Buceo Virtual/Nature

(21-02-08) Scientists of the investigation group ECOMARG of the IEO have described a new species to science, the third one described up to now in the Marine Protected Area El Cachucho (Spain). >>

(03-12-10) While antiwhaling activists prepared another round of the “Whale Wars” with its new interceptor boat, Japanese fleet delayed its departure by financial pressures and the drop in the domestic demand for whale meat. >>

(01-12-10) The special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna was a “massive failure for bluefin tuna and swordfish” in words of environmental conservation groups. >>

(30-11-10) While the government of Costa Rica justified the turtle eggs recollection like a “model of sustainable development”, Captain Paul Watson refused the justification and tells to the world that “It’s all a fabricated lie”. >>

(19-11-10) We knew they taste good, but how well do they 'hear'? Scientists have found that squids can emit and detect sounds to catch food and defense themselves. Also, the ordinary squid (Loligo pealii) is well known as a kind of floating buffet, but is population extremely declined. >>

(17-11-10) Scientists of the IEO have begun a campaign to match and tag swordfish with electronic systems to improve our knowledge about the species, understand their daily behaviour and contribute to the sustainable management of this fishery resource. >>

(15-11-10) A research just published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) shows that one third of consumed tuna comes from pirate fishing. To this we have to add the refusing of some countries, like Spain, to reduce the number of catches. >>

(21-10-10) A team of scientists has created a listening network in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean that allow us to listen to sounds at depths. Now, from a web site, we can listen to those recordings live and enjoy “the cetaceans’ radio”. >>

(14-10-10) Since summer 2009, underwater archaeologists keep exploring and studying deeply the systems of caverns and underwater cenotes in northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, the greatest system of connected caves in the world. >>

(02-09-10) Hideous giant squids, besides depleting plentiful shoals, directly attack humans with aggressive behaviour. The myth of the “red devils”, so frightened by fishermen and sailors, becomes true. >>

(10-08-10) It is one of the bigger and more mysterious animals on Earth. We know little about it, but enough to wonder at it extraordinary ability to dive in deep waters. >>

(02-08-10) A study warns of the vulnerability of sharks in the Canary Islands. The protection of their habitats would be an international landmark and would favour these species seriously threatened by commercial interests. >>

(06-07-10) It is thought to be one of the most intelligent and beautiful creatures of our oceans and rivers, but dolphins also have a personality that is loved worldwide. We see them jumping, playing and even we hear them laughing while they have fun in the ocean. Dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures on earth. >>

(22-06-10) Preventing whaling in the Southern Ocean (the seas around Antarctica) is critical to ensuring the recovery of whale populations in the entire southern hemisphere, a new WWF report states. >>

(14-06-10) Giant plumes of crude oil mixed with methane are sweeping the ocean depths with devastating consequences. Now, we can see a disaster on the surface, but we must be also worried about the great underwater disaster, the effects on marine life that we cannot see yet. >>

(02-06-10)The environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico caused by oil spill off BP’s rig Deepwater Horizon, is a strong impact for the entire marine fauna, but especially to turtles, marine mammals, brown pelicans and bluefin tuna. >>

(21-05-10) Scientists have long been trying to unravel the secrets of four mysterious species of octopus living in the open sea that remain in the water column without expending energy. But now, the secret weapon of these cephalopods has been discovered: they use air bubbles to control their buoyancy... >>

(07-05-10) Started in the year 2000, the Census of Marine Life has been a decade-long international research program uniting thousands of scientists worldwide with the goal of assessing and explaining the diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the seas. It has been supported by private sources and government agencies the world over. The final reports of the Census of Marine Life will be presented and discussed in London next October. >>

(25-03-10) Goblin shark, scientifically known as Mitsukurina owstoni, is a wacky creature of deep blue sea, one of the oldest animals on the face of earth. Having a soft and flabby body with blade-shaped long snout makes this creature set apart from the rest. >>

(26-02-10) Marine scientists are opening a window into the mysterious world of the top predator in the Canadian Arctic about which almost nothing is known: the Greenland shark. >>

(16-02-10) It is known as the killer whale, but it is neither a whale nor a killer. The orca forms part of the dolphins family and, because of its size and voracity, it is associated to the biggest cetaceans. It is a cosmopolitan species that can be found in all seas, especially in high latitudes. >>

(05-02-10) Various species feed by sucking the bodily fluids from other marine animals. Now, researchers have discovered in thte dark depths of Monterrey Canyon that giant sea spiders suck the juices out of deep-sea anemones. >>

(28-01-10) Peale’s dolphin and dusky dolphin are two very similar species that are often mistaken. They only differ from the fact that dusky dolphin has a greyish white stripe on both sides, which separates into two to the anterior part of body. Its face is not dark and the back of its dorsal fin is whitish. >>

(25-01-10) We know that many fishes and cnidarians (jellyfish and actiniae) are dangerous for human health if we touch them, but many divers unknow the danger of touching some very common species of molluscs, porifera and echinoderm. >>

(21-01-10) This is the alligator gar, an outrageous and fascinating creature of prehistoric appearance that lives in rivers and estuaries in Center and North America. It becomes very big and is characterised by an enormous jaw full with teeth and a body covered with hard scales, which makes it look like a crocodile. >>

(18-01-10) The record of fossils has numerous examples of species that one day populated the planet and ended up extinguished, because their environment was destroyed by a planetary catastrophe, or maybe because new species better adapted occupied their ecological niche. >>

(02-12-09) New studies show that a hammerhead gives sharks outstanding binocular vision and an ability to see through 360 degrees. It confirms that this specie has the best visual and detection capabilities on the underwater world. >>

(26-11-09) Latin American governments are considering a bloc response to the Japanese whaling fleet's departure for Antarctica, in a new season of what it claims is "hunting for scientific purposes" and which threatens to kill 1,000 whales in the protected Southern Ocean sanctuary. >>

(12-11-09) Commerson's dolphin, also known as Tonina overa, is famous for its black and white colour, and the way it swims, smart and fast. It is one of native cetaceans that star in the Patagonian marine life. >>

(10-11-09) Each year, thousands of people set sail aboard whale-watch tour boats with hopes of catching an up close glimpse of one of the planet's largest mammals, but the long-term effects of such substantial whale watch exposure had been relatively unknown — until now. >>