Skip to content

Hannah Rudd

Scientist | Writer | Ocean Advocate

Month: July 2017

July 14, 2017July 4, 2018

Cabo Verde: Beyond the Beach

Continue reading →

July 7, 2017July 4, 2018

What Do You Know About Marine Algae?

Continue reading →

Menu

Home
About Hannah
Blog
Eco-Friendly Products
Publications
Resources
Contact

Follow Me

Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Follow Hannah Rudd on WordPress.com

Instagram

Still one of my favourite views 😍 I’m currently training to run my first 5K in September in York for @mcs_uk 💁🏼‍♀️ it’s going to be a long road though... I started getting back into fitness pre-rugby season so I don’t die too much when we first start training later in the year - I’ve never played rugby before, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to give a go, so I thought I’d try it out during my Masters. So far it’s going well, but the 1 long-distance running session I have once a week is definitely a KILLER.. - Onwards and upwards though. Running along a beach the past few days has definitely been better than the fields I’m used to at home 😂💚

It’s almost the weekend!!! Let’s look at the Ocean Sunfish for #FishFactFriday first though… 🐟 Ocean sunfish (Mola mola), typically weigh up to 1,000kg and can be as tall as they are long. The largest specimen found weighed 2,300kg, which is as heavy as some 4x4 vehicles. 🐟 Its enormous mass makes the ocean sunfish the heaviest bony fish on our planet!. 🐟 The ocean sunfish gets its name from a behaviour where it basks in the sun at the waters surface. Ocean sunfish are ectothermic (cold-blooded), so rely on the solar energy of the sun to warm their body temperature before they dive into the chilly depths of up-to 2,000ft. 🐟 A mola mola can produce up-to 300 million eggs in one reproductive cycle!! Once they are hatched, they put on approximately 2lbs of weight each day, growing by roughly 60 million times their original size. 🐟 Surprisingly, ocean sunfish are related to bass – largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, and black bass are all members of the sunfish family! Generally, bass eat smaller members of the sunfish family – like the bluegill sunfish! - - Our marine life desperately needs your help. You can help them out by pledging to #GOPlasticFree or reduce your consumption this July, in association with the @mcsorg, @skyoceanrescue @plasticfreejuly! Sign up now on the Marine Conservation Society’s website – www.mcsuk.org. (Photograph – Hiroya Minakuchi, Minden Pictures/National Geographic Creative).

As it’s the start of July, today’s #ThreatThursday will focus on #plastic pollution. If you haven’t already signed up to #GOPlasticFree with @mcs_uk’s #plasticfreeJuly, hopefully these facts will convince you to do what you can to reduce your usage of single-use plastics: 💔 Over the last 10 years, we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the 20th century. 💔 Roughly 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans annually – this is like emptying a rubbish truck full of plastic into the ocean… EVERY. MINUTE. 💔 There is more microplastic in the ocean that there are stars in the Milky Way - the micro pieces of a one litre bottle could reach every beach on the planet.. 💔 60-90% of marine litter is plastic-based – there are approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile in the ocean.. 💔 46% of plastics float (EPA 2006), meaning they can drift for years before they concentrate in ocean gyres. 💔 44% of seabird species, 22% of cetaceans, all turtle species and an expanding list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies. - - Thanks to @ecowatch where I sourced all this information. Please check out their post (https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html) for more shocking facts about plastic pollution in our oceans. (Photograph – Vince Cinches).

Happy #WhalesOnWednesday everyone. It’s the middle of the week which means it’s time for some facts about the Humpback Whale… 🐳 Humpback whales are a species of baleen whale, belonging to the same family of whales as the blue whale, fin whale, Bryde’s whale, sei whale and minke whale. Adults range from 12m – 16m in length and can weigh between 25-30 metric tons.. 🐳 Humpback whales sing complex songs, with each population singing its own unique song that can last for hours. Humpbacks are a great example of transmission of a cultural trait and social learning in a non-human animal (Garland et al., 2017). Scientists are currently decoding the meaning of these songs, but it is most likely that humpbacks sing to communicate with others and to attract potential mates.. 🐳 Humpbacks engage in breaching behaviour. During this, they use their tail fin (fluke) to propel themselves completely out of the water. Scientists are unsure whether breaching behaviour serves a purpose, like cleaning pests from their skin, or whether the whales do it for fun. 🐳 Humpbacks migrate annually from the summer feeding grounds near the poles to warmer winter breeding waters close to the equator.. 🐳 Humpbacks that feed within the Antarctic Peninsula are more likely to migrate to the waters between northern Peru and Colombia, while those that feed at the Fuegian Archipelago are likely to migrate to the breeding ground off Panama (Acevedo et al., 2017). - - Our marine life desperately needs your help. You can help them out by pledging to #GOPlasticFree or reduce your consumption this July, in association with the @mcsorg. Sign up now on their website – www.mcsuk.org. (Photograph - Monterey Bay Aquarium).

It’s a beautiful #TurtleTuesday morning to look at the wonderful leatherback turtle… 🐢 The Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest sea turtle in the world, reaching weights of up to 2,000lbs and up to 7ft in length. 🐢 Leatherbacks embark on the longest migrations between breeding and feeding areas of any sea turtle, averaging 3,700 miles each way.. 🐢 Leatherbacks have the most extensive global distribution of all reptile species, and potentially of any vertebrate. Adults have been found as far north as Canada and Norway, and as far south as New Zealand and South America. 🐢 Leatherbacks are adapted to sustain warm body temperatures within cold water. These adaptions include a thick layer of fat, large body size and changes in swimming activity and blood flow.. 🐢 Like other turtle species, many leatherbacks have a lower life expectancy due to anthropogenic activity – approximately 1 in 1000 leatherback hatchlings are expected to survive to adulthood. Threats include ingesting plastic debris, egg harvesting, or being caught in fishing lines and nets. -. Our marine life desperately needs your help. You can help them out – especially our sea turtle friends – by pledging to #GOPlasticFree or reduce your consumption this July, in association with the @mcsorg. Sign up now on their website – www.mcsuk.org.. (Photo - I do not own this image and could not find a credit online).

For the return of #MarineMonday, we’re going to be looking at something a little bit different Beachy Head East is a recommended Marine Conservation Zone (rMCZ), but with your help we can make this official. Here’s a quick few facts about the importance of conserving this area: 🌊 The proposed area is roughly 192 km2 making it the largest protected inshore marine conservation zone (MCZ) in Sussex, and therefore contributing massively to the MCZ network we have here in Britain. 🌊 Beachy Head East is home to unique ecology, including fragile chalk and sandstone reef systems. Underwater chalk reefs, like those found at Beachy Head East, are rare in Europe. It also provides valuable habitat for both threatened and declining species, like the short-snouted seahorse and the tube-building ross worm. 🌊 Beachy Head East also provides vital feeding grounds for important species like plaice and Dover sole, as well as being potential spawning beds for herring. 🌊 Two marine sites of Nature Conservation Importance – the Royal Sovereign Shoals and the Horse of Willingdon Reef – are located at Beachy Head East. 🌊 As well as ecological significance, Beachy Head East also possesses great cultural value. Historic ship wrecks and cretaceous vessels can be found within the waters, and it has been fished by local fishermen for generations. A plethora of people enjoy these waters, like divers, rock poolers, tourists and conservationists; providing another reason to protect these waters for generations to come. (Photo – Marine Conservation Society)

Dive Into The Archive

July 2018
June 2018
April 2018
December 2017
November 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017

Our Top 5

Keep Up With Me On Twitter

Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Gravatar
LinkedIn
About Hannah

Blog at WordPress.com.