Cuttlefish, the chameleons of the sea, have many intriguing features and behaviors. Sepia Apama, also known as Giant Australian Cuttlefish, are not only the largest cuttlefish, but also some of the most unique and interesting. Their family, Sepidae, come from the phylum Mollusca, class Cephalopoda, and order Sepioloida (Sepia Apama). Their genus and species are Sepia and Apama respectively. They are known for their multiple year classes and breeding habits unlike any other cephalopod, including other species of cuttlefish.
These amazing cuttlefish live anywhere from Moreton Bay in Southern Queensland of Australia to Point Cloates in Western Australia (Fowler). They can also be found at the northern tip of Tasmania (Fowler). They will not go past 100 m, or about 328 feet, in depths because of gases being used in their cuttlebone for buoyancy (Elterman). Typically these giant cuttlefish will live in rocky reefs, sea grass beds, or areas of mud and sand (Elterman). Every year around May, they will migrate to the northern point of Spencer Gulf along about an 8km stretch of coast to mate during the Austral winter (Fowler). As they swim around preparing for the great aggregation, they show a preference to the fins that line their mantles and allow them to swim in any direction at their leisure rather than their siphons which would jet them in one direction (Elterman). They are diurnally active and will communicate with each other with their skin as they individually hunt (Elterman). They will often feed on different kinds of small fishes and many crustaceans, they especially love crustaceans (Elterman). These creatures, like many other cephalopods, have eight arms and two tentacles along with a very handy beak for munching on food. Whi...
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... invertebrates. One other interesting fact about cuttlefish in general is that their beaks have a distinctive pattern and shape to each species. (Elterman)
In all of this talent and uniqueness there is still more to be found. Unfortunately the IUCN has labeled their threat status as near threatened. This is due to fishing habits and a wide range of uses for the cuttlebone. A small bait fishery in Australia experienced a rapid increase in fishing efforts between 1993 and 1997 that severely hurt the population of giant cuttlefish (Hall, Principal). When they are caught as by-catch, meaning they happened to get scooped up with what was actually being fished, they are sold as food or bait for snappers (Giant Cuttlefish). Their cuttlebones are also used frequently as beak sharpeners for birds and a source of calcium for pets such as birds, turtles, and snails (Elterman).
Because of its size and abundance, T. californicus is commonly regarded as the insect of the sea. This creature is generally very small, from 1-3 mm in size as adults. They are cylindrically shaped, and have a segmented body (head, thorax, abdomen) though no noticeable division between body regions (Powlik 1966). Each segment of the body has a pair of legs. They use their 'legs' to propel themselves through the water in short rapid jerks. They have 2 pairs of long feathered antennae, a chitin us exoskeleton and a single eye in the middle of their head, this simple eye can only differentiate between light and dark.
The Great Lakes system affects our lives in various ways. Not only does this water system affect people, it has an impact on the natural environment as well. The weather, climate, wildlife and habitat are all affected by this arrangement of five lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, and Erie. The lakes are huge and powerful, however they are very fragile when it comes to being mistreated. The ecosystem has been placed under stress in the past, and we now realize the importance of protecting and preserving our lakes. Years ago, a species of carp were brought into the United States to help our lakes, and now they run the risk of destroying them. Asian carp are a species of fish native to Siberia and China, but they were imported by fish farms in the southern United States to control algae and snail population. In the early 1990’s, aquaculture facilities in the southern United States were flooded and the carp escaped into the Mississippi River and spread into northern rivers. The carp moved north becoming the most abundant fish in some areas of the Mississippi river, triumphing over native fish and bringing hardship to the people who fished the river. The carps’ domination over the Mississippi is reason for concern in the Great Lakes region growing concern in the Great Lakes; the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Last month, a survey was taken that found Asian carp only 55 miles south of our very own Lake Michigan. Unless the Asian carp are deterred, they will infiltrate our great lakes, potentially bringing disastrous effects to the entire region.
Scorpaenidae are mostly marine fish,very few found in fresh and brackish water. The family have around around 45 different genera and 380 different species. They are mostly found in the India Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Most of them lives in coral, tropical reefs and shallow waters, warmer areas. Not all of the family fish lives in the shallow water, small portion of the Scorpaenidae live deep as around 7,000 feet. Just like most of the coral reef fish are, Scorpaenidae have camouflaged body. Their characteristic reflects their name, they have sharp spine that can sting other organisms. Their spine are covered with venomous mucus just like how some other kind of fish are covered with the venomous mucus. Their body are covered with scales. Generally speaking, the Scorpaenidae family fish have different number of spines over the course of the body. Most known type pf Scorpaenidae are lionfish and scorpionfish. Lionfish have preorbital bone with 3 spines, spines and third below the diagonal; , big mouth, end position, oblique fissure. Mandible, vomer and jaw bone with villiform teeth group. Gill openings are wide, tetrabranchiate membranes without the isthmus, pre-opercular margin with 5 spines. Body are ctenoid scales, round head. On the side, there are about eight to nine dorsal fin, fin spines and rays of an anal fin; five to six pectoral fins, they are large, round, and are branched from the upper fin rays. There are about one to five pelvic, sub thoracic; caudal fin rounded truncate. Reef stonefish are extremely camouflaged, they could look exactly like a rock when hiding for predation. The spines of Scorpaenidae are hard and rough, some of their fin spines have poison, can cause serious pain, swells and fatal wounds. Some of ...
