Halibut Herald September 19

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ALIBUT HERALD September 19, 2008

Bits and Bites Hundreds of new aquatic species discovered http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/18/eacoral118.xml

Hundreds of new kinds of animal species, including 130 colourful corals, have been discovered.

The extraordinary creatures were found by researchers systematically exploring waters off two islands on the Great Barrier Reef and a reef off northwestern Australia. The expeditions form part of a 10 year global study of marine life being carried out by scientists in 80 different nations that is should lead to many more discoveries. READ ARTICLE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/18/eacoral118.xml

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More News Links Bonfire of the crocodiles as epidemic spreads http://www.metro.co.uk/news/world/article.html?Bonfire_of_the_crocodiles_as_epidemic_spreads&in_ article_id=312680&in_page_id=64

Estrogen levels skyrocket in river around Montreal: researchers http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/09/17/estrogen-stlawrence.html

Google Planning 'Computer Navy'; Waves To Power And Cool 'Data Barges' http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4753389.ece

Golden Ray photos of amazing mass migration http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/06/24/earay124.xml

Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters. Gliding silently beneath the waves they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. MORE PHOTOS HERE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/06/24/earay124.xml

Kawasaki Reveals The Fastest Bullet Train in Japan Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. recently announced that it is developing the country’s fastest high speed train! Named the “Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train” (efSET), the modern marvel will propel passengers along at 217 miles per hour, besting the record-holding Shinkansen’s 186mph. The streamlined design also promises to be less noisy, more energy efficient, and will feature a state-of-the-art electrical control system. FULL STORY: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/18/kawasaki-environnmentally-friendly-super-express-train/

AZA Annual Conference - Animal Art Auction!

Obviously these animals are incredible artists. There are 61 one in all including works by chimps, gorillas, anteaters, my brother and many others. If any Zooillogix readers win, let us know. http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/09/aza_annual_conference_animal_a.php

Library News Modified Library Hours: Mon Sept 22 – 9am-3:30pm (Jenny) Tues Sept 23 – closed Wed Sept 24 – 9am-12pm (volunteer) Thurs Sept 25 – 9am-11:30am (Jenny): a volunteer might keep the Library open until 2pm Fri Sept 26 – 9am-2:30pm (Jenny) Mon Sept 29 – 9am-3:30pm (Jenny) Tues Sept 30 – closed Wed Oct 1 – 9am-12pm (volunteer) Thurs Oct 2 – 9am-11:30am (Jenny): a volunteer might keep the Library open until 2pm Fri Oct 3 – 9am-2:30pm (Jenny) Mon Oct 6 – 9am-3:30pm (Jenny) Tues Oct 7 – closed Wed Oct 8 – 9am-12pm (volunteer) Thurs Oct 9 – 9am-11:30am (Jenny): a volunteer might keep the Library open until 2pm Fri Oct 10 – 9am-2:30pm (Jenny) Please return or renew your overdue library items at your earliest convenience.

Archival Photo

Elfin & Rubber Ducky, Margaret Butchler (April 2004)

Green Team Ride-Sharing for Employees of the Vancouver Aquarium The Vancouver Aquarium has its very own Ride Share site for Aquarium employees! Jack Bell Ride-Share allows you to find ride matches with coworkers to fill your personal car, find a driver to carpool with, or use a Jack Bell fleet vehicle! This calculates both costs and greenhouse gas savings at the same time! Registration is restricted to email addresses ending in @vanaqua.org. Register today! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Go to http://vanaqua.ride-share.com/en/my/ Register for free with your @vanaqua.org email address Enter your home address Search for matching commuters with adjustable search options Click matching commuters to suggest a ride-share Start ride-sharing!

Quick Tip: Did you know that approximately 45% of commuters in Metro Vancouver travel alone in their vehicles? Ridesharing with just 1 other person would eliminate over 1 million cars a day crossing in and out of Metro Vancouver. This is equivalent to 1.6 million litres of gas saved, and 4000 tonnes of greenhouse gases not emitted.

Other sustainable modes of transportation: Don’t forget, every day is a good day to walk, bike, or swim to the Aquarium! Did you know that the Vancouver Aquarium has shower and locker facilities as well as secure bike storage for cyclists? Secure bike storage is found on the east side of the building near the Grounds office, and the shower and locker facilities are in the washrooms on the 1st floor (basement) of Aquaquest.

Events Help Clean up at Kitsilano Beach Park on Saturday September 20th!

Registration starts at 10:00 AM Wrap up around 2:00 PM Where: The intersection of Arbutus St. and McNicoll Avenue (right next to the basketball courts). • • • • •

Cleanup supplies (garbage bags, gloves, recycling bags) will be provided Panago Pizza will be served for free Various Vancouver Aquarium WWF and Surfriders booths present at the event Please bring your own reusable food containers and cups We encourage you to use a sustainable form of transportation (carpool, bus, bike, walk to the event) as a way to reduce our impact on the environment.

For registration, please go to our website at www.vanaqua.org/cleanup, and register for either Kitsilano Beach Park North or Kitsilano Beach Park South (both sites are part of the same event). If you have any questions or if any of the Vancouver Aquarium departments or programs would like to have a booth or a presence at the event, please contact Maryam at ext. 3765. and at [email protected]

****************************** The Dominant Animal and the Fate of Biodiversity Beatty Biodiversity Museum at UBC Fall Biodiversity Lecture Speaker: Professor Paul Ehrlich When: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Time: 7:00pm Where: UBC Woodward Building - Room 2 (2198 Health Sciences Mall). As human population reaches unprecedented levels, we lose unknown numbers of populations and species every year. Please join us to hear Paul Ehrlich speak about the evolutionary and cultural forces that made us the planet’s dominant animal. Learn how those forces are affecting the way we are shaping our world, and how the choices we make in the next decades will impact the planet our children will inherit. Free. E-tickets required, available at www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca (e-tickets will be available 2 weeks before the lecture) PAUL R. EHRLICH is Bing Professor of Population Studies and Professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. An expert in the fields of evolution, ecology, taxonomy, and population biology, Ehrlich has conducted fieldwork from the Arctic and the Antarctic to the tropics, and from high mountains to the ocean floor. Professor Ehrlich has written more than 800 scientific papers and popular articles as well as many books, including The Population Bomb. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Volvo Environmental Prize for Environmental Sciences, and the Blue Planet Prize, and was awarded the first AAAS/Scientific American Prize for Science in the Service of Humanity.

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Aquarium Events Calendar Deadline!! If you would like to submit an event to the Events Calendar for the month of Ocotber, Please email the information to [email protected] by Friday September 26. The calendar will be sent every last Friday of each month and will be posted on the Main Drain in the lunch room. It will include: • • • • • • • •

Lunch & Learn Sessions Green Team Events Training Courses Social Events Stat Holidays Volunteer Training Sessions Media launches Sewer nights…

For Sale Get awesome gear, for an awesome price! SeaQuest BCD, Medium; Oceanic Fins, with slit Genesis Regulator with new mouth piece, was just tuned up in the shop. Mask strap; Yellow AquaLung Impulse 3 Snorkel! $500 for everything!

Contact [email protected] for info!

Staff Appreciation