Operculum is the hard scalelike cover of the gills of bony fishes. Cartilaginous fishes (such as sharks, skates and rays) all lack a gill cover.
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Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
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Christmas critter countdown: Star puffer
Did you know some species of puffers and other fish can live in both fresh and saltwater? It’s called euryhaline. Like … rhymes with “your-e-hey-leen!”. What’s it called when an animal isn’t this adaptable? Find out here.
Osprey platforms: Foundations that helped a comeback
Those huge platforms along the causeways are there for a very important reason. Osprey build their nests on them. They’ll also build their nests on any open platform free from predators and near shallow water. But, the man-made platforms have really help to bring back populations of osprey after their sharp decline in numbers due […]
How do fish give birth?
There are three general ways fish in the sea give birth to a new generation. I will start off explaining what is most familiar to us, fish that give birth to live young. This is called being viviparous. There is a structure similar to the placenta that connects the embryo to the mother’s blood supply. […]
Will I really swallow anything living if I gulp saltwater?
You just ingested a plethora of bacteria, exponentially less than that in terms of phytoplankton and then even fewer of zooplankton. Totaling several hundreds of millions of organisms – yup, that were living. Gulp. You will survive though. Just don’t make a habit out of it. Also, it should be mentioned that there are a […]
New ‘marine life encyclopedia’ launched
I think there might be another great bookmark to add to your ocean facts files! Please spend some time reviewing this great new resource, a marine life encyclopedia, compiled by Oceana. Over 500 creatures, places, and concepts can be explored. The pictures are bright and colorful and the information is up-to-date and easy to digest. […]
Lake Study Day at George Williams College provides competency-based learning strategies
The goal of any teacher or instructor is to have participants demonstrate a transfer of understanding. That is just what Chris Wells did with the college students enrolled in his Outdoor Education class during Lake Study Day at George Williams College of Aurora University in Lake Geneva, WI on April 25, 2018. Five students were […]
8 reasons to kick your heels about eels
In no particular order here are some interesting (and exciting) facts about eels. In college I built some eels ladders for a stream in southern New Jersey so these little critters do have a special place in my professional heart. Moray eels have the ability to tie their bodies in knots and use this to […]
Belly biology creates lasting memories
It’s the dead of winter and I am Reminiscing about last summer. My husband and I both turned 40 in 2019 and we splurged on a family vacation to Alaska. It’s been over six months and the most memorable part of the trip for our nine and six year old was an afternoon we spent […]
What is the fastest marine mammal?
The 2012 Summer Olympics are less than 10 days away and with this comes lots of intense swimming competitions (among other events). This got me wondering, if I lined up various species of marine mammals which one would be taking home the gold? Check out the average top speeds of 10 species in the graph […]
How to win a game of Survivor if stranded on a beach
While I am not here to tell you how to form alliances, I can mention some edible seaside plants found along the Atlantic coast. These include: Sea rocket, sea lettuce, prickly pear, bull thistle, dewberry and winged sumac. You can eat the blackberries of the dewberry with milk and honey. For a refreshingly cool drink […]
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