WEBSITE FOR SALE $6,000 – POSITION ONE ON GOOGLE – LINKED TO WIKIPEDIA – STRONG AGED DOMAIN- GIANT AUSTRALIAN CUTTLEFISH

Giant Australian Cuttlefish, also known as sepia apama, collect in shallow waters near Whyalla, South Australia. Each year between May and August thousands of Giant Cuttlefish migrate to the coastline between False Bay and Fitzgerald Bay near Whyalla for spawning. The interests the cuttlefish bring to people throughout the world are their own unique breeding behaviors, mating styles, migration, swimming abilities, diets and self-defense mechanisms. This breed of cuttlefish is one of the largest species known to man, by growing up to 60 cm long, and 5kg in weight.

There is such an enormous population of the cuttlefish that their mating behaviors can be quite competitive. During the southern winter, it is common to see vast reproduction. Even snorkelers are able to witness the changing colors and patterns of the fish when they are trying to impress their potential mate.

The cuttlefish mate in pairs and the larger the male the more likely they are to gain a female’s attention. The smaller males must make a bigger effort and when trying to mate, will change their appearance; changing their colors and their patterns will make the males look more like females. The larger male becomes distracted when the smaller male cuttlefish moves in on his female mate. As the larger male is distracted, the female gets closer to the smaller male and allows them to mate. Once the female mates with the smaller male cuttlefish, he swims away without a battle. The males are unable to reproduce while the females will not live much longer following their reproduction.

The Giant Australian Cuttlefish are amazing creatures because in each sense, they are very unique. They can change their colors and patterns and can swim according to the amount of threat they feel. They are able to ripple the fins on their side for different amounts of buoyancy for regular movement. If one of these cuttlefish feels that it is in danger, it will suck water into their own body cavity making them propel their bodies in the opposite direction (like an underwater rocket). In the event of them feeling threatened (along with the swimming), the Giant Australian Cuttlefish is able to emit a nonpoisonous could of black ink. The ink is a defense mechanism of theirs to confuse the predator long enough for them to escape. The ability to change their colors will also camouflage them by taking the appearance of rocks and sand.

In between trying to maintain their progeny and their population, they’ve got to eat. They use their two powerful tentacles that slip right beneath a crustacean of sorts and is pulled right to their strong beak. They mainly feed on crustaceans like prawns, crabs, small fish, reef fish, and tommy roughs. Along with their own diets, a much bigger predator-commonly the bottlenose dolphin-eats them. The bottlenose dolphins have been observed in South Australia and have developed a technique that removes the ink and cuttlebone from the cuttlefish, before devouring it.

Academics have been studying these animals for years, and are continuing to do so. There is a lot about this breed of cuttlefish that people are still unable to answer. For example, the people studying their behaviors do not know where they hatch their young, or how many populations make up the mass collections of this animal. The Giant Australian Cuttlefish has become a worldwide marvel, and hopefully soon, scientists, naturalists and recreational divers are able to answer some of these unknowns.

Huge Olympic Dam mine expansion wins federal nod

Article from ABC News dated October 11, 2011

A huge expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in outback South Australia has been given environmental approval by the Federal Government.

Environment Minister Tony Burke has announced the approval and says it follows a rigorous assessment process.

He says BHP Billiton’s proposed mine expansion near Roxby Downs has been approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The minister says the Federal Government will impose strict conditions, both while the mine operates and for many years beyond.

More than 100 environmental conditions will apply to the BHP Billiton copper, gold and uranium mine.

The Government says an offset area of about 140,000 hectares will have to be created for conservation and environment programs, an area eight times the size of the mining operation itself.

The minister says the approval process involved bodies including the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, the Supervising Scientist and Geoscience Australia.

Mr Burke says the project will adhere to the highest of standards.

“These reviews made recommendations to ensure that the proposal meets world-best practice environmental standards for uranium mining and ensure management of native species and groundwater resources,” he said.

“The conditions apply to all parts of the project, including the proposed desalination plant in the upper Spencer Gulf and will ensure that the Gulf and its marine life, including the giant cuttlefish, are protected.”

Announcing the South Australian Government’s support, state Mineral Resources Minister Tom Koutsantonis told a news conference in Adelaide the public could rest assured the environment will be protected.

“The [South Australian] Government has brought in place the most stringent environmental approvals ever given to a mine expansion in Australian history and we’ve done so because it’s controversial and… it’s the right thing to do and if BHP want to have a social licence to operate in this state they must adhere to the very highest environmental standards set by the parliament of South Australia,” he said.

Mr Koutsantonis said a new airport would replace the current one serving the region, a new gas-fired power station and supply pipeline from Moomba would be built and there would be additional rail and road infrastructure.

The planned Port Bonython desalination plant would be connected to the expanded mine by a 320-kilometre pipeline.

The SA minister said greenhouse gas emissions and air quality in the region would be monitored stringently.

He said legislation to finalise the mine expansion plan would go to the SA Parliament soon.

“I anticipate an agreement can be reached soon so that legislation ratifying the indenture can be introduced and passed by [the South Australian] Parliament before the end of the current session,” he said.

Thousands more jobs

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers said the planned mining expansion was part of $80 billion worth of proposed capital investment by the company over the next five years.

Mr Kloppers is hopeful the Olympic Dam expansion will start next year.

The expansion would turn the site into the world’s largest open-cut mine, with the open pit swallowing the existing underground mine.

There are 6,000 construction jobs promised and a further 4,000 permanent jobs for the expanded operation.

The nearby town of Roxby Downs would double in population to about 10,000.

The expansion would require huge volumes of water for mining, which is why Port Bonython has been chosen for a desalination plant at the top of Spencer Gulf.

Some environmentalists have expressed concern for the future of giant cuttlefish breeding grounds there.

There are also concerns about how water demands could deplete underground supplies in the outback.

The group Friends of the Earth says the Federal Government has now approved the biggest uranium mine in the world.

It says it is worried neither federal nor state conditions on the approval will adequately address the massive environmental impact of the mine expansion.

The group claims billions of tonnes of radioactive waste will remain on the surface.

It argues tailings dams would leak 8 million tonnes per year for the first decade of the expanded operation.