Come April, Fuwairit beach in Qatar becomes home to its seasonal guests, the Arabian Gulf hawksbill turtles. Lingering there till early June, the female hawksbills lay and incubate eggs, giving birth to baby turtles. On their way to sea, most of the newborns fall prey to poachers and predators. Now, they also face increasing seaRead more about Arabian Hawksbill Turtles Endangered[…]
Corals in sunlit shallow waters usually glow because of specific proteins that block the sun’s harmful rays. But in dark, deep-water environments, instead of blocking sunlight altogether, those proteins help the corals absorb some light to make food with the help of an algae called zooxanthellae. This adaptation is how corals thrive at great depths,Read more about Glowing corals’ survival secrets unravelled[…]
Ray-finned fish that make up 96% of all the fish include eels, catfish, tarpon, tuna, trout, herring and salmon. They began to dominate oceans and freshwater habitats at a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Among such fish that inhabit coral reefs, sex depends on their size. An interesting exception is the clownfish which liveRead more about Mystery of sex change in a coral-reef fish unveiled[…]
The first estimate of the population of mature whale sharks in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman1, has been produced by an international research team and a citizen science initiative. The researchers conducted field work with ‘Sharkwatch Arabia’ to study the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the largest known fish considered to be endangeredRead more about First estimate of whale sharks in the Gulf[…]