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Shore Buddies webblog

Wisdom Wednesday | Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber

Wisdom Wednesday | Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber
Tiger Tail Sea Cucumbers are the largest sea cucumber in the Western Atlantic. They feed on algae and detritus. Juveniles often mimic sea slugs by crawling around on the bottom slowly filtering sand through their tentacles to gather food. Once older, they can spread their tentacles above them to capture plankton. A number of sea cucumbers feed nocturnally while others feed by day. Sea cucumbers often attract hitch-hikers like shrimps and crabs that crawl over their skin. As a means of defence sea cucumbers can expel their intestines or respiratory organs in the form of sticky threads, but these can quickly regenerate

Wisdom Wednesday | Rockfish

image of a rockfish by Steve Peletz
Some rockfish can live to be 100 years or older. Most Rockfish grow very slowly and don’t reproduce until they are at least 10 years old. Believe it or not, rockfish are aged accurately by analyzing the bones in their ears! Some species of rockfish are very territorial and may stay at a ‘home site’ for years. Rockfish often extend their dorsal spines and lean towards an approaching threat.  If this defensive posture fails to discourage an approaching threat, most rockfish will then head for nearby cover. Rockfish have air bladders which allow them to float motionless in the water column. This helps them to sneak up on prey very quietly to strike.

Wisdom Wednesday | Red Coney

Wisdom Wednesday | Red Coney
The United States Navy named one of it's submarines after this majestic game fish. It was launched out of Groton, Connecticut on October 27th 1941, then decommissioned and sold for scrapping on August 11th 1970.

Wisdom Wednesday | Leopard Sharks

Image of a Leopard Shark from Amy Mercer
Living up to about 30 years, leopard sharks can be found in shallow muddy waters, particularly Northern California. Often times they are preyed upon by larger sharks, like the Great White, but they themselves eat relatively small animals like worms, crabs, octopus, and fish.  Branching off from a species of houndshark in the Triakidae family, adult leopard sharks can grow up to 6 feet long, but typically average at about 5 feet.

Wisdom Wednesday | Coral Reefs

Wisdom Wednesday | Coral Reefs
Did you know some coral reefs are THOUSANDS of years old?! Although they only take up 1% of the ocean floor, our coral reefs provide 25% of marine life a place to live.

Wisdom Wednesday | Seahorses

Image of two seahorses swimming near coral in Hawaii. Image by @creationscape on Instagram.
 Seahorses use camouflage to avoid predators and sneakily attack their prey, which includes a variety of small crustaceans. These animals have eyes that move independently from one another which also helps them to track and ambush prey. They do not have teeth or stomachs, so they must eat almost constantly to survive.

Wisdom Wednesday | Garden Eel

Image of a Garden Eel in the ocean. Photo by @joeshenouda on Instagram.
Garden Eels live in colonies of up to 700 individuals and burrow in the sand of the ocean floor, using mucus from their bodies to prevent the sand around them from collapsing. These eels tend to stay in their individual burrows, rarely leaving to catch their prey, zooplankton, that floats by them.

Wisdom Wednesday | Crown Jellyfish

Image of a crown jellyfish floating at the surface of the ocean. Photo by @creationscape on Instagram.
These jellyfish have 8 arms that surround their mouths and help them find food. Their diet consists of zooplankton, algae, shrimp, and invertebrate eggs. Although this species of jellyfish is the most venomous, they are not harmful to humans. 

Wisdom Wednesday | Leatherback Sea Turtles

The largest sea turtle, the Leatherback, can reach up to 2,200 pounds. Unlike other species of sea turtles, Leatherback turtles have a rubbery shell composed of cartilage-like tissues rather than a hard, bony shell. Leatherback turtles also live in waters of more of the world than any other sea turtle.

Wisdom Wednesday | Tripod Fish

Tripod fish got their names because when they are still, they look like a tripod. They have three long structures that allow them to walk on the ocean floor. Their fins can reach up to 3.3 feet in length, although their bodies are only 12 to 14 inches long. They use their pectoral fins to detect what is around them in the water and to find prey because their eyes have limited abilities. 

Wisdom Wednesday | Butterfly Fish

Image of a butterfly fish swimming by the coral reef. Photo by @manuela.kirschner on Instagram.
Butterfly fish can reach up to 8 inches in length, but typically range from around 3 to 6 inches. These fish got their name because of their coloring. They can be black, orange, yellow, silver, red, and white and have different patterns on their bodies. Many species of Butterfly fish have black stripes and spots that serve to confuse and distract their predators. Butterfly fish have elongated noses that help them reach in cracks and crevices of rocks to eat.

Wisdom Wednesday | Octopuses

Image of an octopus swimming in the ocean. Photo by @creationscape on Instagram
They have three hearts, two of which help move their blood beyond their gills. Their third heart’s function is to circulate blood to their organs. The third heart does not beat while an octopus swims, which is part of why swimming exhausts them so much and they prefer to crawl. Octopuses also have blue, copper-based blood, unlike a human’s iron-based blood. This difference in blood type helps octopuses survive in colder waters that have lower amounts of oxygen.