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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CITES recognizes important marine species
You might think that sharks are a predator that we want to eradicate, but that’s far from the truth of the matter. For a healthy ocean we need the top predator. For 5 species of sharks – oceanic whitetip, scalloped hammerhead (pictured below), great hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, and porbeagle sharks – there was some inspiring […]
It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: Q for Queen Conch
Queen conch (Strombus gigas) is a marine snail or gastropod. If you’ve ever eaten conch fritters you understand why conch is a staple food source in the Caribbean and Florida. The shell of a queen conch thickens and grows as it ages. They get to be about 3-5 years of age and grow up to […]
Longfin inshore squid pulses to Cypress Hill
No one can deny that cephalopods are smart and elusive creatures, and here is yet another example that proves the point. Scientists at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA did experiments on the axons of the longfin inshore squid and were excited to see a vibrant color-changing spectrum of the squid’s brown, red, and yellow […]
You say you want a resolution! Well, you know …
If you and your family are looking for a motivating New Year’s resolution to revolutionize and change the world why not make a commitment towards using less water? According to the folks at Good (and Greg Rubin) in partnership with Levi a family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day but can survive […]
A Scientist’s Inspiration
For Dr. Penny Chisholm, a single look into the microscope as an undergraduate student set off a chain of events that led to a lifetime of work, important new research changing our understanding of the oceans and, just recently, an honor from President Obama at the White House. The Lee and Gerldine Martin Professor of […]
Quick deep sea coral tutorials
Did you know that corals are living in the deep sea? That’s right, they’re aren’t only a part of the vibrant sunny reef ecosystems we’ve grown to know and love while watching movies like Finding Dory or Chasing Coral. Some species of coral live in complete darkness and withstand incredibly cold temperatures. They are just […]
What do you do if you see a marine mammal stranded?
Keep calm. Also, remain at least 100 feet back so as not to scare the animal back into the ocean. If the animal is injured you want to be sure to get experts there immediately to investigate. If you are on the Atlantic coast call one of the following members of the Northeast Stranding Center. […]
Sea slug actually anything but a lug
This might sound familiar (since I recently retweeted from @NOAAOceanToday) but there was recently an article discussing the virtues of sea slugs. In particular that they have been used to understand how to maximize the effectiveness of long-term memory in humans. Also, check out these divers (with the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in Bamfield, BC) […]
Basics on renewable energy
This weekend, I went to the demonstration “Hands Across the Sand”. The intent was to declare to President Obama that we demand clean energy and request a stop to offshore drilling (which he promised to do during his campaign). With all that said, my husband kept telling my mother-in-law that I was going to a […]
Spend your tax refund at United by Blue!
United by Blue is an organization that is dedicated to making and seeing a difference in our world, with particular attention on the oceans. Brian Linton started the company in May of 2010 and sells amazing apparel, jewelry, and bags and makes certain to remove 1 pound of trash from the world’s oceans and waterways […]
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