Oliver Isler didn’t begin with a product idea. He began with a dream. “More than fifteen years ago,” he said to In Depth Magazine, “I had a beautiful dream in which I was swimming peacefully among whales and dolphins,” he writes, recalling the moment that set everything in motion. When he woke, the thought stayed with him: perhaps with a small, integrated breathing system, a human could move through the ocean with something closer to that same ease.

From that idea came Hydrophilis, a device that looks less like dive gear and more like an attempt to reshape the human body into something hydrodynamic. When I first learned to dive, it was no easy task connecting all the parts of the breathing apparatus. Under the water, it never really felt like it belonged to me. Could this new invention make Scuba diving more accessible and safe?

Related: Are diving trips to the Rea Sea safe? 

The problem Oliver is trying to solve is not simply how to breathe underwater. That problem was addressed long ago. The deeper issue is how awkward, noisy, and inefficient humans remain in the water even with modern equipment. Complicated tanks, hoses, and regulators turn the diver into a slow, bubbling machine.

Even advanced rebreathers, while quieter, are still bolted onto the body, creating drag and distance between the diver and the environment. Hydrophilis tries to erase that separation. Isler approached the design as an aerodynamics problem, noting that “the ideal shape for minimum resistance is the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) airfoil,” and he built the entire form around that principle.

The result is a system where the breathing apparatus is not worn but integrated. The rebreather sits on the chest rather than the back, which he chose deliberately “to avoid Immersion Pulmonary Edema (IPE), a dangerous affliction whose risk is higher when inhaling… from a back-mounted counterlung.”

The helmet extends forward in a smooth cone, reducing turbulence, while the body remains close-fitted and free of external weights that would disrupt flow. Even the ballast is hidden in the fabric. Everything is shaped to move water aside rather than fight it.

There is also a philosophical shift here. Traditional dive gear assumes resistance and compensates for it with power and air supply. Hydrophilis assumes that the better solution is to reduce resistance until less effort is needed in the first place. Isler reports that the system allows “reasonably good” speed with minimal effort, especially when paired with a monofin, and that autonomy reaches between 60 and 90 minutes depending on exertion.

That is achieved with a remarkably small system, built around a one-liter tank and a compact rebreather, far removed from the heavy configurations divers are used to.

Still, the project is not finished. Isler has completed a few dozen dives and continues to refine the design, adjusting buoyancy, improving visibility, and solving issues like occasional leakage under certain breathing conditions. There is no commercial version yet (angel funding anyone?), no certification pathway announced, and no clear date when something like this might be available beyond experimental use.

Even he is cautious about its future, writing that “it’s impossible to say whether it will become a model for the future,” though he clearly finds satisfaction in having built something entirely original.

What Hydrophilis does offer, even in its unfinished state, is a different direction. Jacques Cousteau helped free divers from the surface by giving them independent air, but the systems that followed defined the diver as someone carrying life support into an alien world. (Related: we interview Cousteau’s grand-daughter here).

Isler’s work suggests another path, one where the human form adapts to the physics of water instead of overpowering it. The silence of a rebreather, the reduced drag of a continuous shape, the possibility of moving without bubbles or strain, these are not just technical improvements. They change the relationship between diver and ocean.

The post Hydrophilis SCUBA gear could make us one with the sea appeared first on Green Prophet.

Octopuses recruit fish from the right “school” of thought to help them get food

Octopuses and fish have been caught on camera teaming up to hunt for prey. In a new study from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, researchers caught 13 instances of the cross-species collaboration over 120 hours of footage, showing a big blue octopus (Octopus cyanea) working with different fish species to capture meals.

Each of these scenes hinted at complex group dynamics, with different species adopting different roles. “The other fish provide several options, and then the octopus decides which one to take,” says animal-behaviour researcher and co-author Eduardo Sampaio who published his findings in Nature Ecology & Evolution. This comes on the heels of first-ever marine research that shows how coral reefs are eating laxatives and our blood pressure medication.

