More specifically, with a sperm bank. This goes without saying, I’m not talking about human sperm. The project has actually been around for a while. About four or so years ago, 70 Billion spermatozoa and 22 Billion coral embryos were collected and frozen by Australian scientists and tucked away into the sperm bank of Dubbo Zoo in hopes of renewing the staggering biodiversity of The Great Barrier Reef. With so many factors - both environmental and at the hand of man - threatening these delicate ecosystems, the future of the roughly 400 coral species, 1,500 fish species and 4,000 assorted Mollusca found off the coast of Queensland, Australia is relatively unforeseeable. This weekend, however, the project will be entering a new phase, leaving us with a smidge of promise that these animals will remain salubrious. The sperm bank will be utilizing IVF technology to cryo-preserve more sperm from the reef with liquid nitrogen and save it for the future. Dr. Rebecca Spindler, the Manager of Research and Conservation at the Taronga Conservation Society, explains, “The animals stay alive and frozen in liquid nitrogen without any level of biodegration, really, over hundreds of years as an insurance, and this is a really powerful conservation tool”. The bank is currently in possession of over a trillion cells, allowing the scientists to study the biology of the coral from a genetic standpoint as it’s the purest possible genetic sample. So how are they creating such a large reserve? Whole colonies are collected of various species and then wined-and-dined until they spawn. Eggs and sperm are collected and preserved not unlike in a human fertility clinic. Here’s where it gets exciting – over the next few weeks the sperm will be used to fertilize coral eggs from this year’s spawning. Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian Institute of Hawaii, and one of the first to develop the project, has plans to apply this methodology on not only corals, but fish, urchins and even algae. We’re talking about a technology that will essentially recreate an entire ecosystem. They currently have six species of coral from The Great Barrier Reef. They’ll be growing them at the sea simulator in Townsville, part of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. In the end, the main goal is to restore the reef and create a more resilient environment. I’ll leave you with this quote from Dr. Spindler, as it summarizes the heart of the project in its rawest form.… More:
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This amazing video shows the young man jump from his boat and swim over to the whale. You have to admit that the guy is pretty brave and perhaps stupid. Luckily the man was not hurt and was picked up off the whale by the boat. Williams sums up his experience and states: 
The Devil’s Hole Pupfish is currently the World’s rarest fish. It is estimated that there are fewer than 100 of the species left. The numbers fluctuate depending on the season. These 1-inch fish live in Devils Hole, in Death Valley National park. The fish reside solely in the top 25-30 ft of the small, geothermal aquifer fed pool in a limestone cavern, which has to be one of the smallest habitat’s there are.
The ‘beating heart’ of numerous designs, a return pump is without doubt a key component of many modern reef systems. It can be a fairly thankless task though and, due the fact that this kind of kit is often out of sight, it can be tempting to try to save money and skip the research when it comes to selection. However, when we expect such an item to perform flawlessly 24/7 with little intervention, it seems crazy to even consider cutting costs. Also, given the fact that a pump is a constant energy drain, it makes sense to look for an efficient unit that won’t make our energy metre spin like a fruit machine! For this review we take a look at AquaMedic’s EcoRunner 6000 which is part of a range that promises energy-saving, silent operation with high efficiency and long-term maintenance free design… just the ticket… or is it?! Launched back in 2012, and with 5 models spanning 2700 to 12000lph output, this range has a pump for most applications (actually certain models are fitted with needle-wheels and used in AquaMedic’s aCone skimmers). Taking the mid-range 6000 unit ‘for a spin’, the first thing that strikes us about the pump is More: 
Hurricane Katrina happened almost 10 years ago and was one of the worst natural disasters the United States has ever seen. Katrina destroyed many peoples homes and businesses, all along the Mississippi and Louisiana Coasts. The city of Gulfport lost the Marine Life Aquarium to the hurricane in 2005. Gulfport is trying to welcome a new aquarium that is estimated to cost over $100 million dollars and to hopes to be one of the 10 largest aquariums in the United States. The location for the aquarium has not yet been disclosed, but sources say it has been in the works for months. Its exciting to see the City renovating and getting back on its feet after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, even all these years later. While the aquarium is still in the works, fingers crossed that we have a fantastic new aquarium in the future of Mississippi. 
Unusual winds are causing record high temperatures along the West Coast, particularly off California’s Coast.Temperatures are currently 5 to 6 degrees warmer for this time of year, making it the warmest fall in about 30 years. A change in wind patterns, notably no winds blowing in from the north, are stopping the water from cooling down, as it normally would. An endangered sea turtle, normally only found in the warmer waters of Southern California, was found in San Francisco. Fisherman have noted seeing Hawaiian Ono and other warm water species. Whales common to the area have not been spotted and fisherman have noted the waters seem empty and salmon catches are down. Scientists speculate that the normal species will return once the water returns to its normal temperature.