Did you know dogs and horses weren't the only types of animals used in war? A variety of species were used to carry out different tasks such as detection, protection, therapy, and sledging.
'.....The variety is incredible and if you look at them with a festive eye you can see all sorts of things.
'Many people have remarked how certain plankton remind them of other things, so I've collated several pictures to make a classic Christmas card.
'The importance of these micro marvels in the sea can't be underestimated.
'Their importance on a global scale is obvious when you realize that 50 per cent of the world's photosynthesis takes place in the surface of the sea, drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the oceans and releasing oxygen.....
Emily Baldry stands alongside the 140 million year old fossil (Pic: SWNS)
by Ryan Parry, Daily Mirror 13/09/2011
LITTLE Emily Baldry beams with pride as she poses with a 160million-year-old fossil she dug up using a seaside spade.
The six-year-old unearthed the 130lb, 40cm ammonite after accompanying her father Jon on an archeological trip to Cotswold Water Park, Glos, last year. Now it has been carefully restored by experts and is to go on show at a local visitors’ centre.
The fossil is officially known as a Rieneckia odysseus – but Emily, of Chippenham, Wilts, has affectionately dubbed it Spike.
She says: “I took him to school and all my friends think he’s great.” Dad Jon, 40, said: “It’s an amazing find.”
Link to Story
The sea urchins are not impressed.
Though the round, spiny marine creatures have no actual visual organs, they do have light-sensitive proteins that help them “see” well enough to move around, find shelter and avoid predators (well, at least the slow ones). Biologists now think that a sea urchin’s entire body functions as one big compound eye, where photosensitive tissue inside the exoskeleton picks up light that’s filtered by the radiating spines. And the denser an urchin’s spines, the sharper its perception of its surroundings, a new study suggests. So who’s fancy now?
Sönke Johnsen and his team at Duke University in Durham, N.C., tested the visual responses of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a large, purple Pacific urchin with an especially spiny exoskeleton. They placed individual urchins in the center of a tank with a dark target on one side, and they lit the tank from above.
In under a minute, the urchins began to move relative to the target. Some inched toward the dark spot and others scooted away from it, but their trajectories were definitely deliberate—each urchin was tested four times with the spot in different parts of the tank, and each repeated its behavior every time.
“Even though the group as a whole did not choose one direction relative to the target, they obviously responded to it,” the researchers wrote in The Journal of Experimental Biology. “This is analogous to a group of people each using their own compass to go a different direction.”
According to Johnsen’s team, it’s possible that urchins who were attracted to the spot interpreted it as a cave to hide in, while the ones who fled treated it as a predator like an eel or a sea star.
S. purpuratus could detect smaller targets than a previously tested species with sparser spines, suggesting to the researchers that the additional spines give it greater visual resolution. They say they’d need to test additional species to be sure.
Okay, so they still can’t recognize faces or appreciate the subtleties of a Van Gogh, but Johnsen and his colleagues say the urchins can see about as well as a horseshoe crab or chambered nautilus — and those guys have actual eyes. Not bad, right?
At least one urchin species, by the way, can live up to 200 years, so don’t even think that you’ll win in a stare down.
By Mara Grunbaum. This article is provided by Scienceline, a project of New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.
Green flourescent proteins, which are naturally occuring in some species, can be attached to other proteins enabling scientists to mark proteins of their choice with a green glow. GFP's have been used to decrypt previously invisible processes, like the spread of cancer or the development of nerve cells.
Crystal Jelly- Green fluorescent protein, naturally occurring
Rhesus Macaque Monkey- Green fluorescent protein, introduced into DNA of egg via virus (2008)
Pig- Green fluorescent protein, added to embryos (2006)
Cat- Red fluorescent protein, introduced via a virus into cloned DNA, which was implanted in cat eggs, then implanted in mother (2007)
Mice- Green fluorescent protein, received via DNA from father, which had been implanted with glowing sperm-creating cells from a flourescent mouse (2004)
Mice- Cyan, red, and yellow fluorescent proteins, injected into DNA in embryos (2007)
Tobacco- Firefly luciferase gene, introduced via a virus into tobacco DNA (1986)
Emperor Scorpion- Beta-carboline, naturally occurring
Nematode Worm- Green fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2005)
Dog- Red fluorescent protein, introduced via a virus into cloned DNA (2009)
Zebrafish- Green, yellow, and red fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2003) 
Bacteria- Multiple colors of fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2008) 
Within One Cubic Foot
Guess how many organisms you'll find in a cube of soil or sea.