“There’s this element of shared leadership.”

In new footage, shown above, octopuses were seen punching ‘opportunistic’ fish, individuals that attached themselves to the hunting group but did not help them find food. There is evidence for getting rid of freeloading friends in nature. Don’t feel guilty if you too have to kick your friend off your couch.

The octopuses also seemed to adapt and respond to different situations.

In some groups, certain fish species — especially blacktip groupers (Epinephelus fasciatus) — were opportunistic, attaching themselves to the group without helping to find food. In some of these cases, octopuses would use their tentacles to ‘punch’ these opportunists in what seemed to be an attempt to punish them or get them to leave the group. Sampaio, pictured above, says that the team is interested in studying whether octopuses can recognize individual fish that have previously exhibited opportunistic behaviour.

The post Octopus kicks away freeloading fish appeared first on Green Prophet.

In 2014, biologists rescued Inky from a crayfish pot where he had become entangled, suffering injuries to his arms and body. Kerry Hewitt, curator of aquarium exhibits, said at the time that the creature was adapting to life in his new tank, but added that staff had to work to keep him amused as he had tendencies towards boredom. Obviously he used his idle time to do some thinking.

Three months ago, the octopus secretly slipped out through a gap left by maintenance workers at the top of his tank, crawled across the floor, and escaped down a six-inch wide drain pipe that led to the Pacific ocean. Staffers said they pieced together the mystery via telltale suction cup prints that recorded his escape route. The story just went public this week, casting Inky as a global celebrity with animal lovers cheering on his victorious return to nature.

Octopuses are not fish, although they breathe through gills. There are over 300 species which inhabit the world’s tropical seas. Classified as mollusks, they are cousins of other slimy, muscular sea life such as squid, slugs, snails, and shellfish. Aquarium manager Rob Yarrall told the New Zealand website Stuff that octopuses as very malleable, pointing out that Inky had to squeeze his soccer-ball sized torso through the small opening to get free.

But are they “smart’? They can famously change colors, squirt out an inky poison, and exert a force greater than their own body weight. Although they lack backbones, cephalods do have inordinately large “brains”. Tests show
that the animals can navigate mazes, quickly solve problems (and remember the solutions!). Other experiments show that octopuses lack exact knowledge about the position of their arms, raising an intriguing question: how do octopuses avoid tying themselves up in knots? (See how scientists at Hebrew University answered this – link here).

[youtube]https://youtu.be/PSUZi_6oQOc[/youtube]

This isn’t the first time a captive octopus made a jailbreak. In 2009 at California’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium a pair of octopuses deconstructed a water recycling valve and redirected a hose which shot water overnight from their tank, causing a massive flood, and concealing their absence from frantic aquarium workers.

“[Octopuses] are very strong, and it is practically impossible to keep an octopus in a tank unless you are very lucky. … Octopuses simply take things apart,” octopus expert Jennifer Maher told The Washington Post, “I recall reading about someone who had built a robot submarine to putter around in a large aquarium tank. The octopus got a hold of it and took it apart piece by piece.”

She added, “There’s a famous story from the Brighton Aquarium in England 100 years ago that an octopus there got out of its tank at night when no one was watching, went to the tank next door and ate one of the lumpfish and went back to his own tank and was sitting there the next morning.”

The New Zealan National Aquarium has no plans to replace Inky, but it will better secure the tank where his former roommate remains. “They are always exploring and they are great escape artists,” Yarrall told Hawke’s Bay Today. “We’ll be watching the other one.”

The post “Heavily-armed” octopus escapes from aquarium! appeared first on Green Prophet.

Whales, the earth’s largest marine mammals, have had more than their share of ecological problems in all parts of the world’s seas and oceans. One of their biggest risks is noise in marine habitats caused by drilling for oil and gas. 

Who’s at risk? Those in unlikely marine habitats such as the Eastern Mediterranean, where a rare grey whale was sighted.

