Coral may look like a rock but they’re certainly not! Take some time to learn about the vulnerable species here. It’s climate change we have to worry about but the ocean habitat is up against ocean acidification and the first clue is from coral.
Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
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What are those yellow looking things that look like a floppy spinal cord?
The strand of half dollar sized pods is an egg case. Actually each pod has about twenty tiny animals in each pod. The tiny animal that will grow from this egg case is the knobbed whelk. This is basically a northeast version of a conch (pronounced conk). If you hold the tiny discs up to […]
How do sea stars eat?
First, sea stars grip their prey (e.g., bivalves, such as clams and oysters) with their suction feet and pry them apart to eat the muscle inside the shells. Then, once the bivalve’s shell is open, the stomach of the sea star emerges from the middle of the underside of its star-shaped body to absorb the […]
What is shark finning?
There has been a lot in the news recently about shark finning. It’s the inhumane practice of capturing a shark, slicing its fins off (shark fin soup is an expensive delicacy popular at Chinese weddings and Chinese New Year celebrations), and tossing the rest of the animal overboard to bleed out a die. As noted […]
What is the biggest fish in the sea?
The whale shark is the biggest fish on the planet. The largest whale shark measures about 66 feet long and 74,957 pounds. Not to be confused with the blue whale, a mammal, which is the largest animal on the planet. The largest blue whale measured about 110 feet and up to 400,000 pounds! The whale […]
More on marine debris …
Healthy autumn eating tips Home » Health and Wellness Articles » Nutrition » Healthy autumn eating tips A change in season often means a change in diet and routine. You may feel more inclined to seek the warmth and comfort indoors once you notice it getting a little cooler outside. Avoid falling into the trap of sabotaging the healthy habits you […]
What’s in your medicine cabinet affects aquatic life
Yup, that’s right – what is in your medicine cabinet (e.g., anxiety medication, birth control) affects not only us, but animals in streams, lakes, and even the ocean. As the President’s Cancer Panel noted in a 2010 report, “Pharmaceuticals have become a considerable source of environmental contamination, this is why experts recommend the use of […]
June 2010 is National Oceans Month (NOM)
“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as National Oceans Month. I call upon Americans to learn more about what they can do to protect, conserve, sustain, […]
Who is afraid of Atlantic wolf(fish)?
The Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) may look rather frightening, but, the fish will only harm you if it is out of water. This is rather understandable since it is out of its natural habitat. It prefers to live on rocky bottoms of the ocean floor in very deep, cold waters. These fish have high concentrations […]
What is a Marine Protected Area (MPA)?
“A marine protected area (MPA) in the ocean is similar in concept to what a national park is on the terrestrial environment.” Shifting Baselines There are many terms that mean ‘MPA’, including: sanctuaries, parks, preserves, or natural areas. All of these areas have some boundary in the oceans and are protected by either the Department […]
Playing well with others? Dissecting the tension between the scientist-educator community
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge”. Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist “The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions”. Claude Levi-Strauss (1908 – 2009) French anthropologist and ethnologist “Those that can’t do, teach”. […]
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