By Edward O. Wilson
Photograph by David Liittschwager
When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an entire world. You have crossed a hidden frontier known to very few. Immediately close at hand, around and beneath our feet, lies the least explored part of the planet's surface. It is also the most vital place on Earth for human existence.... Click here to read more
One Cubic Foot Photo Gallery
March 28, 2008—Giant sea stars or starfish that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters) across are held by Sadie Mills, left, and Niki Davey of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on February 15, 2008.
They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures—many new to science—during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters in February and March, according to a March 26 announcement.
The large-scale survey was part of the International Polar Year and Census of Antarctic Marine Life programs, which study the diversity of Antarctic marine life.
This hydroid—likely a new species—measures 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) across its “head” and has stalks over 39 inches (100 centimeters) long.
The colorful coral-like animal was snagged from one of 39 sites surveyed by New Zealand scientists in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea in February and March 2008.
On the 2,000-mile (3,218-kilometer) journey, the team collected specimens from the surface to the seabed, where this hydroid was found.
Collected from the Ross Sea shelf in southern Antarctica, this 9.8-inch-long (25-centimeter-long) giant sea spider was one of 30,000 animals found during a 35-day census in early 2008.
The marine arachnids, which prey on hydroids and bryzoans—branching, coral-like animals—are larger and more common in Antarctic waters than anywhere else on Earth.
Cold temperatures, few predators, and high levels of oxygen in seawater could explain their gargantuan size, Don Robertson of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research told the Associated Press.
A mysterious animal with a small crustacean perched on its back floats 7,218 feet (2,200 meters) below the surface in the Ross Sea off southern Antarctica.
The 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) creature might be a tunicate, or sea squirt, say scientists who found it during a large-scale survey of Antarctic life in early 2008.
The Antarctic summer's perpetual daylight meant that the New Zealand team could canvass the sea day and night.
An Antarctic octopus found at 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea was one of about 18 octopus species recorded during a survey conducted in early 2008.
New Zealand scientists estimate they also collected 88 species of fish—8 of which are new species—as well as 8 species of squid on the 50-day journey.
This predatory fish, called a stareater, uses its luminous red chin appendage to lure prey into striking distance.
The fish was one of more than 30,000 marine creatures hauled up by a team of 26 scientists and 18 crew during a census of Antarctic life in early 2008.
The team endured icy weather as cold as 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 degrees Celsius)—which caused equipment to freeze up and samples to ice over as soon as they landed on deck.
This 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) daggertooth sports a striking iridescent body and sapphire blue eyes.
An Antarctic neighbor of the predatory stareater, this fish is one of the southernmost daggertooths ever caught, said New Zealand scientists who captured it during a marine census in early 2008.
The animal uses its long mouth and forward-curved teeth immobilize prey, clamping down and pulling back to tear through and paralyze the victim's spine.
This sea cucumber—held by Sadie Mills of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research—is known as a sea pig.
Mills and colleagues collected the organism, among more than 30,000 animals, during a marine census of southern Antarctica in early 2008.
Sea cucumbers are part of a group of marine animals that inhabit the seafloor, including sea squirts, sea stars (starfish), sea slugs, corals, clams, sponges, and urchins.
This shrimplike crustacean was collected 985 feet (300 meters) deep on the Ross Sea shelf, during a marine census led by New Zealand scientists in early 2008.
This amphipod species was first discovered during a 2004 Antarctic voyage aboard the research ship Tangaroa.
The tiny creatures are found in both seawater and fresh water, as well as in mud and sand.
High-powered cameras photographed this sea star or a starfish of the genus Labediaster (lower left) surrounded by brittle stars on a seamount 492 feet (150 meters) below the surface of Antarctica's Ross Sea.
The early-2008 marine survey is expected to yield eight new mollusk species, Stefano Schiaparelli of Italy's National Antarctic Museum in Genoa told the Associated Press.
“This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge,” he said.
--National Geographic
1) Terrific toadlets
Habitat loss, pollution and disease are hitting some of the smallest creatures on earth the hardest. Frog populations have been in sharp decline the past few decades, but a fortunate native species is getting a helping hand from scientists. Staff at the Detroit Zoo are raising 40 juvenile Wyoming toads, one of the most endangered amphibians in the United States. The species is now considered functionally extinct in the wild, with the last remaining individuals only found in zoos and aquariums across the country. The zoo breeding partnership, led by Central Park Zoo and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, has successfully released more than 6,000 tadpoles, toadlets and toads in Wyoming since the program's inception in 1995. Recent good news indicates that the recovery efforts may be paying off: this summer in a monitored protected area, conservationists discovered the first clutch of Wyoming toad eggs found in the wild in ten years.