A previously unknown sub-species of humpback whale, named Arabian Whale, was also found swimming in waters off Oman. Sites of regular oil drilling.

Whales communicate and find their way by emitting sounds to one another as well as off marine objects such as reefs. Studies made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that migrating  Western Grey Whales are greatly disturbed by underwater intense  seismic sounds produced by oil and gas exploration companies in areas where they  often frequent; such as near Sakhalin Island, north of Japan.

The seismic surveys conducted by these oil and gas exploration companies involve using intense underwater sound blasts when searching for subterranean oil and gas deposits.

The intense sounds affect the whales, which rely on sound for communication, navigation and foraging for food.

Exposure to loud noise from seismic surveys can result in stress and behavior changes,  which affect foraging and nursing calves. The intense noise can also cause direct physical damage to the animals themselves. The company carrying out the surveys, Energy Investment Company Ltd, claims that the surveys are carried out in a manner that  “has not revealed significant impact on the whales”.

Migrating whales are often seen swimming together with other marine mammals like dolphins.

Other whale species, such as Pilot Whales, have been involved in numerous incidents involving being stranded on beaches.

The most recent incident occurred off Ft. Myers Florida January 21. Marine biologists believe that Pilot Whale beachings may be the result of the animal’s communication and direction finding senses being “confused” by various factors; including marine pollution and possibly by conflicting undersea noises as well.

The IUCN study was published in the Journal of Aquatic Mammals; and based its research on the migration routes and prime feeding grounds of the Western Grey Whale species.

The survey co-author, Dr Greg Donovan, is Chairman of the Western Grey Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP) Seismic Survey and Noise Task Force. He is also Head of Science at the International Whaling Commission. To reduce the chance of seismic soundings disturbing the whales, he recommends that: “In the Sakhalin case it is advisable to conduct the surveys as soon as the winter ice has melted but most of the whales have not yet arrived.”

More articles about whales and other marine mammals in the Mediterranean and Middle East:

New Arabian Humpback Whale Species Located in Oman

Iron-rich Whale Poop Essential in Middle Eastern Marine Habitats

Is Willie the Grey Whale Lost of Looking for Club Med?

Image via WWF

The post Why oil and gas companies should buy whales hearing aids appeared first on Green Prophet.

Green Prophet speaks to Rima Jabado, a marine scientist working in the UAE on marine conservation

Following the tremendous response to our story on the UAE’s burgeoning fin shark trade (despite a ban on shark finning) we at Green Prophet have embarked on a ‘save the shark’ campaign.

Over the last month, we have interviewed leading figures involved in shark protection in the Middle East such as the Emirate Diving Association and the International Fund for Animal Welfare in the Middle East.

We explored a wide array of possible solutions to shark conservation such as empowering consumers to stop buying sharks, working with fisherman to halt the trade to changing attitudes worldwide through TV and film-making.

We caught up with Rima Jabado, a marine scientist who has worked all around the world, to find out about her research into sharks in the Arabian Gulf and the threat of habitat destruction.

Green Prophet: Can you tell us a little about yourself, why you work with sharks and your current research? Rima: I am a marine scientist and have worked in various locations around the world on various conservation projects including sharks, dolphins, corals and turtles. I have always been fascinated with sharks and wanted to work with them.

When I moved to the UAE, I realized there was little information on elasmobranches [sharks, rays and skates] in general in the region and decided to pursue my PhD to gain a better understanding of their status and threats to them in the region. I am therefore looking at various aspects of sharks and their fishery along the Arabian Gulf coast of the UAE and investigating the international fin trade from the UAE through a genetic study.

What is a normal days work for you? It really depends on the day! Some days are spent interviewing fishermen at the various fisheries cooperatives or landing sites across the country; some are spent identifying, sexing, measuring and collecting genetic samples at various landing sites; some are spent in the laboratory preparing field equipment, dissecting sharks or extracting DNA; and some are spent on the boat waiting for sharks to be tagged and released.

