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The maze that the crabs in the study had to get through.

Study reveals crabs' spatial learning skills

5 years ago By Catherine GS Lim

Many studies about spatial learning in animals have focused on land animals, and less so in marine animals, possibly due to the difficulty in following them around.

This new study, led by Swansea University marine biologist Ed Pope and master’s student Ross Davies, gives a glimpse into the European shore crab’s level of spatial learning ability.

First, the team constructed a special maze that measured 75cm by 50cm. A single crushed mussel was placed at the end of it.

World Shootout Announces 2018 Winners at BOOT Dusseldorf

5 years ago By Matthew Meier

On Saturday, January 26th, the festive World ShootOut 2018 award winning ceremony took place at the boot Dusseldorf. Competition participants from all over the world arrived especially for the event, including photographers from South East Asia and USA. Prizes worth more than $70,000 were awarded to the winners of the 9 categories, as well as a fair share of cash prizes.

Diver Error Highlights the Lethality within the System

Words
Gareth Lock
Images
Gareth Lock
Debriefing allows lessons to be learned—successes and failures. Photo by Gareth Lock.
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Diving is not without risk—there is always a chance of death. There is always a latent or potential lethality within the “system”—where system is defined as the equipment, people and the physical, social or cultural environment. We cannot make diving 100 percent safe despite what anyone tells you. We can make things safer, but we cannot make diving safe.

SMS Friedrich Carl

Words
Vic Verlinden
Images
Vic Verlinden
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The armoured cruiser Carl Friedrich was constructed in the year 1902 at the well-known shipyard of Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. The armoured cruiser had a length of 126m and was equipped with an impressive array of guns and torpedo launchers. She was the second ship of the Prinz Adalbert class when she was commissioned by the Imperial German Navy on 12 December 1903.

Diving with Great White Sharks of Guadalupe Island

Words
Scott Bennett
Images
Scott Bennett
Great white shark, Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
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“You’re crazy; I don’t get in the water with bitey things!” The announcement of my impending great white shark trip drew a variety of such responses from horrified friends. The undisputed bad boys of the shark world, great whites are the largest of all predatory sharks, reaching lengths of up to 6m and weighing in at over 2,000kg.

Lizard goes diving with an air “tank”

5 years ago By Main minion

Bubble on the nose 

This extraordinary behaviour has been observed and filmed for the first time by ecologist Lindsey Swierk of Binghamton University, New York. “They are probably extracting lower concentrations of oxygen every time they’re respiring the air bubble, but it might just be enough to keep them underwater for long enough that they can escape a threat,” she said. Even though the bubble is relatively large, it remains attached to the lizard’s head rather than floating off to the surface.

1856 Advertisement depicting a whale hunt.

Japan to resume whale hunt

5 years ago By Main minion

Japans announcement that it is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission and will resume commercial whale hunting next year, have sparked swift condemnation from other governments and conservation groups. For many years Japan has hunted whales for what it calls "scientific research" and to sell the meat, a programme widely criticised by conservationists.