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Cirque Du Baille (or Circus of the Sea)

February 23, 2012 by 2 Comments

Now that my little one is getting to the age where she’s off on fun excursions with daycare (today she went to the National Zoo!), I started having nightmares she might ask her father and I to take her to the circus.  I haven’t been to the circus since I was 6 and am not even certain if they still have them or that I want to take her. I do love the idea of taking her to Cirque Du Soleil to enjoy the music and dancing, though.

Then I started to daydream …  “What if I could take her to a circus of the sea“? So, here is my representation of “Cirque Du Baille” featuring the spinner dolphin as the amazing acrobat, the clownfish as everyone’s favorite (or creepy) jokster, the dumbo octopus as the ideal replacement for the elephant, and once the lionfish figures out a way to get those tentacles through hoops he’ll take down the big top.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Cephalopods, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Fish, Marine Mammals

Simple coral bleaching teaching

December 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are some things that we want to stay white, such as snow and Kris Kringle’s beard. Coral reefs are not one of them. Unfortunately, The Nature Conservancy noted that 2011 was the most extensive coral reef bleaching event for the Florida Reef Tract since 2004. Scientists working on the Florida Keys Reef Resilience Program were not surprised due to the very hot summer of 2011.

What is coral bleaching?

As the National Ocean Service (a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) states, “When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white.” For more information on the symbiotic relationships going on within a coral reef check out this video!

Image (c) wunderground.org

Filed Under: Coral Reef Ecosystems Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

New ‘marine life encyclopedia’ launched

September 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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. It seems fantastic if you want a quick answer to a question.

Even if you think you know all the answers, test yourself with this Ocean IQ quiz!

The content on the marine life encyclopedia site has been licensed to Dorling Kindersley, one of the world’s leading educational publishers.

Filed Under: Algae (Seaweeds), Animal Homes, Arthropods, Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Beach, Biodiversity, Birds, Bivalves, Bony Fishes, Cephalopods, Cnidaria, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Crustaceans, Echinoderms, Egg Cases, Fish, Jellyfish or Jellies, Marine Mammals, Mollusks, Ocean, Penguins, People, Places, Plants, Random Fun!, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Seashells, Sharks, Skates and Rays, Test Your Knowledge, Univalves, Weather, Wrack Line Tagged With: , ,

It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: G for Gorgonians

February 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Gorgonians are a group of corals known as the ‘horny corals’. This is includes the sea whips, sea fans and sea feathers. They are similar to the soft corals because they all have eight-part symmetry. Most jewelry that is made from coral is made from the gorgonians. If you ask me though corals are too precious too wear.

Filed Under: Coral Reef Ecosystems Tagged With: ,

Test your knowledge: Coral reefs

September 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Fishing in the Maldives

Image via Wikipedia

Every once in a while it is fun to test your knowledge and see if you are as smart as you think you are in a certain subject. Today it is time see how well you know coral reefs. Have fun with these ten questions …

  1. It has been found that some coral reefs have been growing since a) 10 million years old b) 50 million years ago c) 1 million years ago.
  2. Single coral organisms, called polyps, can live on their own. true or false?
  3. Coral reefs are typically found in which zone of the ocean? a) the twilight zone b) the sunlight zone c) mid-day zone
  4. Coral reefs are simply coral colonies that have joined together. true or false?
  5. Corals are a) insectivores b) carnivores 3) herbivores.
  6. Corals are a) endangered b) threatened 3) extinct.
  7. What is credited to the diverse colors of coral reefs?
  8. Coral reefs support over a) 10% b) 25% c) 50% of life in the oceans.
  9. Corals are closely related to a) horseshoe crabs and spiders b) sea anemones and jellies c) crabs and shrimp.
  10. Corals will die immediately if they do not feed off the byproducts of photosynthesis of the algae they host. true or false?

Find your answers here.

Filed Under: Coral Reef Ecosystems, Test Your Knowledge

What is a Marine Protected Area (MPA)?

January 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

“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 of the Interior (National Park Service) or the Department of Commerce (National Ocean Atmospheric Administration).

Not all MPAs are completely closed off for human use. Each MPA has various characteristics delineated to it based upon the best circumstances for various stakeholders.

The characteristics are 1) conservation (natural, cultural and/or sustainable), 2) protection level (zoned, zoned with no-take areas, uniformed, no take, no impact, or no access), 3) permanence of protection (permanent, conditional, or temporary), 4) constancy of protection (year-round, seasonal, or rotating), 5) ecological scale of protection (ecosystem or focal resource).

Cape Hatteras, N.C. was the first marine protected area established in 1975.

MPAs are not new management tools but are gaining new momentum as a conservation tool. Watch this PSA with folks from Scrubs, January Jones, and Pierce Brosnan about supporting MPAs off California.

If you have another great question go ahead and e-mail info@beachchairscientist.com or just enter it at http://www.beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Biodiversity, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Ocean, People

Where do fish sleep?

March 6, 2009 by 2 Comments

Well, most fish are just like us and simply want to find a place away from all the chaos of the day to day rat race to take a nap and rest – slowing down their busy lives – gaining energy for the next day.

These places could be under logs, coral crevices, or other sorts of reefs spots – basically out of the way of predators.

Here is an interesting adaptation – the parrotfish uses its spit to create a translucent “sleeping bag bubble” around its body while it sleeps. The bubble helps to hide the parrotfish’s scent so other fish will not find it. If another animal bumps into it – the parrotfish will be warned of the other animal nearby and make a quick get away. Parrotfish are found on the coral reef.

But we’ve only scratched the surface here. Check back often at http://www.beachchairscientist.com for more insight about your favorite beach discoveries.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Fish

How does coral bleaching result?

December 22, 2008 by 1 Comment

Coral bleaching is due to the fact that the algae part of the coral reef ecosystem can no longer photosynthesize properly – therfore, losing the “reef” structure and the corals remain white – since the zooxannthellea are not around (that’s the algae – and responsible for the color of the coral). This occurs due to a lack of sunlight – mostly from a build up of substances (usually, man made – on the surface of the ocean).

Filed Under: Algae (Seaweeds), Coral Reef Ecosystems

What is the second largest reef in the world?

December 22, 2008 by 2 Comments

Interesting question.

The top three largest coral reef ecosystems in the world are:

1) Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia

2) Belize Barrier Reef

3) Florida Keys Reef Ecosystem

A coral reef ecosystem relies on teamwork between the coral animal (a type of cnidarians) and an algae called zooxannthellea.

Filed Under: Algae (Seaweeds), Coral Reef Ecosystems