This week's Sci-Light

This week underwater creatures have made headlines. Giant goldfish, measuring 1.5 feet long and weighing 4.2 pounds, were just recently discovered in the depths of Lake Tahoe. They were scooped up while researchers were searching for intrusive species in the lake. Environmental scientist from University of Nevada, Reno Sudeep Chandra revealed to LiveScience that there were about “…15 other goldfish… [which indicates] that they were schooling and spawning.” Chandra goes on to say that the goldfish could possibly affect Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem, and therefore cause danger to the native inhabitants.

The species was thought to have arrived in the lake by aquarium owners dumping their fish. Aquarium dumping is common and consequently damaging to native wildlife. The most common intruders consist of snails, tropical fish and seaweed. Lead author of a report on the state’s aquarium trade Sue Williams states, "Globally, the aquarium trade has contributed a third of the world's worst aquatic and invasive species.” Williams urges aquarium owners not to dump their fish or even flush them down the toilet. Instead you should call the pet shop or your state’s department of fish and wildlife to have them handled properly. For more information visit Yahoo! News.

In other news, Bottlenose dolphins may have a way to call to their loved ones when they’re away from each other. They mimic the loved one’s signature whistle, which acts as an identifier or a “name”. They don’t completely mimic the whistle, but add their own “tone of voice” which lets the loved one know who is calling them.

Stephanie King of the University of St. Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit, with a team of colleagues, gathered acoustic samples from wild Bottlenose dolphins in the Sarasota Bay, Florida area and examined four captive male dolphins at the Seas Aquarium in Florida. They used the data to analyze and distinguish between the different whistles. For the full article go to Discovery News.