Mangroves

3 Different Types of Mangroves

1. Red Mangrove: grows in brackish areas along creeks, bays, and lagoons. The red mangrove is a tall tree that reaches 70' to 80' in height in the tropics. It is mainly characterized by its numerous above ground roots called prop roots. 

2. Black Mangrove: grows in wet soils of coastal high-tide shores in the mangrove ecosystem. It is a small to medium-sized tree that reaches heights of 50 feet. The black mangrove is small and shrub-like toward the north end of its range. It contributes to the ecological community by trapping in the root system debris and detritus brought in by tides. 

3.White Mangrove: grows in areas where tides may be high and also in lagoons. The white mangrove is a small low sprawling shrub or tree that reaches 40 to 60 feet in height. It is characterized by its narrow rounded crown.

3 benefits of protecting mangroves for organisms

1. Provides a safe nursery of young marine animals.

2. Detritus provides food for animals living in the mud and water around the mangrove roots.  

3. "Buffer Zones" help keep the environment intact by providing a corridor for animals to migrate.

3 benefits for man

 1. Mangroves protect homes from winds, waves and tides.

2. Mangroves are a natural resource, which in that case should be protected.

3. Mangroves also filters toxins from the water before it enters the sea. 

Mangroves benefit the fishing industry by providing many marine organisms with a great habitat to live. With a good place to live, the mangroves are filled with fish and crab for fishermen to catch. 

Ocean Garbage Patch

What is the ocean garbage patch?
 This patch is a gyre of marine debris in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135*W to 155*W and 35*N and 42*N. 

Where is it?
The ocean garbage patch is in the North Pacific Ocean.

How is it formed?
The garbage patch has sometimes been described as a "trash island", but that's an understatement. The patch is like a galaxy of garbage, populated by billions of smaller trash islands that may be hidden underwater or spread out over many miles. Plastic rubbish is often ferried into whats known as the Eastern and Western garbage patches. Therefore it comes together in the end to become the North Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. 

How does it affect marine organisms?
Many pieces of plastic and abandoned fishing nets entangle seals, sea turtles and other animals in a phenomenon known as "ghost fishing". This sadly drowns the animals. ): 

What can we do to help stop it?
Many clean up efforts have taken place but have fallen short of fixing the problem. The only thing we can really do to help is ultimately, more plastic recycling and wider use of biodegradable materials. 

Loggerhead Turtle

Common Name: Loggerhead Turtle

Scientific Name: Caretta caretta

Habitat: Prefer to feed in coastal bays and estuaries, as well as in the shallow water along the continental shelves of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

Adaptations: Loggerheads nest at intervals of 2 to 4 years. They lay 3 to 6 nests per season, approximately 12 to 14 days apart. Lays average of between 100 to 126 eggs in each nest. Eggs incubate for about 60 days. 

Loggerheads are primarily carnivorous and feed mostly on shellfish that live on the bottom of the ocean. They eat horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and other invertebrates. Their powerful jaw muscles help them to easily crush the shellfish.

Status: Under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Loggerhead Turtles are listed as threatened. Internationally speaking they are listed as endangered. They face a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. 

Current Issues: The greatest threat these turtles face is the loss of their nesting habitat due to coastal development, predation of nests, and human disturbances. These all cause disorientations during the emergence of hatchlings. Other major threats include incidental capture in longline fishing, shrimp trawling and pollution. These captures in fisheries is thought to have played a significant role in the recent population declines observed for the loggerhead. 

Why I chose this animal: I chose this animal because its unique appearance. The Loggerhead is known for its abnormally large head. 

Ocean Acidification

What is it?

- Name given to the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans. It tends to cause the ocean water to become more acidic. Also causes lots of carbon dioxide pollution.

What causes it?

- Caused by the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When carbon dioxide mixes with water, acid is made. 

How does it effect benthic organisms? Plankton?

- Acidification makes organisms work harder to produce their shells leaving them with less energy. Many organisms may not be able to survive. The acid also dissolves sea structures. Terapods, a commonly known plankton, are often effected by the ocean Acidification  Their shells begin to dissolve due to the acidic water. Higher acidity will extinguish terapods which are a basic source of food for fish. The entire food web becomes weaker and more vulnerable. 

How does man contribute?

- Man destroy ecosystems. We need to ultimately give ecosystems a chance to live and develop. Man must take ecosystem efficiency into account. 

3 Important Things I Learner

1. One in every four species in the ocean live on a coral reef.

2. The only way to stop Acidification is to admit less carbon dioxide.

3. What makes a great tragedy a great tragedy is that you can see it coming, yet you can not do anything to really stop it. 

