Historic remains Young man of Chan Hol recovered by cave divers

The remains of a prehistoric child that was found in an underwater cave and could re-write the history of the Americas have been recovered by a team of divers.

The Young Man of Chan Hol, as the skeleton is known among the scientific community is one of the earliest human skeletons of America, dating back more than 10,000 years ago.

It was recovered by Mexican specialists from a flooded cave in Quintana Roo.



It is among the oldest remains studied as part of a National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) project.

After three years of studies conducted underwater to prevent information loss, the Chan Hol skeleton was removed from the water by a team of specialists headed by biologist Arturo Gonzalez, coordinator of the project Study of Pre Ceramic Men of Yucatan Peninsula and director of Museo del Desierto de Coahuila (Museum of the Desert of Coahuila).

The Young Man of Chan Hol, named after the cenote it was found in, was recovered in a 542 meters long and 8.3 deep cave where stalagmites abound, and is reached after going through flooded, dark and difficult labyrinths.

UNAM (National University of Mexico) physical anthropologists that studied the remains think they were placed in the cave after a funerary ceremony that took place by the end of Pleistocene, when the sea level was 150 meters lower, before the caves, probably walked by this person, got flooded.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said 60 per cent of the skeleton was collected, inlcuding bones of four extremities, vertebrae, ribs and the skull, as well as several teeth. Normally, in cases of 10,000 year old samples only the skull or jawbone is found, and sometimes, 20 or 30 percent of the skeleton.

Arturo Gonzalez, paleo biology specialist, said: "Our dating confirmed that skeletons collected in Quintana Roo caves belonged to members of Pre Clovis groups and are part of the few human rests found from the American Terminal Pleistocene, with physical features similar to those of people from Central and South Asia, suggesting there were several migrations to our continent”.

The first physical anthropology report, conducted by physical anthropologists Alejandro Terrazas and Martha Benavente, from the UNAM (National University of Mexico) Institute of Anthropological Investigations, indicates the skeleton belonged to a young adult, probably a male; legs were flexed to the left and arms extended to both sides of the body, which is a “new fact to be studied”, since no skeleton had been found before in this position.

The remains were discovered in 2006 by two German divers exploring the Chan Hol cave.

Wes Skiles: In memory of an amazing photographer

THIS amazing image of cave divers taken 80ft beneath the surface of the Bahamas graces the cover of the new edition of the National Geographic magazine.

But it's publication is twinged with sadness.

Wes Skiles, the highly thought of photographer of the shot (actually a composite of three images), 52, died last month during a research expedition examining underwater wildlife in his home state of Florida, just days after publication.

Bahamas Blue Holes was his last story for the magazine. The images were described as a "testament to his photographic skills, courage and child-like wonder in the search for the unknown".

An investigation is now under way to determine why Skiles was found unconscious and underwater near a reef and had not returned to the surface, as friends had thought he had.

National Geographic Society Editor in Chief Chris Johns said: "Wes was a true explorer in every sense and a wonderful spirit.
"He set a standard for underwater photography, cinematography and exploration that is unsurpassed. It was an honor to work with him, and he will be deeply missed."

Keenan Smart, National Geographic Television Natural History Unit added: "Wes Skiles was a brave, brilliant and pioneering underwater cameraman with an extraordinary passion for exploring and documenting the world of cave and technical diving.
"His knowledge, courage and expertise in this field was tremendous and he played a vital role in improving safety procedures for diving in difficult and dangerous conditions.
"His explorations of his beloved Florida cave systems contributed a great deal to our understanding of groundwater science and the dynamics of water flow through Florida's karst aquifers. It was this knowledge that led him to name his company Karst Productions.
"Over the years Wes participated in numerous filming expeditions worldwide and his creative work featured in many award winning films.

Sadie Quarrier, senior photo editor, National Geographic Magazine added: "He was deeply passionate about diving, exploring, photographing and protecting the waterways. H
"is boyish enthusiasm was infectious, and he delighted in telling non-divers about the wilder aspects of his watery underworld.
"Wes was big-hearted and humble yet extremely driven. He was doggedly determined to produce the best possible article on these caves he called home. He dared to dream big, and no budget or contract would stop him from going after a shot he felt we needed, even if it was on his own dime.
"But what I will remember most about my friend is his absolutely wonderful sense of humor, his over-the-top descriptions when he was really enthused about what he had just seen, and his twinkling eyes. He was sort of the Santa Claus of the underwater world, bringing us gifts that we could never get on our own."

The story about Bahamas Blue Holes also featured in the documentary extreme cave diving that
Skiles worked on.

The production followed the team of scientists as they ventured into blue holes (formed during the last ice age and are one of Earth's least explored and perhaps most dangerous frontiers) as they discovered intriguing evidence of the earliest human inhabitants of the islands, found animals seen nowhere else on Earth, and recovered a remarkable record of the planet's climate.

For more on the Biology of Marine Caves try Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna
or click on the link for info on the Bahamas Caves Research Foundation

Spots v Stripes marine creatures battle it out for Cadbury

From the team that brought us the amazing TV ad featuring a gorilla drumming to Phil Collins hit 'In the Air Tonight' comes a new fishy tale.

Making use of the unique markings of marine creatures, Stops V Stripes is the latest eye-catching commercial from Birmingham-based chocolate manufacturer Cadbury.

It is part of a massive £50 million campaign to boost Britain’s community spirit and bring a “spirit of play” to the nation ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

The first Spots and Stripes adverts will be aired on TV on Saturday.

