Manta Ray

This paper confronts the interpretations of Eugène Atget’s photography given by Robert Desnos and Walter Benjamin. In the first part, it discusses Atget’s reception among the surrealists, particularly his relationship with Man Ray and the publication of some of his views from Paris in Littérature and La Révolution surréaliste. The second part is focused on the paragraphs that Benjamin has devoted to Atget in “Short history of photography” (1931) and "The work of art in the age of its technological reproductibility” (1935-1939). Finally, it introduces, establishes and comments two texts by Desnos to highlight his idea of a history of photography, the place he attributes to Atget in it, and the presence of topical and figures of fundamental significance for Benjamin’s own perspective.
Keywords: Robert Desnos; Walter Benjamin; Eugène Atget; history of photography; aura

«Nuovi orizzonti della fotografia» è il titolo di un articolo pubblicato nel 1934 nella "Rivista delle Arti" dal giovane fotografo veneziano Dino Jarach. Il periodico era nato nel maggio di quello stesso anno per volontà di un gruppo di intellettuali della città lagunare che volevano creare un luogo di dibattito, a quel tempo ancora mancante a Venezia, tra le arti visive e performative e gli altri campi della cultura.

ALBERTO VIANI E LA CATTEDRA DI SCULTURA. UN PERCORSO DAGLI ANNI QUARANTA AGLI ANNI SETTANTA ATTRAVERSO I TABELLONI DIDATTICI, in L'ACCADEMIA DI BELLE ARTI. IL NOVECENTO,  a cura di S. Salvagnini, Grafiche Antiga, 2006, pp.155-170.
Il saggio ricostruisce, attraverso lo studio dei cosidetti "Tabelloni Didattici" (conservati presso il Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Casa Cavazzini di Udine), l'unicità dell'insegnamento di scultura di Alberto Viani quando era docente presso Accademia di Belle Arti veneziana. Estetica, fenomenologia, filosofia della percezione, poesia, letteratura, archeologia, scultura contemporanea ed altro caratterizzano il percorso d'insegnamento di Alberto Viani, finalizzato a rendere artisti a tutto tondo i suoi allievi.

Manta ray watching tourism worldwide has been reported to bring a
significant economic impact that contributes to the effective
management of sustainable wildlife tourism. This study was conducted
to analyse the role of small-scale tourism businesses in Marine Protected
Areas (MPAs) of Nusa Penida, Komodo, and Raja Ampat, both in
Indonesia, that offers manta ray tours and determines their significant
contribution to the park management. We conducted surveys with 101
respondents from manta ray tourism services and phone interviews with
three park managers. The results of this study indicate that more than
90% of respondents engage in conservation activities. The small-scale
businesses include boat rentals, gear rentals, dive shops, tour operators,
homestays and souvenir shops that promote manta ray conservation
through their products and services; educating tourists and staff,
collecting plastics when diving and snorkelling, regular beach cleanups, waste management, recycling programs, manta ray monitoring and
photo ID activities. Furthermore, the Marine Protected Area (MPA)
management confirmed by establishing a partnership with the smallscale manta ray’s tourism businesses to ensure the authentic manta ray
experience for tourists and achieving sustainable businesses for the
locals. In summary, there are three significant roles of small-scale manta
ray tourism business including species protection, sustainable tourism
compliance, and effective MPA management that still needs to be
strengthened to provide maximum benefits to conservation and tourism.

On 10 March 2017, thirty individuals of giant devil ray, Mobula mobular, were caught accidentally by a commercial purse seiner at a depth of approximately 25 m off Beşadalar, the Gulf of Antalya. Of the thirty specimens, two are described in detail. M. mobular was recorded for the first time in the Gulf of Antalya (Eastern Mediterranean Sea).