Karenia brevis

Karenia brevis causes the red tide. The red tide is an algae bloom which takes on a red or brown color. Red tides are events in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, resulting in coloration of the surface water. It is usually found in coastal areas. Karenia brevis is a microscopic marine algae that occurs naturally but normally in lower concentrations.

Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) is caused by the consumption of shellfish contaminated by breve-toxins or brevetoxin analogs. Symptoms in humans include vomiting and nausea and a variety of neurological symptoms such as slurred speech. No fatalities have been reported but there are a number of cases which led to hospitalization. Marine animals can also consume the toxins released from the microscopic Dinoflagellates. 

The Gulf Coast economy is effected by NSP. It has been documented since at least the 1800s. When a red tide occurs, the harvesting and consumption of shellfish and crustaceans is banned until the event is over, and testing has confirmed that it is safe to eat shellfish again.  

Plankton

5 Things That I Have Learned About Plankton

1. There are three main ways plankton use to keep from sinking.

- Spikes/Projections (large surface area)

- They produce oil

- Air-filled Floats

2. Two types of plankton being the Diatoms and Dinoflagellates compete in the source of food in the ocean. Diatoms are the number one source of food making Dinoflagellates number two.

3. Holoplankton vs. Meroplankton

Holoplankton - plankton their whole life

Meroplankton - exist as plankton for only a limited part of their development. Usually starting off as Larva. 

4. The most organic matter in the sea comes from plankton. Nearly all other marine creatures depend on it as a source of food.

5. Phytoplankton vs. Zooplankton

Phytoplankton- need to be near the surface, where light is available for photosynthesis. (plant plankton)

Zooplankton- need to be near the surface to feed upon the phytoplankton. (animal plankton)

Killer Whales

Common Name: Killer Whale

Scientific Name: Orcinus Orca

Habitat: Killer Whales are found in both the open ocean and coastal waters. Killer Whales inhabit all the oceans of the world. They are most numerous in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and areas of the cold-water up-welling  Killer whale distribution is limited by seasonal park ice.

Reproduction: Calves are born throughout the year. Gestation is about 17 months. Calves are born in the water. Deliveries can be either tail-first or headfirst. The umbilical cord snaps during or soon after delivery.

Status: The worldwide population of killer whales is unknown. Specific killer whale populations in a few areas have been estimated. In some area of the Antarctic alone, their numbers are estimated at about 180,000. Killer whales are not endangered.

Interesting Facts: 
-- Olfactory lobes of the brain and olfactory nerves are absent in all toothed killer whales, indicating that they have no sense of smell. 
-- Killer whales have 40 to 50 teeth that are up to four inches long.
-- Killer whales can weigh up to six tons, and grow to be 23 to 32 feet long.

Why I chose this animal: I chose the Killer Whale because it is a huge predator of the ocean. I find it to be a very interesting animal. 

Plankton Race

The most difficult part of this activity was figuring out what would make our plankton move the slowest. It was hard to come up with a way for the plankton to sink yet, sink slowly. 

If I could change my design in anyway I would make it much more simple. I think that I made it to "fancy" and should have used less materials. Using more materials added to the complexity of the plankton, making it move faster. 

What I like best about this activity was getting to see everyone's ideas. It was neat to see that everyone's design was different even though we used the same materials. 

HAB

• HAB also known as Harmful Algae Bloom is the rapid increase or accumulation of algae in an aquatic system.
• Alexandrium is one species that causes HABs.

•  The most effective preventative measures are those that seek to control the anthropogenic influences that promote blooms such as the leaching and runoff of excess nutrients.
• An HAB, known as the Red Tide, has greatly affected the Gulf Coast. Eighty-five toxic species have already been identified. Most of these species can be classified as plant-like because they have chlorophyll and are capable of photosynthesis. Human Illness has greatly increased due to the harmful species. Deaths occur in many ways from contaminated seafood, marine mammal and seabird deaths and extensive fish kills. 

Plankton

Plankton are extremely important to the ocean and also to man. In the ocean these small plants are the beginning of the food chain. As plankton grow and multiply, small fish and other animals eat them as food. Larger animals then eat these smaller ones. Also by looking at ocean color images rich in plankton  people in the fishing industry often find great fishing spots. Plankton also show scientists where ocean currents thoroughly provide nutrients for plant growth. 

Plankton have a major effect on the fishing industry. All fish eat plankton, the more fish eat, the heavier and more healthy they become. This is positive for fisherman because the healthier and heavier fish are when they are caught, increase the profit made off of them.  

