A nationwide search has begun for Discovery Channel’s hit TV series Canada’s Greatest Know It All. Are you the one people call whenthey need to find facts fast? Are you amazing at finding solutions to everyday life challenges? To qualify: You must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of Canada. You may or may not have a post-secondary degree or formal training, but you are unbeatable for how much you know about everything! We are looking for women and men from a variety of professions. This is an incredible opportunity and experience that will change your life!

To apply, check out their website: www.knowitall-tv.com Email your applicaton to: cgkia2competitors@gmail.com

Good Luck to all!

The animal kingdom continues to amaze and inspire – take that Donald Trump!

What exactly is ocean acidification?

It’s no secret that mean levels of atmospheric CO2 are significantly higher than they have been on our planet for the past 600,000 years. Burning fossil fuels is the largest contributor to the rise, and all of this “extra” carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is having many effects all over the planet. Approximately 25 per cent of atmospheric CO2 is absorbed by the surfaces of the world’s oceans, and the resulting change in pH is what scientists have termed ocean acidification. To be clear: the term acidification is ... Read More »]]> The following exerpt is the first in a 4 part series that I’ve written for the David Suzuki Foundation about cutting edge research on ocean acidification.  The researchers presented their latest findings at the recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAs) in Vancouver, BC.

What exactly is ocean acidification?

It’s no secret that mean levels of atmospheric CO₂ are significantly higher than they have been on our planet for the past 600,000 years. Burning fossil fuels is the largest contributor to the rise, and all of this “extra” carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is having many effects all over the planet. Approximately 25 per cent of atmospheric CO₂ is absorbed by the surfaces of the world’s oceans, and the resulting change in pH is what scientists have termed ocean acidification. To be clear: the term acidification is not meant to describe a future ocean that is composed of acid as opposed to water. The shift in pH from historic levels of 8.25 to predicted levels of 8.14 and lower is movement toward the acidic end of the pH spectrum; however, it is far from the level of something like lemon juice (with a pH of 2.4). Despite the fact that sea  life will not be subjected to living in actual acid, the change (which is measured on a logarithmic scale and therefore represents a 100 to 150 per cent decrease in ocean pH) will have massive implications.

Winners and losers

According to Christopher Harley of the University of British Columbia, some organisms will fare better than others in an acidified ocean: some will be clear winners, others losers. Researchers are racing to identify which organisms will be hit hardest by these environmental changes. Animals that have calcareous shells are in big trouble. For example, molluscs like mussels, clams and snails secrete their own shells by drawing on calcium carbonate in the sea water. Hard corals and sea urchins do the same thing to construct their skeletons. Due to a sequence of fairly simple chemical reactions, calcium carbonate is not as bioavailable in an acidified ocean. Quite simply, organisms that require it for skeletal or shell formation during development are going to suffer drastic consequences.

Why does this matter?

To read the rest of the article please click HERE!

Tobacco Caye is a remote 5-acre tropical island situated within the South Water Caye Marine Reserve, one of the 7 marine protected areas that comprise the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System – World Heritage Site. Tobacco Caye Marine Station (TCMS) was established in 2008 as a not-for-profit education and research facility located on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize. A station manager/education programs manager position is opening in the second quarter of 2012 for an experienced and qualified person to assume responsibilities for the daily management of Tobacco Caye Marine Station, and the education services provided to its clients. The Marine Station hosts international study abroad and local student groups for short and extended-stay experiential learning field programs. In addition to educational programming, the Marine Station assists scientific researchers and their projects with technical and logistical support. Tobacco Caye Marine Station also partners ... Read More »]]>

