Jumbo (Humboldt's) Squids At Risk
This is mostly for those who believe The Future is Wild that squids will take over the land. Jumbo, or Humboldt's, squid are the most high-energetic and adaptable squid in the World. I keep bringing this up to those who believe that squids will take over the land, I never believed it because it is just too far-fetched and stupid. But squids are not that adaptable. If humboldt's squid cannot survive the changes taking place now, and they are the most adaptable squids, how do these people think squids will take over the land? It was the squids that made me lose interest in TFIW in the first place. After they said mammals will become extinct and squids will take over forests and trees, I said "This is too stupid!!" I haven't seen that show since and I haven't cared to either. I admit to liking some of their mammal and a very few of their bird ideas, but nothing else. Octopus are actually much more adaptable than squids, so there is no way squids would win anything over octopus. And no, squids are NOT octopus. That's like saying that lions and mongooses are the same thing. Octopus and squids are different. Squids cannot even survive outside the deep ocean, octopus can live in small tidal pools. And some people want to believe squids will be able to swing through the trees like gibbons??? Or grow to great sizes like brontosaurs?? No way!! And I have stated this time and again. I have nothing personal against these people, but to believe in these squids is just simply delusional. To believe squids will ever be anything more than deep sea creatures is delusional. 50-foot long carnivorous deer would be much more likely.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/18/jumbo-squid-warming.html
High-Energy Jumbo Squid at Risk With Warming
Emily Sohn, Discovery News
Dec. 18, 2008 -- Jumbo squid are long-distance commuters. Every day, these gangly creatures migrate more than 500 hundred vertical feet. It's a high-energy lifestyle -- and one that's going to suffer as a result of global warming, according to a new study.
Squid now appear to be joining the list of marine creatures at risk from rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As the oceans absorb some of this CO2 load, pH levels drop, and the water becomes more acidic.
Previous research has shown that ocean acidification makes it harder for corals, mollusks and other calcifying organisms to build skeletons and shells. The new study suggests that the effects of acidification are more complicated and far-reaching than many scientists expected.
"For the first time we've definitively proven important negative effects of high carbon dioxide levels on uncalcifying organisms like squid," said Rui Rosa, an animal physiologist at the University of Lisbon. "We've proven that CO2 will have a tremendous impact on their ability to move by the end of the century."
Not to be confused with the mysterious giant squid, which can exceed 40 feet in length, jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) are common and well studied. Also known as Humboldt squid, these animals can grow up to 2.5 meters (8-plus feet) long and weigh up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
They are a commercially important fishery catch in Mexico and South America.
Jumbo squid are the only species of squid that follow their prey each night to extremely deep, oxygen-poor layers of water and return each day to feed at the water's surface.
Squid move by jet propulsion, which demands a huge amount of energy -- and squid have some of the highest metabolic rates in the sea. Jumbo squid, in particular, burn a lot of gas in their 175-meter (575-foot) daily commute.
To see how ocean acidification might affect this jet-set way of life, Rosa and colleague Brad Seibel, of the University of Rhode Island, netted 86 jumbo squid in the Gulf of California. On their research boat, the researchers placed each squid in a water-filled chamber, in which they varied temperature, oxygen and CO2 levels. Throughout the experiment, they measured the animals' metabolic rates.
When the animals faced levels of CO2 projected for the end of the century, the study showed, their metabolism slowed by 30 percent. They also became 45 percent less active. Elevated temperatures exacerbated these effects.
As water temperatures and CO2 levels rise, Rosa predicts, jumbo squid will grow more lethargic, making it harder for them to catch prey and escape from predators. Their habitat range will also become compressed. Results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The new work might help explain why Humboldt squid, once only found in tropical waters, are now showing up as far north as Alaska and British Columbia.
"I had always thought of this species as being one of the most adaptable in the ocean," said Ron O'Dor, senior scientist at the Census of Marine Life in Washington, D.C. "Now we are seeing that is being squeezed in ways no one had really appreciated."
More surprises will probably follow.
"Nothing in the ocean is safe from the impacts of global warming and acidification," O'Dor added. "Everything is going to have to make adjustments."
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/18/jumbo-squid-warming.html
High-Energy Jumbo Squid at Risk With Warming
Emily Sohn, Discovery News
Dec. 18, 2008 -- Jumbo squid are long-distance commuters. Every day, these gangly creatures migrate more than 500 hundred vertical feet. It's a high-energy lifestyle -- and one that's going to suffer as a result of global warming, according to a new study.
Squid now appear to be joining the list of marine creatures at risk from rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As the oceans absorb some of this CO2 load, pH levels drop, and the water becomes more acidic.
Previous research has shown that ocean acidification makes it harder for corals, mollusks and other calcifying organisms to build skeletons and shells. The new study suggests that the effects of acidification are more complicated and far-reaching than many scientists expected.
"For the first time we've definitively proven important negative effects of high carbon dioxide levels on uncalcifying organisms like squid," said Rui Rosa, an animal physiologist at the University of Lisbon. "We've proven that CO2 will have a tremendous impact on their ability to move by the end of the century."
Not to be confused with the mysterious giant squid, which can exceed 40 feet in length, jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) are common and well studied. Also known as Humboldt squid, these animals can grow up to 2.5 meters (8-plus feet) long and weigh up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
They are a commercially important fishery catch in Mexico and South America.
Jumbo squid are the only species of squid that follow their prey each night to extremely deep, oxygen-poor layers of water and return each day to feed at the water's surface.
Squid move by jet propulsion, which demands a huge amount of energy -- and squid have some of the highest metabolic rates in the sea. Jumbo squid, in particular, burn a lot of gas in their 175-meter (575-foot) daily commute.
To see how ocean acidification might affect this jet-set way of life, Rosa and colleague Brad Seibel, of the University of Rhode Island, netted 86 jumbo squid in the Gulf of California. On their research boat, the researchers placed each squid in a water-filled chamber, in which they varied temperature, oxygen and CO2 levels. Throughout the experiment, they measured the animals' metabolic rates.
When the animals faced levels of CO2 projected for the end of the century, the study showed, their metabolism slowed by 30 percent. They also became 45 percent less active. Elevated temperatures exacerbated these effects.
As water temperatures and CO2 levels rise, Rosa predicts, jumbo squid will grow more lethargic, making it harder for them to catch prey and escape from predators. Their habitat range will also become compressed. Results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The new work might help explain why Humboldt squid, once only found in tropical waters, are now showing up as far north as Alaska and British Columbia.
"I had always thought of this species as being one of the most adaptable in the ocean," said Ron O'Dor, senior scientist at the Census of Marine Life in Washington, D.C. "Now we are seeing that is being squeezed in ways no one had really appreciated."
More surprises will probably follow.
"Nothing in the ocean is safe from the impacts of global warming and acidification," O'Dor added. "Everything is going to have to make adjustments."
Comments
Post a Comment