news and messages
NDR 1 Welle Nord: TaMOs feature
On Thursday, 05.03.09, Andreas Czerniak, Matthias Schaber and Dirk Fleischer were interviewed at Falckenstein beach. Jens Zacharias (NDR) met the TaMOs-team on late afternoon on the Beach for a feature broadcasted on Sunday, 07.03.09, on NDR 1 Welle Nord.
TaMOs diver also active during the holidays
Our divers do go diving during the holidays. It is self evident that the winter time is not the nicest season for divers, but there are reasons for a dive in 5 to 6° Celsisus cold water. This time it was a small cnidarian, that can only be found at a single place in the Kiel fjord.
GPS-loggers make life easier
Since we invented the method of profiling dives we knew that conducting such a dive is a loss of freedom to the diving team. We also knew that horizontal distance is a very important parameter but it hard to measure under water. Up to now we used a workaround. We estimated the distance from the diving time, but this is very imprecise. Now we have approved a new method, which we consider the perfect agreement between a free dive plan and useable data. GPS-Loggers are the magic solution.
TaMOs-Seminar announcement in the biggest german diving journal 'tauchen'
The TaMOs seminar dates of the 11./12. october were also published in the october issue of the journal 'tauchen'
Galarie opened up
For a long time we have neglected our picture galary and stored their by fare not enough pictures. This has been changed now. A lot of friends and participants supported us and provided pictures. The diverstiy of motifs is as large as in the Baltic Sea - sometimes we have close ups of single individuals and sometimes its more like a landscape. We will enlarge this galary from now on.
TaMOs funded by BINGO! the Project support
It can be seen from fare: TaMOs has gained a new logo on its website. 'Gaining' is the right term. A proposal from the BUND-SH has been approved by the BINGO!-Project support of Schleswig-Holstein. We are delighted about this funding and we will start right away to create new teaching materials and flyer for our seminars.
Little lumpfishes at Strande beach in the Kiel Fjord
In the beginning of autumn little lumpfishes can with a little luck be found in the shallow areas of the western Baltic. We found Cyclopterus lumpus at the beach between Strande and Schilksee. These often very diversely coloured fellows are quite nice to look at. The clumsy body is hard to see for the untrained eye, but it's always worth to have the camera ready during a dive.
Stalked jellyfish
These days in early aurumn it is possible to find so called stalked jellyfish (in German "beaker jellyfish") in the seagrass meadows in the bay between Strande and Bülk in the Kiel fjord. Stalked jellyfish or Stauromedusae are Cnidarians and are related with the common jellyfish. This group has characteristics from medusae and polyps and most members of this group are not higher then 4 cm.
Precision work at unknown dive spot
There are several ways to contribute to TaMOs. The easiest way is a normal dive with a documentation of animal species on the underwater form. First enhancement is the so called profiling dive. In the first part of this dive, the focus lies on plant diversity and distribution, afterwards animal species are registered. The latest development is the measuring dive. Here is a report on one's experiences.
Mnnemiopsis leidyi again more frequently in the Kiel fjord
The new comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi, which was discovered in the Baltic Sea at the end of 2006. It can be seen now more frequently in the Kiel Bay. Since the 'new one' was rare during the summer time it can be found now during dives at Falkenstein beach and between Strande and Schilksee. Who wants to be sure with the species identification needs to go for a night dive. On contact Mnemiopsis leidyi is able to do bioluminescence (creation of light). The very similar looking Bolinopsis infundibulum can't procduce these very nice light flashes. More on the identification later.
Tubeworm (Spirorbis) wanted
We would like to assist a scientific study at the Leibniz-Institute for Marine Sciences IFM-GEOMAR. A colleague i searching for several specimen of Spirorbis for his experiments . He needs assistance where to find these worms.
Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) reappears at Falckenstein Beach
Since several years, sugar kelp has become a rather rare sight in the Kiel Bight. Obviously, this has been put to an end in 2008. At Falckenstein Beach, several specimens of this large brown algae can be found. Although they do not grow as big as in adjacent danish waters, they nevertheless are pretty to look at.
Netted dog whelks (Nassarius reticulatus) at Falckenstein Beach
During a dive at Falckenstein Beach we could observe some netted dog whelks. Nassarius reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a common visitor on our dive-spots in the summer months.
Pipefish - cryptic beauties
Observant scubadivers diving over eelgrass meadows but also over sandy bottom from shallowest regions to several meters depth can presently find common and, with a little luck, less frequent representatives of a bizarre and fascinating group of bony fishes - pipefish
Initial standard-profile with measuring tape
On the 15th June 2008 we conducted a standard-profile dive for TaMOs using a measuring tape for the first time. This method is a very exact one and facilitates later analyses of the records. Nevertheless, this method is incompatible with the features of a "normal" dive. The measuring tape is fixed on the shoreline and then uncoiled completely.
In the beginning of July oxygen depletion in the Kiel fjord
Longer lasting high temperatures and intense solar irradtiation have not only led to an increase in phytoplankton but also enhanced an explosion like increase in filamentous algae. Right now, a new problem is imminent in the sheltered areas of Kiel fjord: Oxygen depletion due to microbial degradation of organic substances.
Annelids from the genus Nereis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Peter Wicht, an engaged and enthusiastic member of TaMOs who tragically died lately, provided us with plenty of pictures of his underwater observations. In his memory we would like to show according pictures. Peter photographed an impressive representative of the genus Nereis. We take this chance to elucidate some distinct characters of this genus.
Rough-mantled Doris in Strande (Kiel fiord, Germany)
A rare member of the group of star snails, the rough-mantled doris Onchidoris bilamellata (Linnaeus, 1761) was found and identified in Strande (Bay of Kiel) by the TaMOs member P. Schubert. This star snail is not a common member of the standard species inventory of Kiel bay. Onchidoris bilamellata usually prefers a higher salinity and is well known from the North Sea. The finding of this species may be an indication of a recent intrusion of new saltwater from adjacent North Sea regions through the Kattegat into the Baltic.
Red algae between Strande and Schilksee (Kiel fiord, Germany)
Divers at the beach between Strande and Schilksee have now the chance to see a conspicuous red algae. This cord seaweed grows very dense and occupies nearly every available stone. It can be found from the very shore line to 3m depth. Thanks to P. Schubert and R. Karez who identified this algae.
Report of seminar participants
We are happy that two of our participants wrote a little summary about their experience during one of our TaMOs seminars. We believe that a summary of the presented seminar content is not only interesting to us.
NDR 1 Welle Nord: TaMOs feature