Tobacco Caye is a remote 5-acre tropical island situated within the South Water Caye Marine Reserve, one of the 7 marine protected areas that comprise the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System – World Heritage Site. Tobacco Caye Marine Station (TCMS) was established in 2008 as a not-for-profit education and research facility located on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize.
A station manager/education programs manager position is opening in the second quarter of 2012 for an experienced and qualified person to assume responsibilities for the daily management of Tobacco Caye Marine Station, and the education services provided to its clients.
The Marine Station hosts international study abroad and local student groups for short and extended-stay experiential learning field programs. In addition to educational programming, the Marine Station assists scientific researchers and their projects with technical and logistical support. Tobacco Caye Marine Station also partners with local community conservation groups to implement grant-assisted education and outreach programs promoting sustainable use, management, and protection of marine and watershed natural resources.
Applications are being accepted for individuals or couples that meet the following criteria:

Principal Duty
To manage all aspects of administrative, programming and operations in relation to marine science education, experiential learning, field research and community conservation. This includes business administration, supervision of laboratory and in-water activities, communications and planning with group leaders, service providers, field investigators and community reps, as well as proper maintenance and security of all facilities and equipment.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:
- Hosting international and local education groups at Tobacco Caye Marine Station.
- Providing lectures and lab workshops on marine science topics with question and answer periods.
- Leading snorkel excursions with large groups, identifying corals, fish and other marine species, primarily in coral reef, mangrove and seagrass habitats
- Teach and conduct scientific sampling techniques in the field
- To manage and support volunteers/interns/research assistants in all aspects of their participation of the stations projects and activities
- To develop and implement funding proposals for new projects, research and grants for further development on the stations facilities
- Produce reports as required by funding organizations
- Liaising with governmental, national and international departments and organizations
- Daily managing of the station – administration, finances and budgets, maintenance of solar and lab equipment, update the website, newsletters and promotional material
- Facilitate and assist independent scientists with their research

Terms and Conditions

GET MOVING!  Application Close Date: March 2, 2012.
Start Date: 15 April 2012 (flexible)
Room/board: temporary accommodation and food provided for training period, followed by long-term arrangement once current position holder departs
Travel and per diem: provided by applicant
Insurance: provided by applicant
Salary: weekly stipend based on experience, plus possible incentives

Job Specifications
Essential Skills :
- Good standing BSc or higher in Marine Environmental/Biological Sciences or other related discipline.
- Excellent swimming/snorkeling capabilities
- Working knowledge of Tropical Reef Systems and associated habitats
- First Aid Qualification
- Experience teaching or leading large groups
- Ability to learn and identify Caribbean reef organisms
- Business administration experience
- Project management experience
- Good understanding of current environmental and conservation issues
- Have good organisational and interpersonal skills, and ability to work in a team and independently, both in the field and in the office
- Excellent written/oral communication and presentation skills

Highly Desirable Skills:
- MSc/PhD with a focus on Marine Science
- Professionally trained Open Water SCUBA Diver or higher
- Post-secondary qualification with Tropical Reef Systems
- Experience teaching/leading a variety of age groups (Elementary school – University)
- Experience living in a developing country
- Grant-writing experience
- Willing to accommodate flexible working hours
- Experience of working with Governmental Departments and NGOs

Qualified applicants are encouraged to send a C.V. with cover letter addressed to Donald Killorn, Station Manager, info@tcmsbelize.org. Applicants should indicate their availability, as well as include three references with current contact details. Only those chosen for an interview will be contacted. For more information on the Tobacco Caye Marine Station, visit: www.tcmsbelize.org.

Thanks for your help! Check out more of Jack’s fantastic photos HERE.