Large tropical and subtropical marine animals must meet their energetic requirements in a largely oligotrophic environment. Many planktivorous elasmobranchs, whose thermal ecolo-gies prevent foraging in nutrient-rich polar waters, aggregate seasonally at predictable locations throughout tropical oceans where they are observed feeding. Here we investigate the foraging and oceanographic environment around Lady Elliot Island, a known aggregation site for reef manta rays Manta alfredi in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The foraging behaviour of reef manta rays was analysed in relation to zooplankton populations and local oceanography, and compared to long-term sighting records of reef manta rays from the dive operator on the island. Reef manta rays fed at Lady Elliot Island when zooplankton biomass and abundance were significantly higher than other times. The critical prey density threshold that triggered feeding was 11.2 mg m-3 while zooplankton size had no significant effect on feeding. The community composition and size structure of the zooplankton was similar when reef manta rays were feeding or not, with only the density of zooplankton changing. Higher zooplankton biomass was observed prior to low tide, and long-term (~5 years) sighting data confirmed that more reef manta rays are also observed feeding during this tidal phase than other times. This is the first study to examine prey availability at an aggregation site for reef manta rays and it indicates that they feed in locations and at times of higher zoo-plankton biomass.

Large tropical and subtropical marine animals must meet their energetic requirements in a largely oligotrophic environment. Many planktivorous elasmobranchs, whose thermal ecolo-gies prevent foraging in nutrient-rich polar waters, aggregate seasonally at predictable locations throughout tropical oceans where they are observed feeding. Here we investigate the foraging and oceanographic environment around Lady Elliot Island, a known aggregation site for reef manta rays Manta alfredi in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The foraging behaviour of reef manta rays was analysed in relation to zooplankton populations and local oceanography, and compared to long-term sighting records of reef manta rays from the dive operator on the island. Reef manta rays fed at Lady Elliot Island when zooplankton biomass and abundance were significantly higher than other times. The critical prey density threshold that triggered feeding was 11.2 mg m-3 while zooplankton size had no significant effect on feeding. The community composition and size structure of the zooplankton was similar when reef manta rays were feeding or not, with only the density of zooplankton changing. Higher zooplankton biomass was observed prior to low tide, and long-term (~5 years) sighting data confirmed that more reef manta rays are also observed feeding during this tidal phase than other times. This is the first study to examine prey availability at an aggregation site for reef manta rays and it indicates that they feed in locations and at times of higher zoo-plankton biomass.

Biomimetics aims to take inspiration from nature and develop new models and efficient systems for a sustainable future. Bioinspired underwater robotics help develop future submarines that will navigate through the water using flexible propulsor. This research has focused on the Manta Ray species as batoid has a unique advantage over other species. This study also aims to improve AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) efficiency through biomimetic design, the purpose of which is to observe and study the marine environment, be it for sea exploration or navigation. The design and prototyping process of bioinspired AUVs have been mentioned in this study, along with testing a propulsive mechanism for efficient swimming and turning capabilities. The Robot was designed taking structural considerations from the actual Manta-Ray locomotion and body design. The propulsion mechanism and control circuit were then implemented on the developed systems. The prototype of the Manta Ray was able to gene...

Research into the movement ecology of terrestrial and marine animals is growing globally, especially for threatened species. Understanding how far an animal can move and the extent of its range can inform conservation planning and management. On the east coast of Australia, reef manta rays Mobula alfredi are the subject of a photographic identification study, Project Manta. In June 2018, videos of reef manta rays from the SS Yongala (19.31°S, 147.62°E), were submitted to the Project Manta east coast sightings database. The videos were of two individuals previously identified from North Stradbroke Island (27.42°S, 153.55°E), about 1150 km to the south of the SS Yongala. This represents the greatest point-to-point distance travelled by individual M. afredi and extends the latitudinal range for this sub-population on the east coast. This study highlights that citizen science input can provide valuable data to address knowledge gaps in the distribution and population range of marine species. Knowledge of the 1000+ km range movement potential of individual M. alfredi, highlights the possibility that regional sub-populations may span jurisdictional zones of more countries than previously considered likely, complicating conservation management of this species.