May 2021

Scientists have discovered that how fast the white stripes that run down the clownfish’s body develop depends on the sea anemone it lives in.

Specifically, they found out that the clownfish living in the giant carpet anemone and those living in the magnificent sea anemone develop stripe patterns (called “bars”) at different speeds as they matured from the larval to the adult stage.

Since at least the 1970s, researchers have suspected that the elasmobranchs—a group of fish containing sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish—can detect magnetic fields. But up till now, no one had shown that sharks use the fields to locate themselves or navigate.

By exposing sharks to certain magnetic cue, researchers from Florida State University have now managed to demonstrate not only that sharks have an ability to detect Earth’s magnetic field but moreover that they are able to use it to travel long distances with accuracy.

Researchers led by Louisiana State University (LSU) alumna Joanna Griffiths from Portland, Oregon, and her faculty advisor LSU Department of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Morgan Kelly reveals why some oysters may be more resilient to freshwater than others. 

Griffiths wanted to find out whether, due to transgenerational plasticity, oysters that lived in low salinity would have offspring that was more resistant to low salinity.

Transgenerational plasticity occurs when a generation’s flexibility is passed on to the next generation.