According to our biological mantra, any energy spent either finding, courting and or fornicating with a member of the opposite sex is only justified if such an act is a bona fide attempt at spreading one’s genetic blueprints.  Where’s the fun in that?  Homo sapiens males engage in copious amounts of sex without the thought of reproduction, and actively seek out partners that are sexually sterilized (see ‘Yes I’m on the pill’) in order to engage in it without the ‘worry’ of the potential side-effects (i.e. offspring).  Biologists generally assume that most other boys in the animal kingdom are much more asute than this when it comes to leaving your share of genes in the pool for subsequent generations.  Indiscriminate sex should be a rare occurrence due to the fact that energy is wasted on dead-end sex as opposed to being ... Read More »]]>

According to our biological mantra, any energy spent either finding, courting and or fornicating with a member of the opposite sex is only justified if such an act is a bona fide attempt at spreading one’s genetic blueprints.  Where’s the fun in that?  Homo sapiens males engage in copious amounts of sex without the thought of reproduction, and actively seek out partners that are sexually sterilized (see ‘Yes I’m on the pill’) in order to engage in it without the ‘worry’ of the potential side-effects (i.e. offspring).  Biologists generally assume that most other boys in the animal kingdom are much more asute than this when it comes to leaving your share of genes in the pool for subsequent generations.  Indiscriminate sex should be a rare occurrence due to the fact that energy is wasted on dead-end sex as opposed to being used for other forms of survival (e.g. food gathering or avoiding predators) or reproduction (e.g. courting a viable mate or creating a favorable environment in order to attract one).  However, there are always exceptions…and like the human male, there are others who do not necessarily wait for Ms. Right to come along before attempting sexual relations.  Animal species that live in both sexual and asexual forms present an interesting conundrum when it comes to mate selection.  Females are generally the gender with both sexual and asexual morphs, leaving the males to determine where his sperm will be most usefully spent.  However, many are incapable of discriminating between sexually competent or sterile females, meaning that human males aren’t the only ones to discard sperm without regard for its future…

 The New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) is a lake-dwelling mollusc whose females can be either sexually reproducing (requiring male ‘input’ for successful embryo production), or asexually reproducing (clonally reproducing without sexual activity).  Further, many native populations of this organism are infected with a parasitic trematode that causes castration (sterilization) in females.  Hence, males in these populations have several factors acting against their sexual success, leaving them in quite a conundrum when it comes to allocating energy to reproduction.  One might imagine that the powers of evolution would have dealt these poor fellas a little help in the mate-discrimination department; however, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  Mate choice experiments in which males were given a choice of either a) sexual vs asexual females OR b) healthy vs castrated females revealed that they don’t do a whole lot of discriminating¹.  Males showed no preferance for viable over non-viable females, appearing instead to simply attempt copulation with whichever females they could find.  In this species the average copulation event lasts approximately 2 hours, during which both the male and the female involved in the act are relatively immobilized…leaving them more susceptible to predation.  Conclusion: a copulation event represents a fairly large cost to a male if he is mating with an asexual or a sterilized female.  So would he do it?  Although the possibility exists that there may be an even larger cost to a male (in terms of time and energy lost) if he were to attempt to discriminate between fertile and sterile females, the scientists conducing this study surmise that at some level the male mud snails are engaging in behavior that is simply not contributing positively to their biological fitness in any way¹.

Rotifers are tiny freshwater-dwelling organisms that also have two distinct female forms:  sexual and asexual.  Akin to the mud snail and the human, there are no clear physical differences between sexual and asexual females; although those females that are sexual must be fertilized when they are at a very early age (they are no longer fertile after 9-20 hours of life²).  Male rotifers show a distinct preference for fertilizing very young females (2-3 hours old) which slightly improves the liklihood of fertilizing a sexual female, although they do not specifically discriminate between sexual and asexual individuals³.  Why don’t the males preferentially select females with the capability to propagate their genetic lineages?  They have a short lifespan (approximately 48 hours) and a large-enough supply of sperm so as not to become completely tapped out during this short time (it takes a total of about 13 copulations for him to be spent), drastically decreasing the need to discern between sexual and asexual females.  If he had a lower amount of sperm to work with, it may lead to increased selection pressure to find the right girl rather than any girl.

