Ocean sunfish often swim near the surface, and their protruding dorsal fins are sometimes mistaken for those of sharks. However, it is possible to distinguish a shark from a sunfish, by observing the trajectory made by the dorsal fin on the surface, while the fish itself moves underwater and remains unseen. Sharks, like most fish, swim by waving the tail sideways while keeping the dorsal fin moving in a straight line. The sunfish, on the other hand, swings its dorsal fin and anal fin in its characteristic sculling motion. Thus, the sideways movement of the dorsal fin on the surface can be used to identify the sunfish.
Skin
Adult sunfish range from brown to silvery-gray or white, with a variety of mottled skin patterns; some of these patterns may be region-specific. Colouration is often darker on the dorsal surface, fading to a lighter shade ventrally as a form of counter-shading camouflage. Mola mola also exhibits the ability to vary skin colouration from light to dark, especially when under attack. The skin, which contains large amounts of reticulated collagen, can be up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick on the ventral surface, and is covered by denticles and a layer of mucus instead of scales. The skin on the clavus is smoother than that on the body, where it can be as rough as sandpaper.
More than 40 species of parasites may reside on the skin and internally, motivating the fish to seek relief in a number of ways. In temperate regions, drifting kelp fields harbour cleaner wrasses and other fish which remove parasites from the skin of visiting sunfish. In the tropics, the mola will solicit cleaner help from reef fishes. By basking on its side at the surface, the sunfish also allows seabirds to feed on parasites from their skin. Sunfish have been reported to breach more than ten feet above the surface, possibly as another effort to dislodge parasites on the body.
Range and behaviour
Ocean sunfish are native to the temperate and tropical waters of every ocean in the world. Mola genotypes appear to vary widely between the Atlantic and Pacific, but genetic differences between individuals in the northern and southern hemispheres are minimal.
Sunfish are pelagic and swim at depths of up to 600 meters (2,000 ft). Contrary to the general perception that sunfish spend much of their time basking at the surface, research suggests that adult M. mola actually spend a large portion of their lives submerged at depths greater than 200 meters (700 ft), occupying both the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones.
They usually stay in water warmer than 10 °C (50 °F). In fact, prolonged periods spent in water at temperatures of 12 °C (53 °F) or lower can lead to disorientation and eventual death. Researchers theorize that the basking behaviour at the surface, in which the sunfish swims on its side presenting its largest profile to the sun, may be a method of "thermally recharging" following dives into deeper, colder water. Others point to sightings of the fish in colder waters such as those southwest of England outside of its usual habitat as evidence of increasing marine temperatures.
Sunfish are usually found alone, but occasionally in pairs or in large groups while being cleaned. They swim primarily in open waters, but are sometimes seen near kelp beds taking advantage of resident populations of smaller fish which remove ectoparasites from their skin. Because sunfish must consume a large volume of prey, their presence in a given area may be used as an indicator of nutrient-rich waters where endangered species may be found.
Feeding
The diet of the ocean sunfish consists primarily of various jellyfish (similar to the diet of a leatherback turtle). Additionally, it consumes salps, comb jellies, zooplankton, squid, crustaceans, small fishes, fish larvae, and eel grass. This diet is nutritionally poor, forcing the sunfish to consume large amount of food to maintain its size. The range of food items found inside sunfish indicates that the sunfish feeds at many levels, from the surface to deep water, and occasionally down to the seafloor in some areas.
The sunfish can spit out and pull in water through its small mouth to tear apart soft-bodied prey. Its teeth are fused into a beak-like structure, allowing it to break up harder organisms. In addition, pharyngeal teeth located in the throat grind food into smaller pieces before passing them to the stomach.
Life cycle
Ocean sunfish may live up to ten years in captivity, but their lifespan in a natural habitat has not yet been determined. Their growth rate is also indeterminate. However, it is known that a young specimen at the Monterey Bay Aquarium increased in weight from 26 kg (57 lb) to 399 kg (880 lb) and reached a height of nearly 1.8 m (6 ft) in fifteen months.
