Animals

It’s a Ray! It’s a Bat Ray!

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

It’s a Ray! It’s a Bat Ray!

We wrapped up our last day on the west coast diving and we found this amazing ray. Rays are such graceful and neat fish and we were super excited to meet the bat ray!

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Date: 1/26

Location: Kelp forest

Bat Ray Fun Facts:

  • Bat rays belong in the eagle ray family.
  • They use their pectoral fins to swim and to stir-up sand and reveal prey.
  • When these rays “dig” out holes from the sand, they leave holes that other fish, like the horn shark use to hide in.
  • Bat rays have strong crushing plates that they use to crush hard shells.

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  • Bat rays give live birth. The pups have the venomous spine, but it is soft and covered in a sheath to protect the mother.
  • Bat rays have spiracles that move water over their gills when they are resting on the ocean floor.
  • Bat rays are mostly solitary.

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Wow! We so enjoyed watching the rays swim so gracefully in the waters just off the coast! We couldn’t have picked a better last day! We did miss many animals though; that just means we’ll have to come back! For now, we’ll head back to our HQs at the University and get our things back for the Serengeti! That’s right, we’re going to Africa and back to Ellie’s home! We are so excited!!!

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Walking a Shark

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Walking a Shark!

We are enjoying our last few days here in the kelp forest. After early morning smoothies (at 4am) we boarded the SS Ellie and Edmond and headed out for one last dive. We were hoping to find a little shark who is super neat!

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Date: 1/25

Location: Kelp forest

Horn Shark Fun Facts:

  • Horn sharks have blunt snouts.
  • They have a sharp spine on each dorsal fin that helps protect them from predators.
  • Horn sharks are nocturnal and solitary.

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  • Horn sharks stay in a small home territory.
  • Female horn sharks lay cone shape eggs they wedge in between rocks.
  • Young sharks live in the kelp forests in rock crevices or holes made by bat rays.
  • They use their strong jaws to suck in prey. They then crush the outer shells and eat the meat inside.

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horn-shark

We had such a great time on our dive. Luckily we spotted another elasmobranch on our trip and we’ll tell you more about them tomorrow!

 

 

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Hello Birdie!

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Hello Birdie!

After spending the day on the boat whale watching, we decided to chill on the shore and have a picnic while bird watching. We found a group of black birds called pelagic cormorants who were quiet entertaining!

 

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comorants

 

 

 

 

 

Date:1/23

Location: coast near the kelp forests

Pelagic Cormorant Fun Facts:

  • Male and females look the same.
  • They are not very efficient flyers, due to short wings.
  • Those short wings help with diving for prey.
  • Pelagic cormorants are also clumsy walkers on land.
  • Unlike other water birds, cormorants do not have waterproof feathers. They must dry and preen them on shore.
  • They do not nest in large colonies, but in small groups.

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  • Both male and females help incubate the eggs and raise the chicks.

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We had a lovely afternoon watching the cormorants and the other shore birds. Pelicans are still our favorites with their big beaks. Having a healthy population of shore birds is often an indicator for healthy oceans. But like marine mammals, our shore bird friends suffer from ingesting plastic! So keep up the recycling and throw away that trash!

 

 

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We’re Having a Whale of a Time

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We’re Having a Whale of a Time

We’re entering our last week here at the Kelp Forest. We sure have had a blast. Today we boarded the SS Ellie and and Edmond and went whale watching. We have met humpbacks off the coast of California, but we have never spotted the gray whale. So we headed out to find these giants of the deep.

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Date: 1/23

Location: Off the California coast

Gray Whale Fun Facts:

  • Gray whales are baleen whales. They have plates of fine hair to filter out the tiny food they eat.
  • Their baleen is a cream color, unlike other baleen whales with black colored baleen.
  • Most gray whale lay on their right side to scoop sediment from the ocean floor.
  • Gray whales have two v-shaped blowholes on top of their head.
  • Gray whales have no dorsal fin, instead sport a bumpy dorsal ridge.

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  • They are often covered in barnacles.
  • The Northern pacific population of grey whales is the largest population in the world.

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We had such a fabulous time watching for these migrating giants. We love whales. Gray whales were almost hunted to extinction, but with protections put in place their populations grew and the Pacific populations are now stable.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, endangered species, nature, oceans, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s An Orange Fish

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

It’s An Orange Fish

On our first dive yesterday, one of the most striking fish we saw was the Garibaldi fish. These orange fish get their name from a famous Italian politician who often work bright orange/red. Mother nature gave this fish their color and thank goodness it did!

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Date: 1/19

Location: Kelp forest

Garibaldi fish fun facts:

  • Garibaldi are members of the damselfish family.
  • They are the largest member of the damselfish family.
  • Garibaldi are very territorial.
  • Males will aggressively defend eggs while they are incubating. They are even known to bite divers who get to close.
  • When they charge, they make a grunting noise as a warning.

