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with Sea Explorers by Stromi
www.pamedo.at using a Canon 550D Rebel T2i in an Aquatica Housing with
2x Sea&Sea YS-110a. We have been diving in Moalboal, Dauin, Cabilao
and Malapascoa.
It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire
and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and
typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and
made it one of the world's megadiverse countries.
Thus, establishing various polities either ruled by Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. Trade and subsequent Chinese settlement also introduced Chinese cultural elements which remain to this day.
The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interest and eventual colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain.
The Spanish Empire began to settle with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from New Spain (present day-Mexico) in 1565 who established the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago, which remained a Spanish colony for more than 300 years. During this time, Manila became the Asian hub of the Manila–Acapulco galleonfleet.
In the aftermath, the United States emerged as the dominant power; aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands.
After World War II,[13] the Treaty of Manila established the Philippine Republic as an independent nation.[14] Since then, the Philippines has had an often tumultuous experience with democracy, with popular "people power" movements overthrowing a dictatorship in one instance but also underlining the institutional weaknesses of its constitutional republic in others.
^a The 1987 Philippine constitution specifies, "Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis."[10]
b.
^b Philippine revolutionaries declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, but the Spanish claim of sovereignty was passed from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. This led to the Philippine–American War.
The name Philippines is derived from that of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos during his expedition in 1542 named the islands of Leyte and SamarFelipinas after the then Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan's name for the islands San Lázaro were also used by the Spanish to refer to the islands.[15][16][17][18][19]
The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of the country's history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War until the Commonwealth period, American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name.
During the American period, the name Philippines began to appear and it has since become the country's common name.[20] Since independence, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines.
The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. As of March 2010, these were divided into 17 regions, 80 provinces, 138 cities, 1,496 municipalities, and 42,025 barangays.[79]
In addition, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 5446 asserts that the
definition of the territorial sea around the Philippine archipelago does
not affect the claim over Sabah.[80]
A clickable map of the Philippines exhibiting its 17 regions and 80 provinces.
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Uploaded on Sept. 7, 2010 rjnjupiter Lion Tamer Mini Spear
Pterois, commonly known as Lion-fish, is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific. Pterois is characterized by red, white and black bands, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky fin rays.[1][2]
Pterois are classified into nine different species, but Pterois radiata, Pterois volitans and Pterois miles are the most commonly studied. Pterois are popular aquarium fish and are readily utilized in the culinary world.[1]
Pterois range in size from 6.2 to 42.4 cm with typical adults measuring 38 cm and weighing an average of 480 g.[2][4][5] They are well known for their ornate beauty, venomous spines and unique tentacles.[6][7]
Juvenile Lion-fish have a unique tentacle located above their eye sockets that varies in phenotype between species.[6]
It is suggested that the evolution of this tentacle serves to
continually attract new prey; studies also suggest that it plays a role
in sexual selection.[6]
Ecology and behavior
Pterois can live from five to fifteen years and have complex courtship and mating behaviors.[8] Females release two mucus-filled egg clusters frequently, which can contain as many as fifteen thousand eggs.[8][9] Studies on Pterois reproductive habits have increased significantly in the past decade.[9]
Two of the nine species of Pterois, the red Lion-fish (P. volitans) and the common Lion-fish (P. miles), have established themselves as significant invasive species off the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. About 93% of the invasive population is P. volitans.[24]
The red Lion-fish is found off the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean Sea, and was likely first introduced off the Florida coast in the early to mid-1990s.[25]
It has been speculated that this introduction may have been caused when Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium in southern Florida,[26] It is also believed that six Lion-fish were accidentally released in Biscayne Bay, Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.[27]
However, a more recent report states National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) ecologist James Morris Jr. has discovered that a Lion-fish was
discovered off the coast of south Florida prior to Hurricane Andrew in
1985.[28][29]
It is also believed that the Lion-fish were purposefully discarded by unsatisfied aquarium enthusiasts.[27]
The first documented capture of Lion-fish in the Atlantic occurred in Dania Beach, Florida.[4] In 2001, NOAA documented multiple sightings of Lion-fish off the coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Bermuda, and were first detected in the Bahamas in 2004.[30]
Recently (late November 2011) they have been discovered as far east as Barbados,[31] and as far south as Los Roques Archipelago and many Venezuelan continental beaches.[32]
P. volitans comprises the largest part of the invasive Lion-fish population in the Atlantic and Caribbean
Population densities continue to increase in the invaded areas,
resulting in a population boom of up to 700% in some areas between 2004
and 2008.[33] Population densities have reached levels that are orders of magnitude greater than their native ranges.[34]
Pterois are known for devouring many other aquarium fishes.[27]Pterois are unusual in that they are among the few fish species to successfully establish populations in open marine systems.[35]
Ballast water can also be attributed to the dispersal.[37]
Extreme temperatures present geographical constraints in the distribution of aquatic species,[38] indicating that temperature tolerance plays a role in the Lion-fish’s survival, reproduction and range of distribution.[39]
Observational studies have shown that the abrupt differences in water temperatures north and south of Cape Hatteras directly correlate with the abundance and distribution of Pterois.[38]
Pterois expanded along the entire eastern coast of the United States and occupied thermal-appropriate zones within ten years.[38]
Although the timeline of observations points to the east coast of
Florida as the initial source of the western Atlantic invasion, the
relationship of the United States East Coast and Bahamian Lion-fish
invasion is uncertain.[40]
Control and eradication efforts
P. miles makes up about seven percent of the invasive lionfish population in the Atlantic and Caribbean
The population density of the invasive Lion-fish is increasing very
fast, and efforts are underway in several areas to bring it under
control. However, to completely eradicate the Lion-fish from its new
habitats seems unlikely. A study from 2010 using population modeling
used data collected about the known life history of the Lion-fish
inhabiting the Caribbean coral reefs to figure out the best means of
eradication.
