Baby manta rays hunker down close to coasts before facing the open ocean's dangers - Phys.org

Credit: Jeffry Madrigal. Baby manta rays escape predators by avoiding them until they grow large enough for a face-off, a new study has found. Tracking data shows that young giant manta rays in Central America strictly stick to comparatively safe coastal areas for the first few years of their life. When they’re large enough that natural enemies are a lesser concern, they leave these sanctuaries and embark on journeys spanning hundreds of kilometers. This shift in space use allows mantas to grow in safety before facing another type of danger in the open oceans: industrial fisheries and vessel strikes in unprotected waters. The authors say underwater corridors are needed to protect adult mantas on their treks. Giant manta rays can grow up to nine meters long with a disc size of seven meters across and weigh up to 2,000kg. This size leaves them with very few natural enemies once they reach adulthood at around eight to ten years old. But giant manta ray babies, called pups, cannot rely on their size to protect them from predators that live in the open ocean, including several species of shark and orcas.

A new study analyzes an unpublished Schrödinger manuscript that challenged claims that hidden information could not explain apparently random quantum outcomes. Schrödinger’s model reproduced the expected results of polarization measurements, serving as a mathematical counterexample rather than a complete theory of quantum physics.

For the first time, researchers have discovered a microorganism that has made metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and it appears to have been making them for millions of years. These supramolecular structures also have excellent conductivity and can transport electrons over distances spanning several centimetres, helping the bacteria survive the harsh environment on the seafloor. ‘It is a whole new type of [bio]molecular structure,’ says lead author Filip Meysman from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. The basic building blocks the bacterium Candidatus Electrothrix gigas needs to make MOFs are strikingly similar to those used by chemists. However, while the metal core and connecting linkers remain the same, ‘the resulting supramolecular structure is very unique and novel’, says Meysman. These bacteria build bundles of intertwined MOF nanoribbons that are ‘unseen in human-made materials’. Such an architecture creates an excellent electronic environment for electrical conductivity, with conjugation and delocalisation to ‘enable electron transport over extremely long distances’, he adds.

Hendrikje Jorissen1, Jessica Reichert1, Shannon L. Dixon2, Esme M. Madin1, Charlotte A. Madin1, Mollie Asbury1, Allison D. Nims1, Marina E. Rottmueller1,3, Lomani H. Rova1, The R3D Consortium, Andréa G. Grottoli2 & … Joshua S. Madin We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.