The sheer size and thick skin of an adult of the species deters many smaller predators, but younger individuals are vulnerable to predation by bluefin tuna and mahi mahi. Adults are consumed by sea lions, orcas and sharks. Sea lions appear to hunt sunfish for sport, tearing the fins off, tossing the body around, and then simply abandoning the still-living but helpless fish to die on the seafloor.
The mating practices of the ocean sunfish are poorly understood, but spawning areas have been suggested in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Females can produce as many as 300 million eggs at a time, more than any other known vertebrate. Sunfish eggs are released into the water and externally fertilized by sperm.
Newly-hatched sunfish larvae are only 2.5 mm (one-tenth of an inch) long. They grow to become fry, and those which survive grow many millions of times their original size before reaching adult proportions. Sunfish fry, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish, resemble miniature pufferfish, their close relatives. Young sunfish school for protection, but this behaviour is abandoned as they grow.
Human interaction
Despite their size, ocean sunfish are docile, and pose no threat to human divers. Injuries from sunfish are rare, although there is a slight danger from large sunfish leaping out of the water onto boats. According to Cliff Benson of Sea Trust, the only known case of a sunfish killing a person was when it landed on someone and crushed him. Areas where they are commonly found are popular destinations for sport dives, and sunfish at some locations have reportedly become familiar with divers. In fact, the fish is more threatening to boaters than swimmers, as its immense size and weight can cause significant damage when struck by watercraft. Collisions with sunfish are very common in some parts of the world and may cause damage to the hull of a boat, and their bodies can become lodged in the propellers of larger ships..
A dish made with the meat of the ocean sunfish
A dish made with the meat of the ocean sunfish
The meat of the ocean sunfish is considered a delicacy in some regions, the largest markets being Taiwan and Japan. All parts of the sunfish are used in cuisine, from the fins to the internal organs. Some parts of the fish are used in some areas of traditional medicine.
Sunfish are accidentally but frequently caught in drift gillnet fisheries, making up nearly 30% of the total catch of the swordfish fishery employing drift gillnet in California. The by-catch rate is even higher for the Mediterranean swordfish industry, with 71% to 90% of the total catch being sunfish.
The fishery by-catch and destruction of ocean sunfish are unregulated worldwide. In some areas, the fish are "finned" by fishermen who regard them as worthless bait thieves. This process, in which the fins are cut off, results in the eventual death of the fish, because it can no longer propel itself without its dorsal and anal fins. The species is also threatened by floating litter such as plastic bags which resemble jellyfish, its main diet. Bags can choke and suffocate an individual or fill its stomach to the extent that it starves.
Many areas of sunfish biology remain poorly understood, and various research efforts are underway, including aerial surveys of mola populations, satellite surveillance using pop-off satellite tags, genetic analysis of tissue samples, and collection of amateur sighting data. Recent studies indicate a decrease in sunfish populations that may be caused by more frequent bycatch and the increasing popularity of sunfish in human diet.
Sunfish in captivity
Sunfish are not widely held in aquarium exhibits, due to the unique and demanding requirements of their care. Some Asian aquariums display them, particularly in Japan. The Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka, Japan, is one of few aquariums with mola on display, where it is reportedly as popular an attraction as the larger whale sharks. The Lisbon Oceanarium in Portugal is another aquarium where sunfish are showcased in the main tank.
The first ocean sunfish to be held in an aquarium in the United States arrived at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in August of 1986. Because sunfish had not been kept in captivity on a large scale before, the staff at Monterey Bay were forced to innovate and create their own methods for capture, feeding, and parasite control. By 1998, these issues were overcome, and the aquarium was able to hold a specimen for more than a year, later releasing it after its weight increased by more than fourteen times. Mola mola have since become a permanent feature of the Outer Bay exhibit. Monterey Bay Aquarium's largest sunfish specimen was euthanized on February 14, 2008 after an extended period of poor health.
