Research Watch

It turns out that subliminal distractions throw off your game more than the consciously annoying kind. A study found that subliminal visual distractions impaired task performance more than visual distractions that subjects consciously perceived. It looks like subliminal visual distractions get past the parts of the brain that filter out visual noise.

Some animals hunt cooperatively, but usually the teamwork involves the same species. Scientists have found an example of cross-species cooperative hunting in the Red Sea — groupers and giant moray eels.

Groupers hunt in open water and moray eels hunt in coral reefs. Prey fish fleeing groupers often take shelter in coral reefs and prey fish fleeing moray eels often take to open water. This sets the stage for a strategic partnership.

The scientists saw groupers signaling moray eels by approaching the eels and shaking their heads from side to side. The eels then followed the groupers and they hunted together. Sometimes during the hunt, groupers stood on their heads to signal that prey was hiding in particular crevices.

The theory is the partnership works because groupers and moray eels swallow their prey in a single bite so there is no fighting over carcasses to sour the relationship.

A NASA study shows that global warming decreases the amount of phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that underpin the ocean food chain. This delivers a double blow. It decreases marine populations, including fish stocks. It also contributes to global warming because phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.