CHRISTMAS ISLAND: Long, Thick, Slimy, Dirty and Filmed for the First Time Ever...

ANYHOW, for the first time some overly excited marine biologists have filmed a whale shark excreting feces. There's a video from BBC if you are interested in seeing this amazing sight for yourselves - don't say I didn't warn you.

Because whale sharks are pelagic fish, very little is known about their habits and behaviors. Collecting fecal samples allows scientists a glimpse into a largely unseen world. Using DNA analysis, scientists were able to learn what the world's largest fish had been feeding on - red crab larvae, which could be why the fish are attracted to Christmas Island.

Whale sharks do not commonly excrete in shallow waters. Biologist Mark Meekan of the Australian Institute of Marine Science has called the fecal sample "scientific gold."

"It does seem rather weird, someone being so excited about seeing whale shark poo... But it is pretty rare," he said.

If only we could all get so excited about using a pooper-scooper - the world would be a much happier place.

See more nerdy tid-bits over at Observations of a Nerd

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Boat people at Christmas Island

Twelve boat people rescued from their sinking ship off the northern WA coast last week were waiting to be taken ashore to the Christmas Island immigration detention centre last night.

Immigration officials met the group on a navy patrol boat about 4.45pm and spent several hours interviewing them.

The Government does not yet know the intentions of the group but 10 of them, believed to be from the Middle East, are suspected asylum seekers.

Two crew from the boat also have been taken to the island.

They were rescued from their stranded ship about 150km southeast of Ashmore Reef on Wednesday afternoon after being spotted by a Coastwatch plane.

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Suspected asylum seekers arrive at Christmas Island

The group of suspected asylum seekers rescued off Ashmore Island last week arrived at Christmas Island last night.

The group, which includes ten passengers and two crew members, will undergo identity and health checks today.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans' spokesman said no further details as to where the rescued people came from were available.

The group was rescued from their sinking vessel by the Australian Navy about 80 nautical miles south east of Ashmore Island last Wednesday.

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Christmas ornament design contest winners named

Special to the Sun Times

Marco Island Charter Middle School seventh grader Sanya Prabhakar has been named first-place winner in the 2009 Christmas ornament design contest.

Sixth, seventh and eighth graders participated in the ornament design contest in conjunction with Christmas Island Style.

Second place honors went to sixth grader Megan Hine. Simon Banic, a seventh grader, won third.

This year's contest theme was a dolphin.

Honorable mention awards were presented to Stefan Langebeeke, seventh grade; Brendan McDonnell, seventh grade, and Mackenzie Callahan, sixth grade.

First, second and third-place winners will receive a savings bond from Christmas Island Style on stage at the Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 6. The honorable mentions will be recognized on stage.

The students also will be recognized in January at the Christmas Island Style awards ceremony.

Cedar Bay Yacht Club donated its facility for the judging on Tuesday and gave a two-hour boat cruise to the winning students.

All of the contestants' drawings from 73 entries will be displayed at the Art League of Marco Island from Dec. 8- 23.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND: TOURISM AND EDUCATION

Tourism

The Christmas Island National Park covers 63% of the island. This means that for the visitor interested in flora and fauna there is a great deal to see. The same is true for the coastal waters where the marine life is equivalently spectacular.

Education

Christmas Island District High School is located on the island.

The island-operated crèche is located in the Recreation Centre.

The island includes one public library.

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Christmas Island’s red crabs continue to mystify

Their extraordinary march to the edge of the sea to mate and spawn has intrigued nature lovers for years, and this year, unpredictable weather has added a further degree of mystery to the annual migration of Christmas Island’s famous red crabs. Each year nature-lovers from all over the world flock to Christmas Island to witness the crab migration which takes place after the onset of the wet season, and in synchronisation with the cycle of the moon.

However, this year a possible false start to the wet season has created a degree of uncertainty for the crabs.

“Following good rain in late October, the crabs started moving en masse” explained Linda Cash, Christmas Island Tourism Association Marketing Manager, at a special luncheon held in Sydney today to celebrate the island’s famous crab migration.

“However, the crabs need continual moist conditions following the initial rain for 3 or 4 weeks before possible spawning dates, so it’s a now a complete mystery as to when they will now spawn – it will all depend on how much rain we receive over coming weeks – possible spawning dates are 22 November or it may be 23 December,” further explained Ms Cash.

One thing is for certain this is a boost for tourists because it means that if you visit the island in either November or December you will catch some part of the migration.

