Coral bleaching is the loss of zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae give coral its color, when under stress corals may expel their zooxanthellae.coral bleaching happens when the conditions coral needs to sustain their zooxanthellae can't be maintained.since many animals rely on coral for protection and food, a lot of fish would become extinct without it. This is an important topic because many societies rely on fish for their food and livelihood.
Marine debris is very dangerous for many marine animals. The debris like six pack rings and plastic bags can strangle and even entangle animals. Plastic pellets are also a big problem, many animals mistake them for food and end up dying from eating to much. All the trash and debris in the ocean has to go somewhere, it all ends up in the garbage patch in the pacific ocean. The garbage patch is now twice the size of Texas and is growing bigger every day. Its nearly impossible to clean up the garbage patch now because of its size, it would cost a lot of money and cleaning it up would not stop the debris from coming. The only way to help is to stop using so much plastic and recycle.
The cone snail (Gastridium geographus) has adapted to bury its self under the ocean floor to hide from predictors and to hunt its prey. The cone fish has finger like projections on his mouth that trick fish into thinking its an anemone or food. The come snail secrets chemicals into the water that sedate their prey. By doing this the cone is able to get close enough to its prey to harpoon it. Some cone have a slimy coat on their shell called periostracum. The slimy coat works as a comouflage in their habitat. The cone snail reproduces by laying eggs and attaching the to a substrate. The legs are laid in capsules, they have two types of offspring some are free swimming larvae and some are like baby snails. I chose the cone snail because they are beautiful but very deadly.
Adaptations:
-seagrass has horizontal roots called rhizomes which help them stay put when waves brush up against them.
-sea grass has adapted to salt water
How seagrass provides food:
-animals like the manatee and turtle eat seagrass
-when seagrass dies the organic material turns into detritus.
Animals:
Residents- live permanently in sea grass
Migrants- travel from the coral reef to the sea grass to eat and then travel back
Travelers- rarely ever come to the seagrassseagrass
1.) Provides a shelter for crustaceans
2.)prevents erosion
3.)provides food for migrants and travelers
4.)provides detritus
5.)provides shelter for fish
Watch "Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Ocean Pollution Awareness" on YouTube
This video is about the garbage patch in the Pacific. Thousands of plastic bags, bottles, and pellets have polluted the ocean. This video spreads awareness of what is going on out in the pacific. I give it five stars!
Pollution is slowly killing the ocean.
Monofilament- a strand of untwisted synthetic fiber used for fishing line.
Entanglement- animals accidentally getting tangled in fishing nets
Plastic bags- many animal mistake this for food
Ghost fishing- lost fishing nets that catch fish and kill them
Plastic pellets- small pieces of plastic that fish mistake for food. Once eaten it does not digest in their stomach
Mangroves provide a habitat for baby fish called nurseries. The fallen leaves and organic matter turn into a nutrient called detritus. The sediment is anaerobic which mean it has no oxygen in it. Toxins like oils spills and raw sewage can destroy mangroves. The buffer system protects buildings from winds, waves, and tides. The mangroves are an ecosystem corridor because they protect us from natural forces.
Mangroves prevent excessive amounts of salt from damaging their tissue by restricting the amount of salt that can enter the roots. Red mangroves have prop roots that anchor into loose mud, they also have pores on them that bring oxygen from to their roots. Black mangroves have straw like roots that are raised above the water to gather oxygen. Both threes also have a thick cuticle that restricts salt from being absorbed.
The mouse deer (Moschiola tragulus) live in mangroves. They breed during late March through October and produce 2-4 litters. The mouse deer eats insects, crabs and scavenges for fish. Mouse deer are solitary and live in pairs,
They have four stomachs, and they submerge their self in water for long periods of time to evade predators. I chose the mouse deer because its a very unique animal.