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  • Garibaldi are the state marine fish of California.
  • Females choose their mates by how much they like the nest a male has. Females can check out over a dozen nests before choosing the right one.
  • They often choose a nest that has other females’ eggs in it. This means the male defends the nest well.

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garibaldi

It’s amazing how nature works. Who knew that female Garibaldi were so picky. But who can blame them, when there are many predators in the sea who find your eggs to be so tasty.

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One Swell Shark

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

One Swell Shark

We went diving again today in the kelp forest. Our goal was to meet some of the fish who call this special place home! First up is one cool shark! Don’t worry- they are pretty shy and small :)!

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swell-shark

Date: 1/18

Location: Kelp forest

Swell Shark Fun Facts:

  • Swell sharks get their name from their unique defense mechanism. They grab their tail in their mouth and pump air or water in their stomach and swell to double their normal size.
  • They let out a barking noise when releasing the excess air.
  • Swell sharks are not strong swimmers.
  • They spend their days hiding in caves or crevices.
  • Swell sharks are mostly nocturnal and venture out to find prey.

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  • They lay eggs, called mermaids purses. The eggs are attached to hard structure to stay in play.
  • Swell sharks are biofluorescent. They absorb light electromagnetic light waves and re-emit as a different color. This neat adaptation was only discovered a few years ago.

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We dove at two separate times -once during the day and once at night. We knew the little swell shark would be out at night. We were so excited to spot on swimming in the water. They are very shy and often when they see divers, freeze. It’s a shark that plays opossum- hehehe!

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Bat of the sea!

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Bat of the Sea!

We’re spent the day looking for little sea stars that look a little funny- bat stars! We were lucky and found some!

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Date: 1/16

Location: kelp forest

Bat Star Fun Facts:

  • Bat stars come in a variety of colors.
  • Some bat stars have more than 5 arms.

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  • Bat stars have gill like stars on their back.
  • Bat stars are scavengers. They eat prey and algae from the sea floor.
  • They have annelid worms that live in the groves of one arm eating bits of food leftover from the bat star.
  • Bat stars do not have endoskeleton or exoskeleton. They are covered in hard plates that are connected and embedded in the tissues of the bat star.

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batstar

We had fun searching tide pools for bat stars. These little echinoderms live all around the kelp forest and along the coast line. Sea stars are so cool.

 

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Bird of the Sea!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Bird of the Sea!

We spent the day on the cliffs bird watching. So many sea birds to love and learn about. We were especially thrilled to spot some black and white birds, reminiscent of penguins in appearance, but better fliers!

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Date: 1/12

Location: kelp forest coastline

Common Murre Fun Facts:

  • Common murres are not very agile flyers, but are amazing at diving.
  • Common murres use their wings to propel them deep in the water to catch fish.
  • They have been recorded diving at depths of 590 ft.
  • They are related to gulls and terns.

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  • Common murre eggs are pointed on one end. They are also different colors.
  • It is thought the eggs are different colors to help the breeding pairs tell them apart.
  • After mating season, both females and males molt. During the molting season they can not fly.

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We had a great time watching these birds dive and hang out on the rocks. It was a great way to end the week!

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Scorpions! Fish! Scorpionfish!

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Scorpions! Fish! Scorpionfish!

As we were diving – we met another inhabitant of the kelp forest, the California Scorpionfish. These menacing looking fish are not easy to spot because of their amazing camouflage ability.

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Date: 1/11

Location: kelp forest

California Scorpionfish

  • Scorpionfish do not stay in the one territory and often travel around.
  • They are a deep red or brown.
  • They are also called the spotted scorpionfish.
  • California scorpionfish have no swim bladder.

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  • Their venom effects heart rates and blood pressure.

 

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We had a great time spotting these neat and dangerous fish! They may not be the cutest, but they sure are cool!

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We’re Seeing Red

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We’re Seeing Red

We decided to go diving in the kelp forest today to see if we could find an elusive but super cool animal- the red octopus! Octopus are one of our favorites. These cephalopods are intelligent and amazing!

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Date: 1/10

Location: Kelp forest

Red Octopus Fun Facts

  •  Red octopus have thousands of chemical receptors on their suckers to help them find food. Those same suckers also have millions of touch receptors.
  • Adult red octopus can be found as deep as 600 feet below the ocean’s surface.
  • Like other octopus, they can change color and texture in seconds!
  • Red octopus have a nasty venom they spit out after biting prey or a predator.
  • They use their sharp beaks to pry open shells of their favorite prey.

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  • Red octopus have excellent eyesight.
  • They are nocturnal.
  • Often red octopus leave the shells of their prey outside the caverns they hide in.

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These cunning predators are amazing to watch. Cephalopods always astound us with their ability to change color and texture so quickly. They are also highly intelligent and have been known to work out complicated puzzles in aquariums! Neat!

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, oceans, science, Today's Post, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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