The Marine Science Institute's monthly column, Science and the SeaTM, is an informative and entertaining article that explains many interesting features of the marine environment and the creatures that live there. Science and the SeaTM articles appear monthly in one of Texas' most widely read fishing magazines, Texas Saltwater Fishing, the Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper, the Flour Bluff News, and the Island Moon newspaper. Our article archive is available also on our website.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch — the five senses that serve humans well. But still we dream of a sixth sense that might allow us to predict the future, read minds, or even see the dead.
Fishes are not limited to just these five senses. Among their “extra” senses is the ability to detect very small water movements.
Imagine trying to adapt to life on Mars. One might think this would be a difficult feat. Physiologically, a fish being able to live in both fresh and salt water may be just as difficult! This is because saltwater and freshwater environments present very different challenges to fishes due to two related processes: osmosis and diffusion.
The “golden shadow from the lagoon” has returned to the Texas coast. Though not as well publicized as the fabled Loch Ness monster, this mysterious life form has plagued our coastal bays for more than a decade.
The “golden shadow” actually refers to the microscopic plant Aureoumbra lagunensis. This single-celled, golden-brown plant can reproduce so rapidly that it changes the color of the water and such blooms are commonly referred to as brown tide.
Read Science and the SeaTM every month in these publications.
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