visitors per year. History The Zoo was founded in 1905, and moved closer to its current location in 1914. The Point Defiance Park Aquarium opened on the waterfront in 1936 as an entity separate from the zoo. By the late 1940s, several Zoo buildings were in disrepair and had to be rebuilt. The 36-year-old animal house was demolished and a new one with sandstone walls and 3/4-inch- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sperm
Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, which are known as spermatozoa, while some red algae and fungi produce non-motile sperm cells, known as spermatia. Flowering plants contain non-motile sperm inside pollen, while some more basal plants like ferns and some gymnosperms have motile sperm. Sperm cells form during the process known as spermatogenesis, which in amniotes ( reptiles and mammals) takes place in the seminiferous tubules of the testes. This process involves the production of several successive sperm cell precursors, starting with spermatogonia, which differentiate into spermatocytes. The spermatocytes then undergo meiosis, reducing their chromosome number by half, which produces spermatids. The spermatids then mature and, in animals, construct a tail, or flagellum, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orchitophrya Stellarum
''Orchitophrya stellarum'' is a species of single-celled marine ciliates, a member of the class Oligohymenophorea. It is found living freely in the north Atlantic and Pacific Oceans but is also parasitic, being found inside the gonads of starfish. Biology ''Orchitophrya stellarum'' tolerates a sea temperature range of between and and a salinity range of between 2 and at least 30 parts per thousand of salt equivalent. The lower the temperature, the lower the acceptable level of salinity. Growth is most rapid at 24 °C. It is a facultative parasite of sea stars in the Asteriidae family. It seems to be able to survive in the open sea indefinitely as long as there is a supply of bacteria and tissue detritus on which it can feed. Parasitism ''Orchitophrya stellarum'' is often associated with sea stars and other invertebrates, living on their outer surface and feeding on sloughed-off epidermal tissue. It only appears to become parasitic when the male host starfish has ripe gona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protozoa
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Historically, protozoans were regarded as "one-celled animals", because they often possess animal-like behaviours, such as motility and predation, and lack a cell wall, as found in plants and many algae. When first introduced by Georg Goldfuss (originally spelled Goldfuß) in 1818, the taxon Protozoa was erected as a class within the Animalia, with the word 'protozoa' meaning "first animals". In later classification schemes it was elevated to a variety of higher ranks, including phylum, subkingdom and kingdom, and sometimes included within Protoctista or Protista. The approach of classifying Protozoa within the context of Animalia was widespread in the 19th and early 20th century, but not universal. By the 1970s, it became usual to require th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cilia
The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projection that extends from the surface of the much larger cell body. Eukaryotic flagella found on sperm cells and many protozoans have a similar structure to motile cilia that enables swimming through liquids; they are longer than cilia and have a different undulating motion. There are two major classes of cilia: ''motile'' and ''non-motile'' cilia, each with a subtype, giving four types in all. A cell will typically have one primary cilium or many motile cilia. The structure of the cilium core called the axoneme determines the cilium class. Most motile cilia have a central pair of single microtubules surrounded by nine pairs of double microtubules called a 9+2 axoneme. Most non-motile cilia have a 9+0 axoneme that lacks the central pair of mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term ''pathogen'' came into use in the 1880s. Typically, the term ''pathogen'' is used to describe an ''infectious'' microorganism or agent, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan, prion, viroid, or fungus. Small animals, such as helminths and insects, can also cause or transmit disease. However, these animals are usually referred to as parasites rather than pathogens. The scientific study of microscopic organisms, including microscopic pathogenic organisms, is called microbiology, while parasitology refers to the scientific study of parasites and the organisms that host them. There are several pathways through which pathogens can invade a host. The principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil has the longest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve
Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a marine protected area located at the northern edge of Santa Cruz, California, approximately south of San Francisco. The SMR covers . The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing or other removal of any living marine resource is prohibited. History The California Department of Fish and Game established the Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve in September 2007. It was one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (MLPAI), a collaborative public process to create a statewide network of marine protected areas along the California coastline. Geography and natural features Natural Bridges SMR is adjacent to Natural Bridges State Beach and Wilder Ranch State Park. The marine protected area is bounded by the mean high tide line and a distance of seaward of mean lower low water between the following two points: * 36° 57.90’ N. lat. 122° 07.65’ W. l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermasterias Imbricata
The leather star (''Dermasterias imbricata'') is a sea star in the family Asteropseidae found at depths to off the western seaboard of North America. It was first described to science by Adolph Eduard Grube in 1857. Description The leather star has a broad central disc and five plump, short arms which taper broadly from the central disc. The arms have two rows of tube feet and no bordering marginal plates. The upper, aboral, surface is smooth and velvety, made more so by the absence of spines and a light layer of mucous. It is covered with a reticulated pattern in reddish-brown, often with patches of greyish-blue. No pedicellariae are present, but the madreporite can be seen. This starfish can grow to about in diameter and has a distinctive smell that resembles garlic and sulphur.Marine Biodiversity of British Columbia< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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