Thursday, February 4, 2010
Marine Mammals
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Reptiles and Birds
Shorebirds or waders have long legs for wading and thin sharp bills for finding food in the shallow water and sand.
"Sea" you real soon!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Fishes
Hagfish
The shape of the fish's body is primarily determined by the characteristics of its environment.
Many fishes exhibit coloration and color patterns that help them blend in with their envionrment .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSPptPhbFVc This video shows examples how fish use camoflauge to their advantage.
Bony fishes exploit virtually every food resource available in the marine enviornment.
Most bony fishes have a swim bladder that helps them maintain neutal buoyancy in the water column.
"Sea" you real soon!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Molluscs
Cephalopods can communicate with each other through movements of their arms and bodies and by color changes. Here is a video about how cuttlefish are masters of camouflage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW4PbW893ik
Cephalopods are carnivores . Their prey is located with highly developed eyes and captured by the tentacles. They have a powerful pair of beak-like jaws in their oral cavity.
This video is called Shark vs. Octopus. Can you guess who wins? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9A-oxUMAy8
"Sea" you real soon!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sponges and Cnidarians
A Sponges body is unique in that it is built around a system of water canals because of the sponged sessile lifestyle. Their bodies are full of tiny holes, or pores called ostia through which large amounts of water circulate.
Because sponges feed on material that is suspended in seawater, they are called suspension feeders or filter feeders because they filter their food from the water.
Sponges can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexual reproduction can either be budding or fragmentation.
Although they are simple sessile animals, sponges interact with other marine organisms in several ways. They compete for space. They are links in some marine food chains. Sponges form many symbiotic relationships and they provide habitat for other animals.
Cnidarians are a group of animals that consist of hydroids, corals, sea anemones and jellyfish.
Cnidarians have bodies that exhibit radial symmetry . This means that many planes can be drawn through the central axis that will divide the animal into two equivalent halves.
Cnidarians can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
One of the most important features of cnidarians is their stinging cells(cnidocytes). The stinging cell contains a stinging organelle called cnida.
Many species of cnidarian such as the Portugese man-of-war can cause painful stings.
The stings of a box jellyfish can be fatal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyCigZ_bsTM Here is video from National Geographic called Jellyfish Invasion!
"Sea" you real soon!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Multicellular Primary Producers
The life cycle of most brown algae consists of an alteration of generations between a sporophyte and a gametophyte.
Free floating clumps of sargassum weed forma complex three dimensional habitat that is home to a variety of unique organisms like this sargassum fish!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grh6cYcPfBk Here is an awesome video about a Sargassum Fish and how it utilizes the seaweed as its habitat!
"Sea" you real soon!!