Squid Dissection

        

6 Interesting Facts About Squids

1. The squids Gonad is the reproductive organ. In males it is white, in females, clear.

2. The squid mouth parts resemble a bird's beak.

3. The siphon is the tube which squirts out water so that the squid moves just like a jet airplane. 

4. Squids have a well developed eye that allows them to see about as well as people.

5. The pen is all that is left of the shell the squid's ancestors once had.

6. Suction Cups help the squid to hold onto food. 

The most interesting thing we did was push the ink out of the ink sac, and use it to write with. We used the pen to write with the ink. 

The most disgusting thing about dissecting the squid was pulling out the eye. It was slimy and a lot nastier than i expected.

What i liked best was being able to closely see the suction cups on the tentacles. It was cool to get to touch and feel them. 

What i least likes about the dissection was the awful smell. I could barely take it. 

The only thing i would change about the dissection, is possibly having everyone dissect a bigger squid. With the larger squid it was easier to see what made up the internal anatomy as well as the external. 

          

                   

The Few, The Proud, THE MARINES

Petty Officer Allen 

&

Petty Officer Wakser

Officer Allen is a marine who works on airplanes. When they break, he is the one there to fix them. Officer Wakser on the other hand is in a totally different field. He works on nuclear power. Most of the things he does he can not talk about. It is one of those really cool top secret jobs.

The one thing i found most interesting was all the different places Petty Officer Allen has been. He showed us many pictures and explained all the different things he did on each journey. I never knew that when deployed, you still had time to relax and do things on your own. When ported, Officer Allen said that you would take shifts on who would stay on the boat and who would get off. Whoever got off got to take tours, relax, and really do whatever you pleased. I thought that was really cool about being a Marine. Everything isn't just about war and seriousness. 

This talk increased my understanding on the ocean in many ways. It was interesting to know that no matter what it may be, the Marines are always there to help. Also, the Marines use many of the tools we learned about in class, like Sonar. Sonar is a huge deal to submarines. When down under, submarines rely on Sonar for everything. Sonar is pretty much their eyes and ears.

The one thing I will always remember is the amazing memories and experiences he made while deployed. I will always remember his story about being with the little kids, and becoming a hero. He became a hero by simply throwing coins into the water for the kids to swim down and retrieve. Only, Officer Allen did not realize that the few coins he tossed in the water, nearly worthless to Americans, paid for two weeks of meals for the children's families. 

                                              

     Petty Officer Wakser                                                            Petty Officer Allen

Coral Bleaching

Coral Bleaching: is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation. Symbiodinium, is also known as zooxanthellae. Under stress, corals may expel their zooxanthellae, which leads to a lighter or completely white appearance, hence the term "bleached".

Causes:

Temperature

Solar Irradiance

Sedimentation

Fresh Water Dilution

Inorganic Nutrients

Xenobiotics

Epizootics

Flukes

why are flukes used to ID whales?

Whales have varieties of black and white skin patterns on the underside of their tail flukes which allows permanent identification of individuals with photographs. Flukes make it easier to identify the many species of humpback whales. Humpbacks have many characteristics like the bumps or protuberances on the top of their heads which gives them a dill pickle look. 

Why do scientists need this data?

Scientists use this data to research the whales migration habits. By identifying the many different kinds of humpback whales, scientists have the ability to determine the range and migratory destinations of local whales.

What is the most difficult part of this lab?

The lab was fairly easy until you narrowed the fluke down to around 2 or 3. Many of the flukes contained marks and colors that appeared to be exactly the same. In order to correctly find the right match, you had to make sure every little marking on the fluke was correct. 

How could you change this lab to make it better?

One thing you could change about this lab is maybe putting the flukes in different categories. Also it would be easier to identify the flukes if they weren't all in black and white. Also some flukes would be easier to identify if they weren't so blurry. 

Over Fishing

Why is over fishing a major concern?

Over Fishing is an extreme issue. Sadly, 25% of all the world's fish stocks are either overexploited or depleted. Another 52% is fully exploited, these are in danger of overexploitation. Many fish are in the direct path to collapse. Thus a total of almost 80% of the world's fisheries are fully, or partially depleted. If not fully, they are in a state of collapse. 

How does this affect my daily life?

Many coastal communities around the world depend on fish as their primary source of protein. Overfishing threatens their long-term food security, particularly in developing countries. With the loss of many fish, the whole food web is effected, leaving myself and many people around the world at a loss of protein. 

What choices can you make to help?

- Take Action: make a pledge to purchase seafood that is certified. This seafood includes items verified by the MSC and the ASC labels.

- Stay Connected: Stay tuned in the latest wildlife news and conservation updates. 

Other ways people help:

- Making fisheries sustainable

- Influencing the Global market

- Addressing fishing subsidies

- Creating and Expanding marine protected areas

Marine Debris

     Entanglement: animals are entangled in fishing nets

Ghost-fishing: nets that are lost at sea keep on killing many marine animals.

Plastic Pellets: marine birds eat them and carry them back to their chicks.

Six-Pack Rings: entrap and strangle animals

Plastic Bags: resemble food such as jellyfish and can become stuck in the digestive system causing the animal to die. 

Garbage contains toxic or poisonous chemicals that can seep into groundwater or rivers and eventually reach the sea. To prevent the many problems caused my debris, we can start to recycle more. Bottle caps do no get recycled, so when you see some on the ground pick them up. When walking on the shore pick up trash and throw it away. Also break apart the holes on six pack rings so they can not entangle animals. 

Puffer Fish

Common Name: Puffer Fish

Scientific Name: Tetraodontidae

Adaptations: The puffer fish is most well known for it's unique adaptations it has to defend itself. The puffer fish has the ability to expand its body extremely quickly when faced with danger, revealing it's long poisonous spikes. These spikes cover its body, and are highly toxic to both humans and animals.

Hunting Strategies: Puffer fish are omnivores. They consume a variety of plants and animals. Puffer fish mainly feed on the algae that grows on the rocks and coral. They also find invertebrates that inhabit these areas as a great meal. Large puffer fish will crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish by using their hard beaks. Poisonous puffers are believed to accumulate their deadly toxin from the bacteria in the animals they eat. 

Reproduction: Male puffer fish guide the female puffer fish towards the shore where she then releases three to seven eggs. The eggs of the puffer fish are very light and float on the surface of the water until they hatch in about one week. The babies of the puffer fish are known as puffer fish fry. Until their limbs begin to grow, these fry are still not fully developed, lacking a hard shell that is used to protect them. When the shell is produced it cracks living the tail and a fin develops. When the puffer fish is big enough, it will swim down and integrate itself into the reef community below.

Interesting Facts:

1.The smallest species of puffer fish are known as the dwarf puffer fish. They only grow to be about one inch and are only located in one river in India.

2. Although their poison is deadly to many animals and humans, it does not even face the shark. The shark can eat the puffer fish with no problem at all. 

3. Puffer fish only have four teeth. All together these teeth form a beak-like shape. They are then used to crack clams and mussels for food. 

Why I chose this fish? 

I chose this fish because it is very unique. You can't find very many fish that consume large amounts of water to expand their bodies to multiple different sizes.