They will feature two teams of Finding Nemo-style marine creatures, one with spots and one with stripes, who play a game with seaweed balloons.

Viewers will be urged to log onto a website to join a team and compete in any game they wish, from golf to tiddlywinks, building up national totals online for each side.

The Birmingham-based chocolate manufacturer aims to create the “biggest game the UK has ever seen,” called Spots v Stripes through eye-catching adverts.

Nick Bunker, President, Kraft Foods UK and Ireland, said: “London 2012 will be the largest event the UK has seen in our lifetime and in the run-up to the Games people will be naturally thinking about coming together to show their support.

“However, we believe that, across the country, we have lost our community spirit, and we want to use our heritage in community engagement to reignite this. With Spots v Stripes we hope to create the biggest game the UK has ever seen, encouraging people to play games again and bring back the joy of community spirit in a fun and innovative way.

“Our aim is for millions of people to have organised or played games in their areas by 2012 and to use the power of playing games to unite and strengthen communities, leaving the nation with the ideas and inspiration to continue playing games in the future."

REport highlights fears over fish stocks

Britain's fishing industry cannot cope with demand, a report has concluded.
The UK's fish supplies only last for seven months of the year, the research by independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation) and OCEAN2012 found.
The report, named Fish Dependence, points to the upcoming reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as a "unique" opportunity to turn the situation around and create a new fisheries model that will restore marine ecosystems and deliver a fair share of resources across the world.
Researchers mapped resources over a calendar year and found the day when the EU and each one of its member states starts to eat the catch from the rest of the world.
It showed that if people in the UK were to only eat fish from its own supplies, it would run out on August 3, based on current levels of consumption.
However the findings showed that the UK fares better than other EU countries such as Germany which goes into fish debt on May 5 and Spain on May 10.
Aniol Esteban, head of environmental economics at nef and co-founder of OCEAN2012, said: "We've cashed in the chips on our fish supplies; but we now have a big chance to restore fish stocks at the UK level and beyond.
"A healthy marine environment is a pre-condition to building a stronger economy, a more robust industry and happier fishing communities.
"There are fish without fisheries but no fisheries without fish."

Most biodiverse oceans identified

So now we know where to head on our next diving trip after a "roll call" of marine species has identified Australian and Japanese waters as the most biodiverse on Earth.
Each ocean zone contains an estimated 33,000 known forms of life, ranging from algae and single-celled protozoa to whales and sea birds.
The Mediterranean was also listed as a hotspot for different kinds of species by Census of Marine Life (CoML) scientists who surveyed 25 key marine regions.



Waters around popular holiday resorts in southern Europe were in the top five of the biodiversity league table, along with oceans off China and the Gulf of Mexico.
However the Mediterranean was also one of the areas where biodiversity was most threatened.
On average, the number of known species per region totalled 10,750, ranging from 2,600 to 33,000. But for every marine species of all kinds known to science, experts estimate that at least four are yet to be discovered.
Fish made up only 12% of the marine species identified in the round-up, described in a series of papers in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.
Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and prawns were the most abundant forms of life, making up around a fifth of species in any given region.



The next most plentiful were molluscs which include squid, octopus, shellfish, snails and slugs. They made up 17% of a region's species population.
Plant and animal micro-organisms, such as algae and protozoa, each accounted for 10% of marine biodiversity, and segmented worms 7%.
Much of the remainder was made up of other non-vertebrate animal species including sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, starfish, sponges and sea urchins.
A category listed as "other vertebrates" that made up just 2% of the total contained some of the best-known marine animals, including whales, sea lions, seals, walruses, turtles and sea birds.
The "roll call" was published in the run-up to the long-awaited final report from the Census of Marine Life in October.



Almost 400 scientists from more than 80 nations are involved in the project, which aims to provide the most accurate assessment possible of the diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the oceans.
Dr Mark Costello, from the Leigh Marine Laboratory at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, lead author of the latest research, said: "This inventory was urgently needed for two reasons. First, dwindling expertise in taxonomy impairs society's ability to discover and describe new species. And secondly, marine species have suffered major declines - in some cases 90 per cent losses - due to human activities and may be heading for extinction, as happened to many species on land."
Biologist and author Dr Nancy Knowlton, from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, US, who heads the Census coral reef project, said: "At the end of the Census of Marine Life, most ocean organisms still remain nameless and their numbers unknown. This is not an admission of failure. The ocean is simply so vast that, after 10 years of hard work, we still have only snapshots, though sometimes detailed, of what the sea contains. But it is an important and impressive start."
She added: "The sea today is in trouble. Its citizens have no vote in any national or international body, but they are suffering and need to be heard. Much has changed just in the few decades that I have spent on and under the sea, but it remains a wondrous and enriching place, and with care it can become even more so."
Scientists found that many species appeared in more than one region. The most highly travelled "cosmopolitan" species lay at both ends of the the evolutionary scale, and included algae and protozoa as well as sea birds and mammals.
The "Manylight Viperfish" (Chauliodus sloani), found in more than a quarter of the world's marine waters, was described as the "everyman" of the deep ocean.
The Mediterranean had the largest number of invasive species of any region, with more than 600 immigrant varieties - 4% of its total. Most had arrived from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.
Along with other "enclosed" sea areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, Baltic and the Caribbean, the Mediterranean also had some of the most threatened biodiversity.