Adventure Ausrama Blog

It is not know why but the Great Barrier Reefs is always being attacked by hordes of Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Forty per cent of damage to the reef is done by the pest. Robots that can identify starfish and then inject them with a lethal toxin are being used to fight the invasion. The system works by having a submersible robot patrol about 30cm off the sea floor. When it sees a starfish an arm is extended and the injection is done. If a target is questionable the view is recorded in the robot's data base. A copy of the video is sent to human controllers who verify whether the robot has to return to finish the job. The robots get the starfish early before they can do any real damage to the reef. After the robots have done what they can, human divers go in to clear up the remaining starfish. This combined protective system will give the reef time to recover. ◆ Science  by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things A...

There has been a breakthrough in the research on box jellyfish. They have thousands of stinging cells on their ten-foot long tentacles. New discoveries have been made into their evolution. This will help in finding antivenom and new treatment for stings to humans. Some species of jelly fish have good sight: they have 24 eyes, can sense light and form images of their surroundings. Little is known, however, about what they actually see. They don't need to see to mate. Females and males just get together and fertilize eggs in a mass spawning, though some species do appear to mate one-on-one. The most dangerous jelly fish, in Australia, is the Box Jellyfish (sea wasp or stinger). Some can immobilize while others can kill. The Portuguese man of war is held to be very dangerous, but despite its name it cannot kill humans. Chironex flecken , an Australian box jellyfish, can be lethal. A similar type, Chironex yamaguchii , has killed people in Japan. Evolution of jellyfish has been p...