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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Have you watched Ocean Frontiers yet?
Ocean Frontiers is a movie you cannot miss the opportunity to watch. If not because you are genuinely interested in a film that outlines the transition of thought from the “the outlook is grim for the future of the ocean” to “there is a light at the end of the tunnel for our ocean“, then […]
A plea of the manatee
In early 2009 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) reported that there was a significant increase in the population of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), a marine mammal. Almost a year later it was reported that there was a record number of deaths of manatees. Even though the FWCC pointed out that […]
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 […]
What to eat this summer?
From Good (an on-line web magazine dedicated to enabling individuals, businesses, and non-profits to push the world forward) an infographic of the popular Monterey Seafood Watch Guides.
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 […]
Blue Sway – Paul McCartney
Surfrider Foundation recently released a new PSA by filmmaker Jack McCoy with a previously unreleased song, Blue Sway, by Paul McCartney. The song has been released on his McCartney II which was distributed by MPL and Concord Music Group on June 14. If you like this song you should also check out McCartney’s (aka The […]
What is a rising sea level and how does it effect us?
Ahh, you see the polar ice sheets and glaciers are melting, but the water still needs to go somewhere – the ocean. The water then rises transforming geography, manipulates the balance of salt in estuaries and creates higher flooding intensity. Basically, rising sea levels affects coastal areas the most drastically. But, don’t dismay! The EPA, […]
Are flounder born flat?
They hatch from the egg looking exactly like typical fish, swimming in the upper waters. After two weeks the bridge of the fish’s nose fades away and then one of the eyes, depending on the species, shifts to one side. The process of becoming a complete “flat” fish takes a bit of time, but, once […]
Oh, Bermuda Triangle, where art thou?
Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand or e-mail beachchairscientist@gmail.com. Image (c) behindblondiepark.com
Do whales and dolphins get sunburn?
According to this article from The Royal Society (published November 2010) whales are very prone to the harmful rays of the sun. The scientists discovered whales that spend more time at the surface of the sea had more skin cells exposed and therefore were showing more damage from the ultraviolet radiation. It was even pointed […]
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