Bug-Lover's Club

[Byakugan01]

Alright folks, working on the clock here before class, but let me share some stuff with you before then. Ladies and gentlemen, it's news time! And this article is a keeper.

When you think of the bottom of the sea, I suspect bright and colorful are not exactly words that jump to the forefront of your mind. While the jury is still out on the colorful part, as it turns out the ocean floor does have its share of bioluminescent creatures. And some of the creatures down there have adaptations you might not expect.

The discovery of new species inhabiting the ocean's depths is not in itself surprising. After all, we seem to find something new pretty much any time that we bother to venture down far enough. However, while plenty of creatures living in open water can put on a light show, the same is not true for creatures that actually live along the bottom. So it is interesting that researchers have managed to uncover a number of bioluminescent denizens of these depths. Among the discoveries include bioluminescent starfish, coral, sea cucumbers and a shrimp that actually vomits a glowing compound as a defense mechanism. At the same time, plankton generated alot of light on their own in the depths as they bumped into the terrain and other organisms. But this wasn't really the most surprising finding.

At the depths at which this research was conducted, all natural light has long since been filtered out by the seawater. So researchers naturally expected the depth's inhabitants to be colorblind. Not so, according to their findings. In fact, some of the animals living there can distinguish blue, violet and even ultraviolet light. With no light from the sun making it this far down, the researchers figure that this sensitivity must somehow benefit them by distinguishing between the different lights formed by potential prey, poisonous food, and maybe predators. There are pictures of some of the organisms they found in the article, along with a linked gallery containing more photos. It's worth a look.

Update: Folks, looks like I either missed it on my first read, or they updated the article, but the spider density on Guam is 40 times that on the neighboring islands. How's that for a festival of spiders?

[Ye1]

New Member!
Username: Ye1
Favorite Invertebrate:ants

[Chocobo]

Welcome Ye1!

[Ye1]

:3

[DarkAlchemistNinja]

New Member!
Username: DarkAlchemistNinja
Favorite Invertebrate: Dragonfly

[Byakugan01]

Welcome! Sorry this guild has been a bit sleepy of late. I usually post science news about inverts on a semi regular basis, but life has been a bit hectic for me of late.

And in other news-Bwahahahaha! My army breeds and grows by the day on my secret island base! Soon, none shall be-er wait, this thing was on? Errr...Anyways folks, forget about that last bit. It's not take over the world time, but do you know what it is time for? That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's time for some news!

Now, what do snakes and spiders have in common? Well, let's count: they both have an unjustly demonized reputation, both are feared more than they need to be (because folks, venomous snakes and medically significant spiders deserve respect-SOME respect is both justified and needed), they both have sharp fangs, and they both have odd numbers of legs for a land animal. Well folks, looks like we can add "a secret alliance against all things with wings" to the list.

The introduction of brown tree snakes to the island of Guam has long served as a cautionary tale for the dangers of accidentally introduced species everywhere (Australia is the example for creatures deliberately introduced-I'm looking at you rabbits and caner toads). Introduced to the island in the 1940s, the venomous snake has utterly destroyed bird life on the island. Guam once hosted 12 endemic bird species. These days, most of the island is completely free of birds-brown tree snakes will go after chickens and pet birds too, so many residents do not keep them. Out of those 12 species mentioned before, only two are not extinct, and they can only survive in a small area of the island where the snakes are extensively trapped expressly for this reason. The rest of the island is more or less Rachel Carson's Silent Spring brought to life not by pesticides, but by the snakes.

So, in the wake of the bird's demise, what has arisen to fill in the gap? Well, as it turns out, exterminating insectivores that also eat spiders lets spiders boom in population. They are no longer competing with the birds for food, obviously, and they are not being eaten by the birds. And the increase is much more dramatic than what had been previously predicted or indicated, as a team of researchers has discovered. Unfortunately, the article doesn't give the exact statistics, so I can't tell you how dramatic it is, and believe me, I would just love to. But here's the thing-with insectivorous birds on the decline elsewhere, the researchers think spider populations may be on the rise globally too. So while Guam is probably now on the top of some people's "top 5 creepiest places on Earth", know that spiders may be growing in number and strength right outside your door, right now. Alright folks, have a good night's sleep!

Update: Apparently, I missed this in my first go through of the article, but the increase is to 40 times the number of spiders found on nearby islands with normal populations of spider predators.

[Cassowary]

Haha, yeah, heard about that. An island populated by snakes and spiders...

Been rather busy with IRL bug stuff, have two millipedes and a mantis as a pet now.

What should I name my QB male yellow namista's spider? I want it to be something science-y.

[sammythethief]

There is a rather large spider that's made a web outside of my kitchen. It's well out of reach of my dog, and none of us are going to touch it, so I'm not concerned with it being there (as long as it doesn't come into the house - it's huge when its legs are spread out and I thought I saw fangs), but I'm curious as to what kind of spider it is.

If I post pictures, can you guys help maybe?

[Cassowary]

Of course! And, well, all spiders have fangs, haha. Though they're actually called chelicerae.

[coatimundi]

New Member!
Username: Coatimundi
Favorite Invertebrate:Firefly