As the ocean sunfish is not highly maneuverable, preventing specimens from injuring themselves by rubbing against the walls of a tank is of major concern to aquarists. In a smaller tank, hanging a vinyl curtain has been used as a stopgap measure to convert a cuboid tank to a rounded shape and prevent the fish from scraping against the sides. A more effective solution is simply to provide enough room for the sunfish to swim in wide circles. The tank must also be sufficiently deep to accommodate the vertical height of the sunfish, which can be nearly as tall as it is long, and may reach a height of 3.2 meters (10.5 ft).
Feeding captive sunfish in a tank with other faster-moving, more aggressive fish can also present a challenge. Eventually, the fish can be taught to feed from the end of a pole or from human hands.
artikel asli dapat dibaca penuh di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish
Jumat, 25 Juli 2008
Kamis, 24 Juli 2008
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional form of stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of comforting children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become expensive collector's items. Teddy bear collectors are known as arctophiles from the Greek words 'arcto' (bear) and 'philos' (lover).
History
The name Teddy Bear comes from one of American President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trips to Mississippi. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already shot something. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied to a willow tree an American Black Bear after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested he shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.
A Brooklyn store owner, Morris Michtom, saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear." The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., which still exists today.
At the same time, in Germany the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs. They exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903 and exported 3000 to the United States.
By 1906 manufacturers other than Michtom and Steiff had joined in and the craze for Teddy Bears was such that ladies carried them everywhere, children were photographed with them, and Roosevelt used one as a mascot in his bid for re-election.
American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while composer John Bratton wrote "The Teddy Bear Two Step" music which with Jimmy Kennedy's lyrics became the song "The Teddy Bears' Picnic".
Legend
While the Mississippi history is fact, another legend of how the teddy bear got its name comes from the American state of Colorado.
In 1905, the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, became the temporary home for the President of the United States and his assistants during a three-week bear hunting expedition. Roosevelt stayed at the Hotel Colorado on multiple occasions after this.
According to the hotel, maids gave a stuffed bear pieced together with scraps of material to Theodore Roosevelt after an unsuccessful day of hunting to cheer him up. Later, when he did kill a bear, his teenage daughter Alice admired it saying, "I will call it Teddy."
Types of teddy bears
Commercially made, mass-produced teddy bears are predominantly made as toys for children. These bears have safety joints for attaching arms legs and heads. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose a choking hazard for small children. These "plush" bears must meet a rigid standard of construction in order to be marketed to children in the United States and in the European Union.
There are also companies that sell handmade collectible bears that can be purchased in stores or over the Internet. Some examples of such companies are Steiff.
Mohair, the fur shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats, is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed to produce a fascinating choice for any artist's palette. Alpaca teddy bears are made from the pelt of an alpaca because the fiber is too soft to weave. In addition to mohair and alpaca, there is a huge selection of "plush" or synthetic fur made for the teddy bear market. Both these types of fur are commercially produced.
Some teddy bear artists specialize in the production of bears made from recycled materials. These artists hunt thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales and trash collection centers as well as their own and their families' basements and attics in search of forgotten treasures to be turned into a collector's dream. Old quilts, dresses, fur collars, coats and stoles as well as beaded bags and garments are quickly transformed into stunning teddy bears.
Some other teddy bear artists specialize in crochet bears made out of thread. They are called Thread Crochet Bears. For these bears artists do not use fabric; they make the fabric crocheting and at the same time make the bear. Thread Crochet Bears are fully jointed, miniature bears. Some are even micro, less than 2 inches tall. Thread crochet bears may be made out of crochet cotton thread, Perle cotton thread, Mohair thread, Punch thread, some thin fancy yarn, like eyelash, or any other fiber that can be.
