oceans

FUN WITH NUDIBRANCHS!

We’ve been playing around with videos at HQs! We made a Nudibranch cheer video! Shout out the letters and you’ll meet our new nudibranch pal at the end!

We also drew a nudibranch coloring sheet for you to enjoy today too!! Want to learn more about Nudibranchs? Check out our post from last year!

THAT’S REMORA!

Since we’ve been talking about symbiosis and mutualism this week we’d thought we’d introduce you to a great pair of animals! The shark and the remora!

Remora Fun Facts:

• Remora’s dorsal fin that sucks on to the shark they are following.
• They live in tropical ocean waters.
• There are 8 species of remoras.
• Some remoras like to attach to specific species.

• They must attach to their host to get enough oxygen to pass over their gills.
• The remoras eat parasites and dead skin off their host and pick up any scraps the host may leave behind.
• The shark is cleaned of parasites.
• Some remoras live in the gills of fish.

Answer: True!

CEPHALOPOD LOVE!!

If you’re on social media, you may have noticed the celebration called cephalopod week! We wanted to join in and share the common octopus with you!

   Range/Habitat: Mediterranean- North Atlantic/ rocky bottoms

   Diet: Carnivore: crabs, crustaceans, mollusks

   Length: Head 9” arms up 3 ft

   Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Common octopi are cephalopods.
• They have no skeleton and four pairs of arms.
• Common octopi are considered very intelligent.  
• Common octopus moms lay up to 50,000 eggs in a dark cave.
• They stay with the eggs while they develop, generally around 2-6 months.
• Common octopus moms take care of the eggs, by cleaning, holding and blowing oxygen over them.
• They will not hunt or eat while they are taking care of the eggs.
• Common octopus moms pass away soon after the babies hatch.
• Octopus will release ink when threatened.
• They collect shells of crustaceans and other objects to build a fortress or garden.

We just love octopus! They are so intelligent and amazing creatures! There is so much more to learn about them! We’ll revisit them again soon!

Answer: False- octopus can lose a limb and regrow it!

CORAL!!

Professor Tamandua gave you a simple explanation of coral polyp the other day! Today we’re going to talk more about coral and how they build the reefs that are so amazing!

Coral Fun Facts:

• Coral are colonies of animals. They are built by tiny little animals called coral polyps!

• Each animal is attached to the next by a hard  exoskeleton.
• The large coral colonies are fixed to one spot. The individual animals can pull their tentacles into their exoskeleton for protection.
• They have tentacles with stinging cells that help them catch their prey!
• Coral are related to jellies and anemones.
• Coral share their homes with zooxanthella  (zō′ə-zăn-thĕl′ə), a type of algae. The zooxanthella and coral polyp help each other survive.
• The coral provide a home for the zooxanthella and the zooxanthella provide oxygen and nutrients for the coral.
• The zooxanthella also give the corals their colors!
• Because the zooxanthella need sun to make energy (photosynthesis), coral reefs are located in shallow waters.
• As coral grow, they help build shelter for many kinds of animals in the reef. Those calcium carbonate bodies build the reef.
• Some fish, like parrotfish eat coral. The fish’s poop then becomes sand. Much of the sand in the Caribbean is parrotfish poop!
• You can often see new growth on a coral by seeing the white tips!

Corals are essential for the health of coral reefs. Coral reefs are found mostly in tropical waters around the planet. These delicate ecosystems are important for many animals in the ocean. They are often called the rainforests of the ocean and are the one of the most biodiverse biomes on our planet! Let’s here it for coral!

 IT’S A MORAY!

Hehehehe! Who doesn’t love a good pun? Edmond loves them! When we were out looking for brain corals we spotted this special animal! They love to hide in the cracks and crevices of the coral reef and are considered very shy! So we were super excited to spot or maybe stripe is a better word, this creature!

Range/Habitat: Pacific-Indian Ocean/ reefs

 Diet: Carnivore: fish, crustaceans

 Length/Weight:  up to 35”/ 22 lb

 Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

•          They have long muscular bodies with no pectoral or pelvic fins. They do have one long dorsal fin.
  
•          Zebra morays usually hide in rocks or corals.
•      They are almost blind and hunt by smell.
  
•      They have flat teeth for crushing shells.
•       Zebra morays breathe by passing water through their mouths over their gills.
  
•          They have toxins in their skin to protect them from predators.

We love these beautiful eels. They look menacing, but are considered to be a social species of eel. The reef is one of our most favorite places to visit!

BRAINS!!

We have been thinking of all the wonderful animals that live in the ocean after last week’s We Are Fanimaly and Professor Tamandua’s post on mermaid’s purses. We decided to find out what makes a brain coral a brain coral! Who’s ready to find out with us?

• There are more than one species of brain coral.
• They are found in coral reefs and help build those habitats.
• Brain corals get their name from their resemblance to the brain with it’s groves and ridges.
• Brain corals are made up of thousands of little polyps that form a calcium carbonate skeleton.

• They are stony or hard corals.
• Brain coral can grow up to 6ft and can live for up to 900 years.
• Brain coral feed at night on plankton. They extend their tentacles and sting their prey.
• Brain coral are very slow growing.

Brain corals are amazing colony animals! We are always fascinated with these tiny animals that build a beautiful habitat that supports hundreds of other animals in the world’s coral reefs! What do you love about coral?

WE ARE FANIMALY!!!

We have a whole new We Are Fanimaly for you today! It’s been a while since we did one and we’re super excited to talk about these animal relatives! Come meet these ocean dwelling relatives!

• Coral and Jellies (often called jellyfish) are members of the cnidarian (the c is silent) family.
• Corals are invertebrates (they lack a backbone).
• Corals are mostly found in warm tropical ocean waters.
• Corals live in a colony that is made of calcium carbonate. Each coral has it’s own skeleton that helps make one large coral.
• The coral animal itself has a soft body that protects itself with that hard outer skeleton.
• Coral come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
• Corals build large reefs that then become a habitat for many other ocean animals, including fish, octopuses and sea turtles.
• Corals have tiny stingy cells called nematocytes.
• Jellies are also invertebrates.
• Jellies are found in oceans around the earth.
• Jellies are carnivores.
• Jellies have thousands of stinging cells (also called nematocytes) along their tentacles.
• A jellie’s tentacles can be very short or very long.
• Jellies have no left or right side, only a top (called the bell) and a bottom.
• Jellies have no brain or blood.

Wow! Who knew that corals and jellies were related? We sure will be wary around both creatures and those stinging cells! Jellies are one of the leatherback sea turtles favorite food! And without corals and their reefs, many ocean creatures would not have a habitat to live in! These two creatures are just another reason we should help protect our oceans!