Squid Lab

There are more than 300 different types of squid that have been identified around the world. The giant squid have eyeballs that are the same size as a standard basketball. Some of the larger squid can weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Every squid features three hearts. They also move through the water tail first instead of head first. Even though 300 species of squid have been identified and classified, it is believed there are at least 200 more that still need to be evaluated. The most interesting thing was looking at the squid eyeball underneath the microscope, and pulling it out of the head was the most disgusting thing. I liked touching the squid but hated the feeling of the gonads inside the squid. I would have definitely used gloves and not my bare hands if I could change something about the lab.

Overfishing

Overfishing is a major concern because we are killing fish that we aren't even eating and it makes no sense to deplete the population of fish for no reason whatsoever. This affects my daily life because if the ocean food chain is damaged, it means less fish for fisherman to catch and sell to markets so we can eat them at restaurants. Getting involved in local governments to promote safe catch limits and controls on bycatch would be the best way to help prevent overfishing.

Whale Flukes

Flukes are used to ID whales because they are unique to each whale just like a fingerprint is unique to each human. Scientists need this data because it helps to find the whales' migration patterns. The most difficult part of the lab was finding the exact whale fluke that matches when almost all of them look exactly the same. The best way to make this lab better is to add more things to do like come up with a story about each whale fluke you identify.

Coral Bleaching

Warmer water temperatures can result in coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. When a coral bleaches, it is not dead. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and are subject to mortality.

4 Problems Caused By Marine Debris

Bottle Caps are eaten by birds because they mistake them as food, and the plastic causes them to starve.

Oil Spills can get oil all over marine life and cause them to have problems feeding and breathing.

Plastic bags can get eaten and get caught around marine life and can end up suffocating them.

Six pack rings can be traps for younger marine life and they can lose parts of their body or become deformed.

Little Stinger Of the Sea

Common Name : Portuguese Man-of-war
Scientific Name: Physalia physalis
Adaptations: To avoid threats on the surface, they can deflate their air bags and briefly submerge.
Hunting Strategies: Man-of-wars are found, sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more, floating in warm waters throughout the world's oceans.
Reproduction: The polyps responsible for reproduction are the gonozooids, which are comprised of gonophores; sacs containing either ovaries or testes.
Interesting Facts: The tiny Nomeus gronovii fish is immune to the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war. Portuguese men of war are a food source for some fish and crustaceans that are of commercial value and thus, benefit the economy as well.

I chose it because I have seen them up close in Corpus Christi on a vacation.

Sea Grass Adaptations

Sea grass provides food for many organisms in the ocean with its detritus. They also provide leaves for marine life.  Residents of sea grass ecosystems live in the sea grass while migrants and travelers only visit sea grass ecosystems sometimes for meals, and they move on somewhere else. 

Sea Grass Benefits

1.  Sea Grass is home to many types of fish

2. Sea Grass provides detritus for fish.

3. Sea Grass cleanse the water.

4. Sea Grass can be a nursery for coral reef marine life.

5. Sea Grass are a food source for many types of marine life.

Monitor Lizard

The monitor lizard, also known as Varanus Indicus, can be found in Africa and all across Asia, including the surrounding seas. Female monitor lizards bury their eggs in holes or hollow tree stumps that the female monitor lizard then covers with dirt in order to protect her eggs. Monitor lizards can lay up to 30 eggs at a time, although many monitor lizard lay less, and only a lucky few of the monitor lizard babies tend to survive. Their main prey are rodents, snakes, and other lizards. They are apex predators, and use sharp claws and can sometimes be smaller than 20 cm in length. I chose this animal because I am fond of the komodo dragon, which is the largest of the species.

Mangroves

There are Black, Red, and White mangrove trees. Black mangroves have tubular vertical roots that absorb and take in oxygen. Red mangroves have an elaborate prop and aerial root system that stabilizes the trees. White mangroves are the shortest and have un-buttressed roots. Mangroves provide homes, food, and break down pollutants. They also protect vulnerable coastlines from tropical storms and they also prevent coastal erosion. They can be used for charcoal and also fishing poles which benefits the fishing industry. 

Ocean Garbage Patch

The Ocean Garbage Patch is located in the North Pacific Ocean and gyre of marine debris like plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris which was formed by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. It can end up in the stomachs of many marine life and cause death because the animals' digestion can not break down the debris. Man can help clean up and safely remove plastic and debris from the oceans, and also man can recycle plastics so they do not end up in the ocean.

Loggerhead turtle

The Loggerhead Sea Turtle, or Caretta caretta, lives in all but some of the coldest oceans in the world. They have forelimbs that are modified into paddle-like flippers for swimming. They are currently endangered and their nesting populations are decreasing even though they are receiving protection. The sea turtle is my favorite animal, and I prefer this one to the others because it is the largest. 

Ocean Acidification

It is the ongoing decrease in the pH of Earth's oceans that is caused by Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. It causes planktonic and benthic organisms to become weaker and face dissolution. Humans burning fossil fuels and using CO2 on land is contributing to it. We can extract carbonic acid for use in making synthetic fuel. I learned that one third of all carbon dioxide emitted by humanity has been absorbed by the world’s oceans and that we are destroying approximately one coral reef everyday. I also learned that coral reefs are being lost more than twice as fast as the rainforests.

5 facts about Plankton

• Plankton are viewed as the foundation for food webs in the oceanic ecosystem.  

  The plankton provide a source of food for larger organisms such as fish, crustaceans and even whales.

Phytoplankton are a type of plankton that use photosynthesis to provide energy to the rest of the body. 

