Update: This is a Mary River Turtle, an endangered species in Australia, with algae growing on its head. The photographs are by Chris Van Wyk. Link -via Boing Boing
Incognita
Actually, I think you’ll find that that’sa ‘Murray River’ turtle — the Murray River was almost as big as the Mississippi River (over 4000 miles of navigatable waterways in the 19thC) — but is dying from a combination of climate change (drought) and human idiocy. Farmers, insisting on growing water-guzzling crops are taking far too much water, so that nativer species can’t breed, and their fertilizers, along with introduced aquatic species such as carp, are causing algal blooms such as is affecting this turtle. The algae uses up all the oxygen which further threatens native species (again carp are low-oxygen tolerant and take over). Funny pic…. but very sad reality
Greek
Incognita, you are quite right about the Murray river and the situation going on over there. it is sad.
I’m a biologist, and one thing in your post was glaring at me: Algal blooms deplete the oxygen in the water because heterotrophic organisms consume the algae and use the oxygen in respiration. I’m sure you’ll remember that plants (algae) produce sugar and oxygen through photosynthesis, so there is no way the algae can be using the oxygen themselves.
sorry to be particular.
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Kitty