Today
Teddy bears have seen a resurgence in popularity as national "do it yourself" chains have opened. Among the largest and best known are Build-A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy Bear Company with the former being mostly in malls where you go in and actually piece together your own teddy bear including its accessories such as shirts, pants, shoes, hats, glasses, etc.
Museums
The world's first Teddy Bear Museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. This was closed in 2005, and the bears sold by auction.
artikel asli dapat dibaca penuh di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear
History
The name Teddy Bear comes from one of American President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trips to Mississippi. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already shot something. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied to a willow tree an American Black Bear after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested he shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.
A Brooklyn store owner, Morris Michtom, saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear." The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., which still exists today.
At the same time, in Germany the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs. They exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903 and exported 3000 to the United States.
By 1906 manufacturers other than Michtom and Steiff had joined in and the craze for Teddy Bears was such that ladies carried them everywhere, children were photographed with them, and Roosevelt used one as a mascot in his bid for re-election.
American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while composer John Bratton wrote "The Teddy Bear Two Step" music which with Jimmy Kennedy's lyrics became the song "The Teddy Bears' Picnic".
Legend
While the Mississippi history is fact, another legend of how the teddy bear got its name comes from the American state of Colorado.
In 1905, the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, became the temporary home for the President of the United States and his assistants during a three-week bear hunting expedition. Roosevelt stayed at the Hotel Colorado on multiple occasions after this.
According to the hotel, maids gave a stuffed bear pieced together with scraps of material to Theodore Roosevelt after an unsuccessful day of hunting to cheer him up. Later, when he did kill a bear, his teenage daughter Alice admired it saying, "I will call it Teddy."
Types of teddy bears
Commercially made, mass-produced teddy bears are predominantly made as toys for children. These bears have safety joints for attaching arms legs and heads. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose a choking hazard for small children. These "plush" bears must meet a rigid standard of construction in order to be marketed to children in the United States and in the European Union.
There are also companies that sell handmade collectible bears that can be purchased in stores or over the Internet. Some examples of such companies are Steiff.
Mohair, the fur shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats, is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed to produce a fascinating choice for any artist's palette. Alpaca teddy bears are made from the pelt of an alpaca because the fiber is too soft to weave. In addition to mohair and alpaca, there is a huge selection of "plush" or synthetic fur made for the teddy bear market. Both these types of fur are commercially produced.
Some teddy bear artists specialize in the production of bears made from recycled materials. These artists hunt thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales and trash collection centers as well as their own and their families' basements and attics in search of forgotten treasures to be turned into a collector's dream. Old quilts, dresses, fur collars, coats and stoles as well as beaded bags and garments are quickly transformed into stunning teddy bears.
Some other teddy bear artists specialize in crochet bears made out of thread. They are called Thread Crochet Bears. For these bears artists do not use fabric; they make the fabric crocheting and at the same time make the bear. Thread Crochet Bears are fully jointed, miniature bears. Some are even micro, less than 2 inches tall. Thread crochet bears may be made out of crochet cotton thread, Perle cotton thread, Mohair thread, Punch thread, some thin fancy yarn, like eyelash, or any other fiber that can be.
Today
Teddy bears have seen a resurgence in popularity as national "do it yourself" chains have opened. Among the largest and best known are Build-A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy Bear Company with the former being mostly in malls where you go in and actually piece together your own teddy bear including its accessories such as shirts, pants, shoes, hats, glasses, etc.
Museums
The world's first Teddy Bear Museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. This was closed in 2005, and the bears sold by auction.
artikel asli dapat dibaca penuh di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear
Google Trends
Google Trends is a tool from Google Labs that shows the most popularly searched terms from the beginning of 2004 to now.
Google Trends charts how often a particular search term is entered relative the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages. The horizontal axis of the main graph represents time (starting from some time in 2004), and the vertical is how often a term is searched for relative to the total number of searches, globally. Below the main graph, popularity is broken down by region, city and language. It is possible to refine the main graph by region and time period.