• Phytoplankton serve as the food source for zooplankton.

Zooplankton are oceanic animals that rarely swim. Instead, the organisms drift and move using currents and waves in the body of water.

Killer Whales

The killer whale, or orca, or Orcinus orca as it is known in the scientific community is the largest apex predator in the world. They are normally found in cold, coastal waters, but they can also be seen from the polar regions to the Equator. They are very protective of their young and give birth every 3 to 10 years after a 17 month pregnancy. Killer whales are widely distributed across the oceans and therefore not in any danger at this moment. They can live from 50 to 80 years and weigh up to 6 tons. In 2012 it was found that killer whales are inhaling bacteria, fungi and viruses once believed to be found only on land. Some of the viruses were antibiotic-resistant. I chose this mammal because of it's unique stance at the top of the food chain. 

Plankton Race

The most difficult part was getting a "plankton" to sink. Our "plankton" would float forever and never drop below the water level because of the little amount of surface tension it was getting.

If I could start this over again, I would build it similar to the group next to us that used less materials and created a much larger surface area which really slowed it down when it sank.

The best part of this activity was the ability to create your own unique way of getting a "plankton" to sink as slowly as possible. Everybody's was different and had different times, so there was many options to take during this activity.

Harmful Algae Bloom

Harmful algal blooms are algal bloom events involving toxic or otherwise harmful phytoplankton such as dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium and Karenia, or diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia.


Two common causes are nutrient enrichment and warm waters. Many different types of phytoplankton are responsible are HABs. 

Lowering the nutrients, light and temperature available to the blue-green algae in the water supply will help reduce algal growth.

A single red tide event in the Gulf Coast of Florida costs about $20 million, including losses to the tourism industry, hotel/motel suppliers, commercial fisheries, and local governments for the expense of beach cleanup. 

Plankton's Importance and Diatoms/Dinoflagellates

Many animals feed off of plankton, but too much can block sunlight and plants will die. However, phytoplankton produces much of the Earth's oxygen supply which is needed (obviously) for humans to survive. They show scientists where ocean currents provide nutrients for plant growth. The differences between diatoms and dinoflagellates is that diatoms have a silica cell wall, and dinoflagellates have flagella. 

Diatom

Dinoflagellate

Fireworm

It's common name is the fireworm, but it is known in the scientific community as Eurythoe complanata. It has  white spines that break off into the skin which can cause horrible burning and itching. It's habitat is along the low-tide line up to 50 feet deep, coral reefs, and flat sea bottoms. It is currently not listed as endangered or threatened. The Fireworm has 4 eyes and 5 tentacles. It moves by contracting and elongating its body shape. I chose this animal because of its interesting look and its method of attack and self defense.

An up and personal look at a fireworm. 

The Fram

The Fram, which was headed by Fidtjof Nansen, was launched on October 26th, 1892. It was one of the most famous ships of the world at that time, and it was one of only a few ships that was built for a polar expeditionary purpose. The ship, with engines and boilers, was calculated to weigh about 420 tons. It was said to have traveled farther north and south than any other wooden ship, and it is now preserved in a museum in Norway. It is important because it reached the North Pole and proved that land was there and not just frozen ice. 

The Fram preserved in Norway

The Study Of The Ocean

I think that Magellan's journey to prove that the world was round was a major event that changed the study of the ocean. We now knew that the world wrapped around and that the oceans that surrounded the land had an end and also had no end, since they went around and around. We knew that there was a depth because it had to end somewhere. Exploration of the ocean and the rest of the world began to increase after this.

Magellan's Journey

Why should we study the ocean?

Why should we study the ocean? Well it is the largest source of food on the planet, and it provides a huge majority of the air we need to breathe. Many new medicinal discoveries have come out of it, and the raw materials found in the ocean help build our society today. Also the ocean affects the climate that we have to deal with every day. So many people travel over the sea and we use it as a means of transportation. It needs to be studied so we can understand all of the things we are getting out of it, and so we can find more helpful things in it.

Medicine from the Ocean

Seafood

Boat Race

I wasn't able to test my boat due to the high dryer being damaged before any attempts. I am sure that I would have been successful and I will see how it goes on Monday...

Styrofoam Boat

My boat design varied from using water bottles to tin foil to styrofoam. I found out that styrofoam works the best because the water bottles never floated straight, and the tin foil always lost its form. I set up my boat in my bathtub but decided not to risk putting the hairdryer anywhere near the water. I couldn't take any pictures of my boat but I have a picture of a very elaborate boat made of styrofoam.

The Batfish

The batfish is a very unique fish that has many interesting qualities. It's scientific name, Ogcocephalidae,  is a doozy to pronounce. One of its adaptations is that the pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins are modified to where it can look like it is walking on its fins. Most batfish are found around reefs and deeper water. It is not listed as an endangered or threatened species. I was interested in the batfish mainly because of its name.

Oceanographer Instruments

Biological oceanographers use robotic underwater vehicles to reduce risk of submarines and submersibles that are manned and provide great views of the underwater life.

Physical oceanographers use a tide gage to measure the wave height in deep water.

Chemical oceanographers use deepwater sampling devices like the one in the picture below to study processes that occur in the depths of the oceans.

Geological oceanographers use satellite mapping to study the structure and topography of the ocean floor.

Why We Explore

Bob Ballard is extremely correct by saying that we should explore our oceans before going into the unknown. Our world has plenty more to offer, and outer space can wait. I feel that our government is spending way too much time and money on a program that hasn't accomplished anything revolutionary since 1969. We don't know what the oceans contain, but more people should be eager to understand what it has to offer.