Satellite technology allows scientists to track warm sharks in cold polar seas
Electronic tags broadcasting from the dorsal fins of salmon sharks reveal that these top predators migrate from the glacial waters of Alaska to the warm seas off Hawaii, according to a new study in the journal Science.
"The salmon shark's ability to survive such a broad range of thermal conditions is attributed to increased expression of special proteins that keep its heart muscle cells beating at very low temperatures," explains TOPP's Barbara Block, one of the study's authors.

The full press release can be downloaded at: http://www.toppcensus.org/web/Pressroom/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=13.

View "From Glacial Inlets to Sub-Tropical Seas: Salmon Shark Journeys" at http://www.toppcensus.org/web/FeatureDetails.aspx?id=58&WG=10.

Arctic Expedition Continues to Make Headlines
Census scientists' report about the loss of Arctic ice have recently been covered by the news media in the United States. Interviews with ArcOD researchers Russ Hopcroft, Bodil Bluhm and Rolf Gradinger aired on National Public Radio at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4865870. Video footage from the "Hidden Ocean" expediton was also aired on ABC World News at http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1470668.htm.

FishBol goes live!
The Fish Barcode of Life Initiative (FISH-BOL) webpage is alive and well and actively dispensing information at http://www.fishbol.org/index.htm. FishBol is a global effort to barcode fish to aid in species identification for all users, especially taxonomists.

Further information and plans are contained in its August 2005 Workshop report in the Reports & Meetings Archive.

Arctic Explorers Surprised by Diversity, Density of Arctic Creatures
An historic expedition of Census of Marine Life explorers to the planet's most northern reaches has revealed a surprising density and diversity of Arctic Ocean creatures. Several of the creatures aboard the Healy are unfamiliar to expedition experts and may well prove new to science, said Dr. Rolf Gradinger, head of the Census project, ArcOD, and chief scientist on the voyage.
The 30-day "Hidden Ocean" expedition, funded and coordinated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, an agency of the US Department of Commerce)sailed aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy with 24 scientists, including 11 from the Census of Marine Life, from four countries (the US, Canada, Russia and China).

Read the full press release
Images of the scientists' discoveries

Gulf of Maine Cruise Looking for Biological Hot Spots
A team of more than a dozen scientists are making regular trips from Portland to Platts Bank and Three Dory Ridge aboard the RV Galatea to learn more about biological hot spots in these areas. Sampling and observation aboard the 48-foot lobster -type research vessel is being supplemented by aerial surveys of the area. So far, the Census team has found many areas teeming with life. (Image of Adam Baukus preparing samples aboard the RV Galatea).

Cruise details and photos are available at http://www.usm.maine.edu/gulfofmaine-census/
Docs/CruiseLog/cruise07_05.htm

Cruise to Study Arctic Ocean Biodiversity
In June/July of 2005 CoML Arctic Ocean Biodiversity project members will participate in an international investigation of the diversity of Arctic marine life. Scientists interested in all three major environments will study the distribution of species in the shelf, slope and deep sea regions of the Chukchi, Beaufort Seas and Canada Basin, allowing for a cross-comparison between environments. Biological data will be augmented by investigations of the physical and chemical properties of the sea water, to understand the relationships between water temperature, salinity and its nutrient loads and biological communities.
Learn more about he expedition and read the cruise logs at: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05arctic/welcome.html

Deep sea biologist Paul Tyler left Phuket Thailand on May 9, 2005 aboard the M/V Performer to lead the biological investigation of the area of the earthquake epicenter off the Indonesian coast that caused the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. "Such earth movements can have major impacts on the fauna at the seabed. We will be using ROVs to examine whether there is still fauna present or whether the landslides and earth movements have created tempoarily defaunated conditions," said Tyler.

Tyler is part of a team of geologists, geophysicists, biologists, and modeling and visualization experts aboard the ship whose work will be filmed for a BBC and Discovery Channel Networks documentary to be released later this year.

• Read the press release.
• Media contacts for the Census of Marine Life
• A daily journal from a high school teacher onboard at http://www.armadaproject.org/journals/2005-2006/holt.htm

Where Do Whales Go?
In April, MAR-ECO scientists from Norway and Portugal put satellite tags on one large adult blue whale and three sei whales found in the Atlantic off the Azores. Scientists are tracking these large baleen whales to determine if they use the mid-Atlantic Ridge as a migration corridor. Now you can tag along with the whales at http://www.mar-eco.no/taggedwhales.

Track TOPP Animals in the Pacific
Tag along with sharks, turtles, whales. You now can follow along on the waterborne journeys of a number of large animals that live in the Pacific Ocean by simply clicking on TOPP's live access server. There you'll be able to track a specific animal -- from a Blue Shark to a Blue Whale -- in real time as their tags transmit data to a satellite, which immediately sends it to this site. Add the link to your list of favorites, so you can take a virtual swim in the Pacific anytime you'd like!.

Marine Life Mysteries
to Be Solved
The mysteries of what lives in the Antarctic Ocean and underwater mountain ranges called seamounts will be uncovered by two new Census projects. Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and Census of Seamounts (CenSeam) were launched in November 2004 to learn more about marine life in these little explored areas. (View CAML and CenSeam descriptions).