Google Trends also allows the user to compare the volume of searches between two or more terms. An additional feature of Google Trends is in its ability to show news related to the search term overlaid on the chart showing how new events affect search popularity.
Interestingly, there are some search keywords that are quite seasonal, like summer camps, which strongly coincides with the end of the United States school year. Another example is the increase of interest in skin cancer as the northern summer approaches. However, the reason for seasonal variation is not always obvious. For example, searches for Mesopotamia peak at the end of September.
There are also some search keywords that come up around a certain date each year. For example, searches for the Internal Revenue Service peak on April 15, the deadline for filing taxes in the United States. Another example is Thanksgiving. Most searches also seem to have some anomaly before or after Christmas each year, even terms that one would not particularly associate with the season.
Originally, Google neglected updating Google Trends on a regular basis. In March 2007, internet bloggers noticed that Google had not added new data since November 2006, and Trends was updated within a week. Google did not update Trends from March until July 30, and only after it was blogged about, again. Google now claims to be "updating the information provided by Google Trends daily; Hot Trends is updated hourly."
Google Hot Trends
Google Hot Trends is a fairly recent (since May 15, 2007) addition to Google Trends which displays the top 100 hot searches of the past hour. It provides a 24-hour search volume graph as well as blog, news and web search results for the terms. Hot Trends has a history feature for those wishing to browse past hot searches. Hot Trends can be installed as a iGoogle Gadget. Hot Trends is also available as an hourly Atom web feed.
Google Music Trends
Google Music Trends was an opt-in service that displayed the music most listened to by users of Google Talk, in the form of the 'Week's top songs'. Trends could also be filtered by Genre and Countries.
Google Music Trends was shut down on March 31, 2008.
artikel asli dapat dibaca penuh di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Trends
Google Trends charts how often a particular search term is entered relative the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages. The horizontal axis of the main graph represents time (starting from some time in 2004), and the vertical is how often a term is searched for relative to the total number of searches, globally. Below the main graph, popularity is broken down by region, city and language. It is possible to refine the main graph by region and time period.
Google Trends also allows the user to compare the volume of searches between two or more terms. An additional feature of Google Trends is in its ability to show news related to the search term overlaid on the chart showing how new events affect search popularity.
Interestingly, there are some search keywords that are quite seasonal, like summer camps, which strongly coincides with the end of the United States school year. Another example is the increase of interest in skin cancer as the northern summer approaches. However, the reason for seasonal variation is not always obvious. For example, searches for Mesopotamia peak at the end of September.
There are also some search keywords that come up around a certain date each year. For example, searches for the Internal Revenue Service peak on April 15, the deadline for filing taxes in the United States. Another example is Thanksgiving. Most searches also seem to have some anomaly before or after Christmas each year, even terms that one would not particularly associate with the season.
Originally, Google neglected updating Google Trends on a regular basis. In March 2007, internet bloggers noticed that Google had not added new data since November 2006, and Trends was updated within a week. Google did not update Trends from March until July 30, and only after it was blogged about, again. Google now claims to be "updating the information provided by Google Trends daily; Hot Trends is updated hourly."
Google Hot Trends
Google Hot Trends is a fairly recent (since May 15, 2007) addition to Google Trends which displays the top 100 hot searches of the past hour. It provides a 24-hour search volume graph as well as blog, news and web search results for the terms. Hot Trends has a history feature for those wishing to browse past hot searches. Hot Trends can be installed as a iGoogle Gadget. Hot Trends is also available as an hourly Atom web feed.
Google Music Trends
Google Music Trends was an opt-in service that displayed the music most listened to by users of Google Talk, in the form of the 'Week's top songs'. Trends could also be filtered by Genre and Countries.
Google Music Trends was shut down on March 31, 2008.
artikel asli dapat dibaca penuh di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Trends
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