apparently one whale years ago was observed doing this for hours and now more and more whales in the area are seen copying it so we think it’s a whole new behavior and it seems to be a response to shrinking food sources.
Instead of expending any energy actively hunting, the whale just holds its mouth open wherever fish are being hunted by birds. To escape the birds, the fish try to hide in the whale’s mouth because it’s a darker area that looks like shelter.
…They’re turning into giant, sea-mammal pitcher plants.
We get by with the help of our fronds! Sea-riously! A new study by Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists found that denser kelp forests can better handle serious stressors like sweltering seawaters!
The study looked at kelp forests before, during, and after an extreme marine heatwave that hit west coast waters from 2014-2016. It found that denser and more sheltered forests, and the animals living in these forests, fared better against the extreme heat. These persistent forests were also able to keep hungry sea urchins from roaming around the reef and gobbling up the remaining kelp.
Another Aquarium study showed a certain species supports strong kelp forests by snacking on sea urchins — you guessed it — sea otters!
You can dive deeper into this research here!
Healthy kelp forests not only provide homes for a wide range of marine life — they also absorb carbon dioxide — naturally pushing back against climate change (hurray photosynthesis!).
Globally, kelp has been declining for a half-century and warming ocean temperatures present a serious threat to cold-water species like kelp.
Studies like these help us understand what makes kelp forests strong, and how we can implement restoration efforts in areas with less kelp coverage.
When your partner has a praise kink but you're Montessori trained so you know that praise is an ineffective way to encourage development and it's much more productive to acknowledge their effort so that they learn to effectively give themselves feedback so they can develop a healthy intrinsic motivation instead of deriving their self worth from labels put on them by other people .... "baby it's amazing how much you could last today compared to last week"
The aotw for this weekend is the lovely @illustoryart whose affirmation deck most of us have, and if you haven't seen their incredibly detailed art around on your dash, today you will <3 They agreed to answer a few questions for me-
Which do you use to draw (app/digital or traditional)?
I used to draw more traditional art, but most of my OFMD fanarts are made in Procreate.
Fave brushes/pencils/mediums?
I have fave watercolor pencils, Caran D'Ache Supracolor Soft ❤️
Your favourite piece you've drawn?
That's a tough question, because it's not a constant. But I'm really proud of my OFMD Affirmation Deck :з
Who's harder to draw: Ed or Stede?
For me it's Stede (too beautiful to be captured in drawing 😍)
One essential tip for beginner artists?
Draw every day and don't be ashamed to use references. It's okay to learn from photos and other artists' works. Just make sure your refs are not AI generated 😅
Why OFMD? 🥹
Because it's a perfect combination of queer pirates, historical inaccuracies, found family trope, comedy, romance and drama 💔
Ed heard the word 'boyfriend' come out of Stede's mouth, got into over the top flirting mode, realized it happened in front of everyone and got so flustered he started talking about cats. The man is fighting for his life