Most Phytoplankton can be separated into two groups, known as the
Diatoms and Dinoflagellates. Diatoms are single-celled alga that contain a cell wall of silica. Dinoflagellates on the other hand are single-celled organisms containing two flagella. 

Diatoms:

Dinoflagellates:

Flamingo Tongue

• Common Name: Flamingo Tongue Cowrie

• Scientific Name: Cyphoma gibbosum

• Adaptations: At damn activity levels increase as the sun rises. During the day flamingo tongues actively graze on their host gorgonian, where spawning also occurs. When dusk arrives, activity levels decrease as the sun sets. During the night flamingo tongues are inactive and rest on their host gorgonian overnight. 

• Habitat: found throughout the shallow waters of the Caribbean. Often found in the back reef, fore reef and drop-off zones. They live 2-14 meters down in the ocean. Their favorite place to be is almost exclusively on the animals they use as food. Sea fans, sea whips, and other gorgonians are multiple sources of food. They occasionally cross open sand in search of new habitat.

• Interesting Facts: each transparent flamingo tongue egg capsule can contain up to 300 tiny white embryos, which give them a speckled appearance when examined closely. Also the vibrant and beautiful colors of the flamingo tongue give predators the appearance that it tastes bad. 

• I chose this organism because it has a very interesting appearance. It is a beautiful mollusk that has an abundant cool facts about it. 

The Fram

The Fram was a ship constructed by Norwegian explorer Fredtjof Nansen. Nansen's ambition was to use the Fram to explore the Arctic farther north than anyone else. The one problem he had to deal with was that the freezing ice could easily demolish and crush a ship. Nansen's idea to overcome this problem was to build a ship that could survive the pressure. Not by pure strength, but because it would be a shape designed to let the ice push the ship up, so it would "float" on top of the ice. Fram was built with an outer layer of greenheart wood to withstand the ice. Fram was the only wooden ship ever built for this purpose. 

After the completion of the Fram, it was used for many expeditions. During expeditions, the Fram survived three long years directly in the ice. 

History of Oceanography

     Many aspects of the History of Oceanography have changed drastically over the years. Continental drift and ocean floor spreading is a main topic that has continued to change over time. Long ago scientists believed that the earth's surface hadn't changed much since the planet formed 4.6 billion years ago. They believed that the oceans and continents were always where they are now. But almost 100 years ago, a scientist named Alfred Wegener took notice of some interesting findings. Similar plant and animal fossils were discovered in both South America and Africa. There were also findings on other continents separated by oceans. On distant continents, similar rock formations were found. This suggested that the formations were once whole and later divided. Along with some other evidence, this led Wegener to believe that the continents were once connected but had separated and drifted apart. From believing that the continents had not changed since the beginning of time, to continents shifting more and more every year, history of oceanography has drastically changed. 

Why Study The Ocean?

Why should we study the ocean?

• New discoveries of plants and animals can be found by studying the ocean. There are tremendous amounts of unknown species in the ocean and its time to look for them. 
• The ocean floor may contain an abundant amount of natural resources which can play a major role in meeting U.S. energy needs.
• Many of the foods and products that we eat, or use as medicine contain ingredients from the sea.
• The ocean also provides many jobs for the citizens of America. By studying the ocean, we can find more areas that can sustain jobs for the unemployed. The ocean is a huge part of our economy.
• The climate and weather change are all connected to the ocean. Studying the ocean will give us a better understanding of weather. We can be more prepared for storms like hurricanes and tsunamis. 

The importance of the ocean can not be debated. It truly contains some of the planets most fascinating ecosystems

     During the race my boat did fantastic. It was very fast and right on target. If I had to make the boast again i would round out the front of my boat so it would travel better across the water. My partner and I got second place and that was my favorite part of the project. I also liked getting to see everyone's boats and all the different ideas people had.

Boat Project

Boat Project

My boat was a speed racer. To begin I got some Styrofoam and cut it into a block. It already had an indention in it as a place I would be able to place the 20 marbles. I then found a wooden dale to stick into the Styrofoam to become my mast. After adding the mast I cut off a piece of aluminum fool to attach to the mast for my sail. My boat was near completion. All i had left was to create a rudder and a keel. To make the  two remaining parts of my boat I got some cardboard and cut an "L" shape out. I then duck taped it to the bottom and my boat was complete. On the day of testing my boat was fast and had amazing steer controls. The only thing stopping it from being the number one boat was my sail was unstable. To fix the problem I attached a piece of tape around the wooden dale to secure it better.