Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
Ongoing discussion about the potential effects of ocean acidification on deep-sea corals has me wondering about the case of acid rain in North American lakes. This is something we understand much better. Environment Canada has a great looking and informative Freshwater Website that includes this handy graphic here.
Isn't it amazing that acid rain can have almost the same pH as battery acid? And that freshwater fish can survive in such a large range of conditions? I find it remarkable. Of course, you won't find "freshwater corals" in any lake, so its just food for thought, a bit like comparing apples to oranges.
Physical Science
Environment
Comments
If you look at blackwater streams in South America, Rio Negro for instance, (Google Rio Negro pH) you will find fish, insects, snails, and crustaceans living in pH as low as 3.5. The thing that I find amazing is that many of the catfishes, particularly the doradids, have well developed bony plates. One of the doradids (don't know the species) eats apple snails. One would think the fish would get calcium from the snail shells. However, the shells pass through the gut and come out unscathed and undigested.
Posted by: Jim Thomerson | March 20, 2008 7:04 PM
Britain also has generally very clean water, but our corrupt Government wants to add Fluoride, not in its natural form of Calcium Fluoride which is beneficial at not more than 1 ppm.
But because a powerful lobby in the chemical industry has waste products known as Hexafluorosilicic Acid or Di-sodium Hexafluorosilicate the Government has authorised the "medication" of our water supplies against the wishes of the people.
The truth is that the cost of setting up this plant and dosing it into the water far exceeds the cost of educating the 1% of the populace who don't wash their teeth! Indeed, where this material has been added, we find fluorosis of the teeth and serious bone embrittlement, the latter of course most affects the elderly and the British Government doesn't believe they have any rights to a life.
Of course given that our Government is as bent as £9 note, what is the next medication they will want to add? Some tranquillisers to stop us reacting to their criminal activities?
I shall drink certain pure bottle waters until I know our main water supply is not being contaminated for political and mercenary aims.
Posted by: Garry | March 21, 2008 7:00 AM