For more information, log on to Christmas.net.au.

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"Shark Week," Eat Your Heart Out

A groundbreaking discovery in the South Pacific has given the term "black gold" a completely new meaning.

A research crew investigating whale shark feeding patterns near Christmas Island has managed to film the shark (the world's largest fish) expelling food waste. The thrilling bowel movement footage will be featured in the upcoming BBC Natural World program "Whale Shark."

While biologist Dr. Mark Meekan stated the potential scientific importance of the find, he also managed to keep it in perspective.

"It does seem rather weird, someone being so excited about seeing whale shark poo. And I'm pretty certain that this is the first time it has been filmed."

We're pretty certain that Dr. Meekan is right on both counts.

To hear some of the world's foremost aquatic researchers discussing their find with all the technical specificity an eight-year-old boy can appreciate, check out the video that accompanies the story. But first, a warning: the video is NSFL (not safe for lunchtime).

-- Phil Guidry

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CHRISTMAS ISLAND: COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION

Telephone services are provided by Telstra and are a part of the Australian network with the same prefix as Western Australia (08). A GSM mobile telephone system replaced the old analogue network in February 2005. Four free-to-air television stations from Australia are broadcast (ABC, SBS, GWN and WIN) in the same time-zone as Perth. Radio broadcasts from Australia include ABC Radio National, ABC Regional radio and Red FM. All services are provided by satellite links from the mainland. Broadband internet became available to subscribers in urban areas in mid 2005 through the local internet service provider, CIIA (formerly dotCX).

Christmas Island, due to its close proximity to Australia's northern neighbours, falls within many of the more 'interesting' satellite footprints throughout the region. This results in ideal conditions for receiving various Asian broadcasts which locals sometimes prefer to the West Australian provided content. Additionally, ionospheric conditions usually bode well for many of the more terrestrial radio transmissions - HF right up through VHF and sometimes in to UHF. The island plays home to a small array of radio equipment that, evidently, spans a good chunk of the usable spectrum. A variety of government owned and operated antenna systems are employed on the island to take advantage of this.

A container port exists at Flying Fish Cove with an alternative container unloading point to the south of the island at Norris Point for use during the December to March 'swell season" of seasonal rough seas. There are two weekly flights into Christmas Island Airport from Perth, Western Australia (via RAAF Learmonth) operated by National Jet Systems on Mondays and Fridays with additional Saturday flights almost fortnightly and a weekly charter flight from Malaysia operated by Malaysia Airlines on Mondays.

There is a new recreation centre at Phosphate Hill operated by the Shire of Christmas Island. There is also a taxi service. The road network covers most of the island and is generally good quality, although four wheel drive vehicles are needed to access some more distant parts of the rain forest or the more isolated beaches.

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Christmas Island Style plans already in high gear

Greg Schneider, left, technical director of Christmas Island Style, and Tony Milano of the Italian American Society of Marco Island, center, balance the tiers of the 30-foot Christmas tree as they assemble the various pieces last year.

Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008 10:59 AM CST

Special to the Sun Times

After numerous meetings and planning over the past year, the Christmas Island Style Committee is moving forward with plans for the island's 30-day celebration surrounding the Christmas season.

Santa's arrival Nov. 28

The first major event will be Santa's arrival at the Shops of Marco off of San Marco Road at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28.

Merchants will offer specials along with refreshments and the opportunity to have a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

This year, there will be a change of venue for the community tree, which has been located for many years in the parking lot at the Marco Town Center Mall.

The new site of the community tree will be Veterans Park on Elkcam Drive near Winn-Dixie.

"The merchants at the Town Center shopping area have been very gracious to us over the years, especially Publix, but we've unfortunately run out of space and the availability of parking," said Steve Stefanides, chairman of Christmas Island Style.

"It really was my desire to make this change last year, but we ran out of time," Stefanides said. "I'm really excited, as is the entire committee, to have the site made available to us.

"It's a great honor to be the first major event to be held at this important site and I couldn't be happier with the coordination and cooperation that the city staff has shown us," Stefanides said.


Work has begun at the new site, with Quality Enterprises donating work and Condee Electric reducing prices as they begin constructing the cement pad that will act as a base for the tree.

Tree lighting Dec. 6

On Saturday, Dec. 6, families will be able to bring their beach chairs or blankets and enjoy the scene as the tree is lit.