Green Prophet: Are sharks experiencing new threats in the Middle East? What are the major threats to sharks? I think sharks in the region are experiencing similar threats as in other parts of world. Targeted fisheries are the major threat especially for the international fin trade. However, they also face threats from habitat destruction and degradation.

What kind of findings have come from your research so far? I’ve confirmed 27 species of sharks from landings across the UAE and have determined trends in their distribution and abundance. My interviews with fishermen provided me a lot of information on the characteristics of the fishery, the type of gear used, trends in shark catch and the value of the various species.

I understand that you have overseen the dissection of sharks. What uses does dissection have for research and protecting shark populations? I actually did the dissections myself. I purchase two species of commercially important sharks from markets on a monthly basis to gain a better understanding of their biology, reproduction and feeding habits while collecting samples for parasitology, toxicology and growth studies.

The information provided will allow me to gain an insight on their life-history traits and provide information to undertake a stock assessment of these species. This information is crucial to develop management plans for their conservation while ensuring their long term sustainability.

Green Prophet: Are you hopeful for the future of sharks in the Middle East region? I think that there is increasing awareness of the threats that sharks face in this region. I am hopeful that with more research and a better understanding of the situation, scientists and resource managers can work together to protect the species that are most vulnerable while ensuring the sustainable catch of the remaining species.

::Save Our Seas

For more on Sharks in the Middle East see:

How Sharks Keeps Us Breathing: An Interview with Film-maker Jonathan Ali Khan

Working with Local Fisherman to Tackle Shark Finning

UAE Divers Organisation says: “Stop Buying Sharks and Shark Fin Soup”

Despite Ban, UAE remains Market Hub for Shark Fins

The post A Day In the Life of A Marine Scientist Rima Jabado appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s so tempting to attribute anthropogenic qualities to fauna. Take the whale shark Rhincodon typus, sometimes referred to as gentle giants, the largest fish to plow through tropical seas with its wide mouth open. The heaviest on record weighed in at 36 tonnes – as much as a ring of six Barnum and Bailey circus elephants. And yet they are among the least known creatures.

They’re nomadic, but no one knows their favorite haunts, they’re huge, but a sighting can be as furtive as a wanton look, and the ladies are especially sneaky. To learn more about these extraordinary seafaring creatures, Sharkwatch Arabia plans to tag 25 whale sharks over the next five years, starting with two tags donated by Emirati organizations.

Though PhD candidate David Robinson, a marine biologist based in Dubai, did not manage to find or tag any whales during its search last week, the Heriot-Watt University student’s efforts are not in vain.

Using NASA technology to analyze images of whale shark sightings uploaded to sharkwatcharabia.com, Mr. Robinson is able to identify individual whale sharks according to the white spots on the side of their bodies. In the past four months, they have managed to document 23 individual whale sharks, according to The National.

This is an extraordinary achievement since they are notoriously elusive.

“In all the sites what we know is that the whale sharks pass through but they don’t come back. So where are they going? Nobody knows,” Mr. Robinson told the paper.

Most of the sightings that do occur involve males, while the females seem to stay mostly out of view. Where they give birth remains a mystery to science, though some evidence suggests that male whale sharks have stashed a harem or two of females off the coast of Gujarat, India.

Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort in Fujairah and the Emirates Diving Association both sponsored a tag  to further Mr. Robinson’s dissertation research. Each one costs Dh15,000 – just over $4,000 a pop.

Sharkwatch Arabia is a joint effort between Shark Quest Arabia and the Emirates Diving Association to learn more about these filter feeders, a popular draw in the Gulf between May and September.

:: The National

More lovable marine creatures in the Middle East:

Rare Sea Turtles and Other Wildlife Living Happily on Persian Gulf

Is Willie the Grey Whale Lost or Looking for Club Med? (VIDEO

image via Marcel_Ekkel

The post Mysterious Female Whale Sharks Elude Marine Biologists appeared first on Green Prophet.