Did You Know?

Octopuses have a relatively big brain just like other smart animals. But their highly complex nervous system evolved independently from vertebrates. Surprisingly, most of the neurons that do the computing for the brain are in the octopus’s arms. And that means they may have essentially nine brains, not one.

In the April of 2022 the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) opened a new deep sea exhibit called Into the Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean. “From football-sized giant isopods to transparent jellies that glow, the deep sea is brimming with life. Meet the mysterious and wonderful animals that thrive in the dark, cold — and mostly unexplored — world of the deep sea.”

GOOD NEWS! Scientists discovered a new coral reef that’s in pristine condition.The reef, off Tahiti, appears to be untouched by climate change. The reef sprawls approximately two miles and 30 meters (about 100 feet) to 65 meters in depth.

What happens when top predators, Great White Sharks and Orcas, meet?

The baleen whales, like humpback, blue and fin, consume huge quantities of food. And when they poop, they cycle massive amounts of nutrients back into the ecosystem.

We always wonder where and when animal life began. Now, scientists in Scotland have found  microfossils in a primeval dry lake bed that might provide a clue.

Catastrophic wildfires, destructive floods, intensifying hurricanes, heat waves, and drought. No matter where we live, we all know that climate change is happening.

The extreme heat wave that hit the Pacific Northwest in July wasn’t just brutal on us it also killed an estimated billion coastal marine animals. It’s hard to grasp the extent of the mass die-off of mussels, oysters, sea cucumbers, sea stars, and many other species.

All wild bees, not just honey, are essential for good crop pollination providing up to two thirds of all pollination and they continue to disappear. Wild insect pollinators are key to maintaining biodiversity where they enable the reproduction of the majority of wild plants.

We received lots of positive feedback on our annual Website Visitor Survey. While there were many adults respondents, there were also a handful of middle school students who responded while trying to make it through the home stretch of a very challenging year.