In addition to the tree lighting at the park, Christmas Island Style will host a holiday movie there at 6 p.m. on Dec. 19 for children and their families. The featured film will be "The Polar Express."

Street parade Dec. 13

The island's street parade is planned for Saturday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m.

The annual Christmas Boat Parade is on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m.

Ornament ready

The Christmas Island Style Committee has released the 2008 Christmas ornaments for immediate sale, according to Barbra Dasti and Bette McGilvary.

The ornaments are available for sale at the Marco Gift and Shell Shop at the Town Center Shopping Mall, Salon and Spa Botanica at the Shops of Marco and at the Marco Island Chamber of Commerce.

The cost for this year's special collector series ornament is $13. A portion of the receipts go to support the Christmas Island Style events.

Contest under way

In preparation for the 2009 celebration, sixth graders at Marco Charter Middle School are designing a new ornament that will be available for next year's Christmas events, according to McGilvary and Dasti.

The winners will be awarded prizes at the tree-lighting ceremony on Dec. 6.

More information about the upcoming events can be obtained by visiting christmasislandstyle.com or by calling Stefanides at 239-250-8348.

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CHRISTMAS ISLAND: FLORA AND FAUNA

Christmas Island is of immense scientific value as it was uninhabited until the late nineteenth century, so many unique species of fauna and flora exist which have evolved independently of human interference. Two species of native rats, the Maclear's and Bulldog Rat have gone extinct since the island was settled, the species of shrew has not been seen since the mid 1980's and may be already extinct, and the Christmas Island Pipistrelle, a small bat is critically endangered. Two-thirds of the island has been declared a National Park which is managed by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage through Parks Australia.

The dense rainforest has evolved in the deep soils of the plateau and on the terraces. The forests are dominated by twenty-five tree species. Ferns, orchids and vines grow on the branches in the humid atmosphere beneath the canopy. The 135 plant species include sixteen which are only found on Christmas Island.

The annual red crab mass migration (around 100 million animals) to the sea to spawn has been called one of the wonders of the natural world and takes place each year around November; after the start of the wet season and in synchronisation with the cycle of the moon.

The land crabs and sea birds are the most noticeable animals on the island. Twenty terrestrial and intertidal crabs (of which thirteen are regarded as true land crabs, only dependent on the ocean for larval development) have been described. Robber crabs, known elsewhere as coconut crabs, also exist in large numbers on the island.

Christmas Island is a focal point for sea birds of various species. Eight species or subspecies of sea birds nest on the island. The most numerous is the Red-footed Booby that nests in colonies, in trees, on many parts of the shore terrace. The widespread Brown Booby nests on the ground near the edge of the seacliff and inland cliffs. Abbott's Booby (listed as endangered) nests on tall emergent trees of the western, northern and southern plateau rainforest. The Christmas Island forest is the only nesting habitat of the Abbott's Booby left in the world. The endemic Christmas Island Frigatebird (listed as endangered) has nesting areas on the north-eastern shore terraces and the more widespread. Great Frigatebirds nest in semi-deciduous trees on the shore terrace with the greatest concentrations being in the North West and South Point areas. The Common Noddy and two species of bosuns or tropicbirds with their brilliant gold or silver plumage and distinctive streamer tail feathers also nest on the island. Of the ten native land birds and shorebirds, seven are endemic species or subspecies. Some 86 migrant bird species have been recorded.

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CHRISTMAS ISLAND: GEOGRAPHY

Located at 10°30′S 105°40′E / -10.5, 105.667, the island is a quadrilateral with hollowed sides, about 19 km (12 miles) in greatest length and 14.5 km (9 miles) in extreme breadth. The total land area is 135 km² (52 square miles), with 138.9 km (86.3 miles) of coastline. The island is the flat summit of a submarine mountain more than 4,572 m (15,000 ft) high, the depth of the platform from which it rises being about 14,000 feet (4267 m) and its height above the sea being upwards of 305 m (1,000 ft). The mountain was originally a volcano, and some basalt is exposed in places such as The Dales and Dolly Beach, but most of the surface rock is limestone accumulated from the growth of coral over millions of years.

The climate is tropical, with heat and humidity moderated by trade winds. Steep cliffs along much of the coast rise abruptly to a central plateau. Elevation ranges from sea level to 361 m (1,184 ft) at Murray Hill. The island is mainly tropical rainforest, of which 63% is National Park.

The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard.

Christmas Island is 500 km south of Indonesia and about 2600 km northwest of Perth.