2) Mice on the move
This summer, Santa Fe Community College Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, Florida, began housing 52 Perdido Key beach mice to protect the species from extinction. The mice originated from the University of South Carolina, but needed to be relocated after damage from Hurricane Ivan. The Brevard Zoo, Florida Aquarium and Palm Beach Zoo have since shared in the responsibility of caring for and studying the mice. There are only a few hundred individuals left in the wild, inhabiting just one barrier island off the coast of Pensacola. Scientists fear that a hurricane could be disastrous to the beach mice, potentially causing the species to become extinct in the wild. Breeding studies have commenced to safeguard their numbers.
3) The right stuff for right whales
The world's rarest large whale, the right whale, has been the topic of interest for scientists at the New England Aquarium this past year. Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales currently exist in the world, and are threatened by ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, habitat loss, pollution, and disease. The New England Aquarium's Right Whale Research Project recently developed a hormone test to learn more about the reproductive rates of the endangered species. This information is critical in helping these giant sea creatures survive.
4) Loose lemurs
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs born in zoos are getting a feel for their new home at the Betampona Natural Reserve in eastern Madagascar. The Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG), and the Duke Lemur Center coordinated the plan to reintroduce zoo-bred lemurs to the wild, with the help of other MFG partners and institutions, including Salt Lake City's Hogle Zoo, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Santa Ana Zoo. The released individuals are being monitored and have fared well so far, with four offspring born from three reintroduced lemurs.
5) International sea turtle success
The Kemp's ridley sea turtle population is in bad shape, but thanks to cooperation between U.S and Mexican officials and scientists, the species can rest assured that their nesting sites will be safe. The Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, and Mexican conservation workers have protected the turtle's nesting sites on beaches in Tamaulipas, Mexico and Padre Island National Seashore. The Zoo reports an increase in nests by the hundreds each year on the Mexican Gulf Coast, indicating success of the program.
6) Black and white is all the rage
Grevy's zebras are the hot topic in animal awareness thanks to the Saint Louis Zoo. The Zoo has partnered with several Kenyan non-profits and other zoo partners to spread awareness to communities in the zebra's home range across Kenya. Grevy's zebras are threatened by poaching and competition from livestock, but efforts to raise awareness in Kenyan villages have been paying off and benefiting their wild populations, reports the Zoo. Several communities have established livestock-free conservation areas, which benefit not only the zebras, but all forms of wildlife in the region. Additionally, over 30 Grevy's zebra foals have been born and raised at the Saint Louis Zoo over the past five decades.
7) Saving "Jaws"
For the third time since 2004, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has placed a young white shark on public exhibit. The shark was caught accidentally in commercial fishing gear off Southern California. Through its White Shark Research Project, the Aquarium has worked since 2002 to learn more about white sharks in the wild, and has since tagged and tracked 10 juvenile white sharks off Southern California. White sharks are in decline worldwide, in part because they are slow to reproduce and also because of growing fishing pressure that is decimating all shark species. Their fearsome reputation has also made them a target of trophy hunters and the curio trade. The Aquarium's hope in exhibiting a white shark is to change public attitudes and promote greater protection for these much-maligned ocean predators.
8) Blue skies for butterflies
Floridian zoos have teamed up to protect the small but mighty butterfly. The Florida Butterfly Monitoring Network, which includes Brevard Zoo, Central Florida Zoo, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Jacksonville Zoo, Lowry Park Zoo, and Miami MetroZoo, is working to survey butterfly populations throughout Florida. Saving this small creature is no small task, and volunteer citizen scientists trained by the zoos conduct monthly counts of butterflies in both natural and man-made habitats on zoo grounds. This information allows researchers to monitor populations and look into potential threats to fragile butterfly species.
9) Marmot Island
The Vancouver Island marmot is the most endangered animal in Canada. Native to British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, these critters are being threatened by massive habitat destruction in the wild. Their current wild population is estimated at nearly 50 animals, but thanks to breeding centers devoted to the species, such as the Toronto Zoo, the population is now around 150. Calgary Zoo in Alberta was the first to successfully breed the marmots at their facility, and produced an impressive five litters in 2007. The pups will be reintroduced in Mount Washington, British Columbia, where they will undergo pre-release conditioning to improve survivability in the wild. Veterinarians at the Calgary Zoo were also recently awarded an AZA Conservation Endowment Fund (CEF) grant to study diseases impacting Vancouver Island marmot populations at the breeding institutions and in the wild.
10) The regal eagle's recovery
This year, America's national symbol, the bald eagle, was removed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species List. This was a grand feat for the species, which just a decade ago faced dwindling populations. The San Francisco Zoo has been instrumental in breeding and releasing captive eagles, and has reintroduced more than 100 bald eagles over the past 22 years. The Zoo reports about 200 nesting pairs of bald eagles in California today.
~AZA.org
