Crustacean

Mud flats are a vital type of marine habitat that provide several different functions for various marine invertebrates. They provide both permanent and temporary homes to small invertebrates including several species of worms, crabs, snails, and other benthic fauna. These organisms are responsible for the breakdown of organic materials often deposited here, as well as filling the role of prey for many predators that hunt in the shallow waters (Dyer et al., 2000). Mud flats are most often…

The Lion King was set in the African savannah, where the food chains were vast. The king of the “pride lands” was Mufassa. He was the head lion of the pride of mostly female lionesses. Mufassa’s brother, Scar was greedy and selfish. The pack lived on pride rock, a habitat that provided shelter and way for the exponential growth of the population of lions. At the beginning of the movie, Sarabi bore a child for Mufasa and named him Simba. Simba was next in line in the hierarchy of ancestor lions.…

Why are the oceans in trouble? They can no longer absorb the damage inflicted by the 7 billion people on Earth. Over many decades, the human race has overfished key species to near extinction, and polluted them with carbon dioxide emissions, toxic chemicals, garbage, and discarded plastics. A groundbreaking new study, recently published in Science, warned that our oceans are being irreparably damaged by human activity and could be on "the precipice of a major extinction event." Coral reefs,…

Thesis: Whales are ecosystem engineers that maintain the health and solidity of the ocean. I admit, when you first hear me ramble about poop it may be hard to see the relevance in your life…But hopefully by the end you’ll become as obsessed as I am. Whaling is the practice or industry of hunting and killing whales for their oil (also called train oil), meat, or whalebone for over a thousand years. Meat and oil from these whales is sold in Japanese, Norwegian, and Icelandic food markets or given…

Jellyfish are different from other animals in the sea, because “[they] are carnivorous, feeding mostly on a variety of zooplankton, comb jellies, and occasionally other jellyfish; larger species, however, are capable of capturing and devouring large crustaceans and other marine organisms” (Deep-Sea). If deep-sea jellyfish did not have these qualities, they would not be able to…

Squids and Octopuses are two very similar and incredible sea creatures who have lived on this earth for millions of years. Squids have gone down in history as fierce predators who are known to have taken down mighty predators like sharks as well as ships, in the 1700’s, giving them the description of giant sea creatures called Krakens. Octopuses have been known as great escape artists, with the ability to squeeze through smallest holes and crevices to escape predators at any given time. Both of…

Figure 1: The Effect of Species Type on Mass Specific Gill Arch Surface Area The sample size of our experiment was 4 groups (N=4). The height of the bars represent the average mass specific surface area for the four classes from whom the data was collected from, in cm2/kg. The first bar represents the average mass specific surface area for the species Scomber scombrus, or the Mackerel Fish. The second bar represents the average mass specific surface area for Merluccius bilinearis, or the Silver…

The existence of mermaids has been a long and controversial topic for years! The legends of mermaids have even been dated back to the time of Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas. Comparing mermaids to humans is quite an easy topic to discuss, but also maybe a far-fetched one as many people all over the world roll their eyes at the stories and tales of the existence of them. People are just afraid of what they don't know, that's why we say ''ignorance is bliss'', and when it comes to…

Introduction: It is estimated that around 706 million gallons(2.6 Billion liters) of oil is polluted into the ocean each year(4). Majority of the oil pollution oil comes from ashore from waste disposal, land drainage and improper disposal of used motor oil(4). In recent times it has been discovered that a possible solution for oil pollution is the “Oleo Sponge”(as seen in figure 1(11)), an oleophilic and hydrophobic sponge that collects oil and rejects water housing up to ninety times its own…

C: The MAR is a vital piece of the Ccaribbean area because of the benefits it provides to oceanic life and the people living in coastal cities and towns. E: The reef is home to over five hundred aquatic species,, but this is only 10 % of the ocean is currently discovered, leaving 90% waiting to be researched (Barbezat). The reef is home to many endangered species, including, one of them being Whale Sharks. E: Although Whale Sharks also reside in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, if they were to…