Posts Tagged With: fish

SYLVIA THE SEAHORSE!

SYLVIA THE SEAHORSE!

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Hi everyone! I’m Sylvia the Seahorse! I’m the last of the new professors to introduce myself here at the University of Ellie and Edmond! I’m named after Sylvia Earl, the famous ocean explorer! I’ll be here to teach you all about the fish of the world’s oceans and freshwater habitats. Fish come in all sizes and shapes and we live at the very deepest parts of the oceans to the rivers at the tops of mountains! Some of us are colorful and oddly shaped and others of us are plain.
Most people don’t know that I am a fish, but I am! I live in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia! I’m not the strongest swimmer as my dorsal fin is very small, so I stay close to the corals, where I hang on with my tail. I eat small plankton and crustaceans that I suck into my snout. I must constantly eat because I have no stomach. I can eat up to 3,000 shrimp a day! They sure are tasty. I have a mate who incubates our young. That’s right the male seahorse has a pouch that he carries the eggs in until the hatch.
I am so excited to share more about myself and my fish friends here at The University! I hope you’re excited too!

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

WHALE SHARK DAY!!

WHALE SHARK DAY!!

 whale shark2

Today it International Whale Shark Day! So let’s celebrate these gentle giants of the oceans!

  • Whale sharks are the largest fish in the oceans!
  • They are sharks, with full cartilaginous skeletons!
  • Whale sharks are filter feeders! They eat plankton that they filter out of the water.

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  • Whale sharks prefer temperate to tropical waters.
  • Whale sharks are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN list.
  • Whale sharks can live up to 70 years!
  • Every whale shark has a unique spot pattern.
  • Whale sharks are classified as carpet sharks, which include nurse sharks and our favorite the wobbegong!

whale sharks

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Answer: A) 3 feet

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, oceans, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

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Welcome everyone! I’m very excited for today’s lesson! It’s a great word, so let’s get right to it!

Today’s word is: Symbiosis (simbēˈōsəs)  an interaction between two living organisms. There are different kinds of symbiosis; today we will talk about mutualism. Mutualism is when two living organisms interact with each other that benefit each other.

Here are two examples:

Cleaner shrimp and eel or fish- the shrimp eat parasites off the eels mouth. The eel gets rid of pesky parasites and the shrimp get a meal!

cleaner shrimp

Clownfish and anemones- clownfish spend their time in a host anemone. The stinging cells of the anemone help protect the clownfish from predators, while the anemone eats bits of food that the clownfish drops.

Nature is full of symbiotic relationships- including mutual ones! Can you think of any other mutualistic ones?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SEA HORSE COLORS!

SEA HORSE COLORS!

Since we’ve been talking about biomes and habitats, we’d thought it would be fun to share a coloring sheet of a sea horse in its habitat- the coral reef.

We would love to see your art work when you print it out and color it! As always- you can find us on Facebook and Twitter or Instagram!

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Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

swow marsupial

Welcome back to our summer session! I’m so glad to see everyone here in class! I had a lovely break and Ellie and Edmond had a nice weekend exploring the outdoors. I’m excited for this week’s word! Are you ready to learn today?

This week’s word is Marsupial: a marsupial is a mammal that gives live birth to very small young that climb into the mother’s pouch or marsupium to grow up in. The pouches are mostly on the outside of the mother’s pouch. Most marsupials live in Australia, except for several species of opossums- who live in North, Central and South America.

opossum

The Virginia Opossum lives in North America.

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 41- we meet a puffer fish…

Day #41 (7/16/2014) Dogface Pufferfish…

e & e snorkeling

We went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef yesterday and spotted so many kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans to cephalapods. We saw a curious funny faced fish. We realized it was a pufferfish and not just any pufferfish- a dogface pufferfish!
puffer fish
Their range/habitat: Indo-Pacific oceans/ coral reefs
Their length: 3-12″  Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Omivores– algae, seaweed, sponges

• Dogface pufferfish are also known as the blackspotted puffer.
• They have no pelvic fin.
• Dogface pufferfish are solitary and territorial.
• Dogface pufferfish to have toxins.
• They will puff up when threatened.
dog face puffer fish2

We were so excited to see this special fish with the dog like face! Puffer fish get a bad rap; who knew they could be so cute? We’re going to bed for the night, it is exhausting snorkeling all day! More adventures tomorrow!

-Ellie and Edmond

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

Day #40 (6/14/14) – Guess the Animal
We had such a great time in Australia last week that we decided to stay and headed up to the Northeastern coast to see the Great Barrier Reef. We wanted to see one of the most diverse habitats on the planet. We spotted all kinds of fish on our first day! Can you guess this one?

yellow tang
• They are brightly colored.
• They have a long snout.
• They eat algae and seaweed.

Who is it?

-Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Day 27- Guess the Animal!

Day #27 (3/13/14) – Guess the Animal

We just had to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef while we were in Australia! We spotted this little fish! Can you guess?

clownfish

 

  •          This fish lives in coral reefs.
  •          They live with an anemone.
  •          They are brightly colored.

Who is it?

Ellie and Edmond

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 12- Guess the Animal

 Day #12 (1/23/14) – Guess the Animal

We’re having trouble with the internet out here on our boat. It makes it hard to post. Good thing we head back to land this afternoon. We saw the most amazing fish yesterday in the sub and as we headed back to the surface we spotted a school of these fish. Read the clues and tell which fish you think it is!

hammerhead

 

  •          They are a cartilaginous fish.
  •          They can be seen in schools or alone.
  •          They are named after a tool.

Who is it?

Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 11- Back on the road

Day #11 (1/22/2014) Back on the road(and in the ocean)

      We had a great weekend and really enjoyed celebrating Penguin Appreciation Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day! We spent the evening before deciding where we wanted to go this short week. We haven’t taken out the submarine in while, so we made the decision to do looking for a crazy looking fish! Packing up a submarine can be tricky, but luckily we have a great support staff. It’s always exciting to get lowered in to the water and find amazing species! Today’s fish is especially crazy! It’s the Barreleye!

e e deep sea

Their range and habitat: tropical-subtropical oceans/ worldwide

Their length: up to 4 ¼”    Their status: common

They are carnivores

barreleye

  • Barreleyes have upward facing and barrel shaped eyes.
  • They have spineless dorsal fin.
  • They have a light reflecting organ that makes the barreleye practically invisible from the underside.
  • Barreleyes are found in deep waters; as deep as 80m.
  • Barreleyes are toothless.

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You never known what two explorers will find when they go looking the oceans great depths. We know so little about the creatures that live in the largest habitat on earth. Ellie has a bit of claustrophobia, so after a few hours in the sub she is ready to come back to the surface. I myself could stay in there for hours and hours! Tomorrow is Guess the Animal and it’s one we spotted on our way back up to the surface!

-Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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