Karenia brevis is responsible for the red tide. It produces neurotoxins called brevetoxins, which are known to cause neurological problems in organisms and gastrointestinal problems. Brevetoxins cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. Symptoms in humans are vomiting, nausea, and neurological symptoms like slurred speech. This poisoning kills many fish. When red tide happens in the gulf coast the fishing industry takes a big hit causing a lot of people to lose money.
Plant plankton is called phytoplankton they need to be near the surface where they can photosynthesise. Zooplankton are animal plankton, That feed on phytoplanlton. There are two types of zooplankton, holoplankton and meroplankton. Holoplankton live in open water and spend their entire lives in a floating state. Meroplankton live in coastal waters and are only plankton for a limited part of there developement. They later become benthos or nekton.
The pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) are found in cool waters of the north Pacific Ocean. These dolphins reproduce every 4-5 years and the females take care of their calves for 8-10 months. The White-sided dolphines are endangered creatures, its illegal hunt them except for in japan. The population of the Pacific White Sided dolphins is estimated to be around 900,000. They were actually studied and drafted by the US navy. They are very social and can learn primary symbol codes. I chose this dolphins because they are very smart animals and are very beautiful!
HAB is an algae bloom that causes negitive impacts on other organisms. HAB's cause large scale marine mortality and shellfish poisonings. They are caused by two species of dinoflagellates called gonyaulax and gymnodinium. You can prevent HAB by not using fertilizers and by not dumping sewage in the ocean. In the gulf coast HAB causes neuro toxic shellfish poisoning.
Plankton is important because nearly all marine creatures depend on it as a food source, phytoplankton is responsible for 50% of all photosynthesis on earth, and humankind will be impacted in many ways by global warming and phytoplankton's key role in this process make them critical to our survival. Diatoms move with the current and dinoflagellates move using flagella.
The squid (disambiguation) lives in about every major body of water. Squids have two long tentacles to help grasp food, they squirt ink so they can escape enemies, they use bioluminescence to get light and they can change colors to blend in with their environment. The heaviest squid was found in New Zealand it was more than 1,000 pounds. The squid is not endangered there are more than 300 species of known squid. I chose the squid because they're so cute!
The Glomar Challenger was given its name as a tribute to the HMS Challenger. The vessel was launched on march 23, 1968 and was a deep sea research vessel. In August 1968 the ship went on a 15 year long expidition drilling core samples that provided evidence to the hypothesis of plate tectonics. After 15 years of operation the Glomar Challenger was taken out of active duty in November 1938.
The history of oceanography has changed over time because the technology of the equipment being used has advanced. Soundings were able to determine the depth of the water. Even though sounding weren't very accurate over time it led to the invention of the sonar. A sonar is like a map of the seabed. The advancement of technology in the field of oceanography is constantly progressing.
We should study the ocean because we can't understand or forecast climate without understanding the ocean. There could be resources in the ocean that we haven't discovered. So we can preserve the habitats in the ocean that are endangered. 72% of the earth is water and we know little about it. Very little of the ocean has actually been explored.
The Queen angel (Holacanthus ciliaris) is found near reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean. The queen angel has two evolved adaptions that help them eat sponges. They have protracted jaws with teeth that have overlapping rows that cut through tough exteriors. The queen angle also has a special secretion of thick mucus that coats the sponge, making it easier to eat. Queen angels are not endangered but are threatened because of the destruction of their habitat the coral reef. I chose this fish because I like the colors it has.
Many oceanographers use submersibles to explore the deep sea. They are used to take people to depths they can't reach by any other means. Many other oceanography tools help learn about underwater habitats but the submersible is most effective because it actually takes you to the deep sea where you can observe in person the phenomena of the deep sea.
Robert Ballards discussion on why we explore explains why the ocean should be researched more. Ballard talks about the discovery of hydrothermal vents and a new ecosystem that doesn't rely on photosynthesis but instead on chemosynthesis. I agree with Ballard that we should explore the ocean more because 72% of the earth is covered by water and we know little about what goes on down there.