As these examples show, if males cannot distinguish between fertile and sterile females, several of his sexual conquests may be in vain.  This could mean big trouble if you are a rotifer or a mud snail: reproduction is as important as survival to any particular individual, and if the chances to do so are impaired then biological fitness is automatically lowered.  So where does that leave the Homo sapien?  Far from the priorities of our cousins in the animal kingdom, many of ours (with respect to reproduction anyway) have been altered in order to minimize biological fitness.  Human males, unlike their snail and rotifer counterparts, actually seek out sterility in a potential partner….and for good reason: could you imagine if each of your own sexual conquests had resulted in offspring?  You might have the highest biological fitness of all of your friends, but to the Homo sapien this situation would be far from optimal.

¹Neiman, M. and Lively, C.M. 2005. Male New Zealand mud snails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) persist in copulating with asexual and parasitically castrated females.  American Midland Naturalist 154: 88-96.

²Snell, T.W. and Childress, M. 1987. Aging and loss of fertility in male and female Brachionus plicatilis (Rotifera). International Journal of Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 12: 103-110.

³Gomez, A. and Serra, M. 1996. Mate choice in male Brachionus pllicatilis Rotifers. Functional Ecology 10: 681-687.

The position will be based in Makokou (NE Gabon), but extensive periods will be spent in the field.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing field surveys, and coordination of research projects, staff management, data analysis and communication.

Qualifications:  A postgraduate degree in ... Read More »]]> The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is looking for a full time scientist for their great ape and forest elephant program in Gabon.  The ZSL has been working in Gabon since 2001 and has recently started a landscape wide great ape and forest elephant conservation programme in the Djoua-Zadie-Mwagna (DZM) area in the north east of the country.  Therefore, a priority over the next 12 months is to gain an up-to-date knowledge on the status and distribution of populations, and characterize the threats facing them.  This work will be important for development of a long term strategy for conservation.

The position will be based in Makokou (NE Gabon), but extensive periods will be spent in the field.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing field surveys, and coordination of research projects, staff management, data analysis and communication.

Qualifications:  A postgraduate degree in conservation science, ecology or a related discipline.  Strong research and analytical background is preferred, as is experience in field-based population surveys.  You should have an understanding of tropical forest conservation issues, excellent communication skills and speak both french and english.

Salary:  Starts at £20,576-£24,037, plus benefits and travel expenses.  Position is to start as soon as possible.

How to Apply:  Send your CV and cover letter detailing relevant experience and skills to ZSL’s HR department (hr@zsl.org) by January 22, 2012.  For more information please see the ZSL website.

Courses focus on hands-on study of various topics, and they combine classroom learning, practical application of skills, labs and field survey techniques, along with cultural activities, service learning and adventure activities.  In addition to instructional duties you will be expected to live with the students and facilitate positive group dynamics, personal growth and development of leadership.

Qualifications:

A Master’s or PhD in a related field of study, experience teaching natural science at the ... Read More »]]>

Image via gobroadreach.com

This week’s cool biology job is actually a whole suite of seasonal teaching positions for the Broadreach Adventure Programs.  They are looking for instructors for college level courses in tropical marine biology, temperate marine mammal studies, primatology, shark ecology, nature photography and many more.  Courses are between 1 and 5 weeks, and they take place at various locations around the globe including Fiji, the Caribbean, South Africa and British Columbia.

Courses focus on hands-on study of various topics, and they combine classroom learning, practical application of skills, labs and field survey techniques, along with cultural activities, service learning and adventure activities.  In addition to instructional duties you will be expected to live with the students and facilitate positive group dynamics, personal growth and development of leadership.

Image via www.gobroadreach.com

Qualifications:

A Master’s or PhD in a related field of study, experience teaching natural science at the high school or college level, international travel and trip leading experience is preferred, as is experience with the specific activities related to each particular program (eg hiking, sea kayaking, snorkelling).

To Apply, or for more information contact:

Sara:  staffinquiry@gobroadreach.com

You apply directly on their website: www.broadreachstaff.com