The study showed that the most effective way to even
maintain current Lion-fish population densities, at least 27% of the
invasive adult populations would have to be killed monthly. The fact
that Lion-fish are able to reproduce monthly throughout the entire year
means that this is an effort that must be maintained monthly for the maintenance of current population densities.[41]
Even to accomplish these numbers seems unlikely, but as populations
of Lion-fish continue to grow throughout the Caribbean and Western
Atlantic, actions are being taken to attempt to control the quickly
growing numbers.
In November 2010, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
began to give out licenses to divers to kill Lion-fish inside of the
sanctuary. This is the first time this has ever been done for any
species in the sanctuary, in a desperate attempt to eradicate the fish.
Rigorous and repeated removal of Lion-fish from invaded waters will be
necessary to establish control on the exponentially expanding
population.[2]
Many conservation groups across the Eastern United States are organizing hunting expeditions for Pterois.
The Environment Education Foundation recently hosted its third
‘Lion-fish derby’ in Florida, offering more than $3,000 in prize money
for dive teams catching the most Lion-fish.[42]
Community organizations are forming across the country in hopes of halting the ever expanding Lion-fish population.[42]
Dive-masters from Cozumel to the Honduran Bay Islands routinely spear
Lion-fish during dives, sometimes killing as many as eight in an hour.
Based on average kills per dive, a professional diver could easily kill
3000 to 4000 Lion-fish per year (3 dives per day, 6 days per week,
averaging 4+ kills per dive).[citation needed]
Other interest groups, such as NOAA, are setting up events and campaigns that encourage the killing and eating of the fish.[34]
Many people are wary of the idea of eating a venomous fish, but when
properly filleted the fish is perfectly healthy to eat. Encouraging the
consumption of Lion-fish could not only help to maintain a reasonable
population density, but also provide an alternative fishing source to
other over fished populations, such as grouper and snapper.
The Reef Environmental Education Foundation has even prepared a
cookbook to help educate restaurant chefs on how they can incorporate
the fish into their menu. The NOAA calls the Lion-fish a "delicious,
delicately flavored fish" similar in texture to grouper.[42]
Many recipes for lionfish can be found in coastal cookbooks, some
including fried Lion-fish, Lion-fish ceviche, Lion-fish jerky and grilled Lion-fish.[43]
The evasiveness of the red Lion-fish is an extreme problem, and
relatively little information is still known about the animal. The NOAA
has research foci in place to better understand the fish and the
implications surround its invasive nature.
Some of these include
investigating biotechnological solutions for control of the population, and
understanding how the larvae are dispersed. Another important area of
study is how the population is controlled in its native area.
If we find
out why it is not out of control in the Indo-Pacific,
we may be able to implement a similar concept into the invasive
populations, without causing unintended results such as another invasive
species. NOAA also plans to further its "Lion-fish as Food" campaign, as
human hunting of the fish is the only known current form of control.
The NOAA also encourages people to report Lion-fish sightings to help
keep a better record of dispersal.[44]
Long term effects of invasion
Lion-fish have successfully pioneered the coastal waters of the
Atlantic in less than a decade and pose a major threat to reef
ecological systems in these areas.
A study published in 2006 comparing
their abundance from Florida to North Carolina with several species of
groupers found that they were second only to the native scamp grouper and equally abundant to the graysby, gag, and rock hind.[2]
This could be due to a surplus of resource availability resulting from the over-fishing of Lion-fish predators like grouper.[45]
Although the Lion-fish has not expanded to a population size that is
currently causing major ecological problems, their invasion in the
United States coastal waters could lead to serious problems in the
future.
One likely ecological impact caused by Pterois could be their impact on prey population numbers by directly affecting food web relationships. This could ultimately lead to reef deterioration and could negatively influence Atlantic trophic cascade.[8]
It has already been shown that Lion-fish overpopulate reef areas and
display aggressive tendencies; forcing native species to move to waters
where conditions might be less than desirable.[2]
Studies show that Lion-fish could be decreasing Atlantic reef diversity by up to 80%.[23]
In July 2011, Lion-fish were reported for the first time in the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Louisiana.[46]
Sanctuary officials said they believe the species will be a permanent
fixture, but hope to monitor and possibly limit their presence.
Source: Wikipedia.org
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