The background of this article gives information that is necessary to understand the experiment. The shape of the pelvic girdle is an appropriate predictor of both phylogeny and movement in terrestrial vertebrates. However, in marine vertebrates, the gravitational forces typically applied to terrestrial pelvic girdles are not there and therefore have little impact on the shape of the girdle. Pelvic girdles of fish are generally not attached to the vertebrae and primarily are used as a place for muscles to attach and supporting of the fins. The authors discuss how in many cases the pelvic girdle could be removed and not result in any complications. However, there are some marine vertebrates that are capable of bottom walking on the ocean floor with their fins. In batoids, the pelvic fins are used for walking, which is when pelvic fins move in an alternating fashion, or punting, when both pelvic fins move at the same time. There is also augmented punting; this is when the vertebrate uses both the pectoral fins and the pelvic fins to generate more thrust, this action decreases the forces on the pelvic fins during a punt. While this locomotion would
...rough an attempt to overfish the species is unlikely due to their ability to quickly recover (Barbour, 2011). A substantial reduction of adult abundance will require a long-term commitment and may be feasible only in small, localized areas where annual exploitation can be intense over multiple consecutive years (Barbour, 2011).
Like other rays of the Urolophidae family, the yellow stingray has an almost round body, or disc body. It has a circular shaped pectoral fin and a short snout. The eyes are behind the snout. Yellow stingrays do not have a dorsal fin. It has a caudal fin which is around the tip of its tail. They have a long flat tail spine located just behind caudal fin. This tail spine is used as a poisonous barb, which is used only when needed in self-defense. They move by rippling their bodies in waves or by flapping their sides like wings allowing them to glide. The yellow stingray is considered to be part of the elasmobranch class which is made up of rays, sharks and skates that all have a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone. Due to the fact that the stingray is composed of cartilage, it is classified as an invertebrate. (Kennedy, 2008) Because they are elasmobranchs, these rays do not have a swim bladder which is a gas-filled sac found in the body of many bony fishes and is used to maintain and control their buoyancy. Instead, elasmobranchs maintain buoyancy with oil that they store in their livers. (Peters, 2008) The majority of yellow rays have either a pattern of dark green or brown on a pale background, or a pattern of white, yellow or golden spots on a dark green or brown background on the dorsal side. The bottom side of the disc is yellowish or brow...
Liubicich, D.M., et al. 2009. Knockdown of Parhyale Ultrabithorax recapitulates evolutionary changes in crustacean appendage morphology. PNAS 106 (33): 13892-13896
Orconectes rusticus, also known as Rusty crayfish, are freshwater benthic omnivores that are important in the lentic ecosystem (Nilsson, E, et al, 2012). Nilsson et al, observed how the Rusty crayfish that are native to the Ohio River valley in North America are dispersing to other lakes and becoming an invader of that ecosystem. Rusty crayfish feed on the microphytes, (Nilsson, E, et al, 2012) which are aquatic plants that enhance water transparency and aquatic biodiversity in fresh water ecosystems (Peeters Ehm, et al. (2013)). Microphytes also provide shelter and food for native fishes such as lepomis. Lepomis also prey on the juvenile rusty crayfish. Abundances of rusty crayfish, macrophytes and Lepomis were associated by a feedback that
In The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister tells how a beautiful, extraordinary, yet, self-centered blue fish learns that being beautiful isn’t the key to happiness. The blue fish came to find this lesson when he lost his friends. Pfister takes a simple ocean setting and explores the consequences of an individual’s arrogance toward their peers, the process of humbling of oneself, and the tremendous reward one feels when they learn to share. The story achieves these morals by the author’s use of detailed imager and also, the influence of minor characters on the antihero in order to reveal to the audience the true thematic message; selfish actions bring true happiness.
When someone says the word octopus, an image of an eight legged invertebrate comes to mind. The body structure of a mature octopus is very interesting. Octopuses are extremely intelligent. They have excellent memory can use tools, and are great problem solvers. Only birds and mammals are known to be smarter. Each one of their tentacles, which are used for prying open clam shells, has two rows of suckers that can give them a pretty good grip. An octopus also tastes with its tentacles. An octopus’s third right arm, also called hectocotyli, is also its penis which a male octopus will use to mate at one or two years of age. The only part of an octopus that cannot move or squeeze through small spaces is its beak where it consumes food. This is used for biting and also breaking things apart. Did you know that octopi have three hearts? This is because these sea creatures have extra legs and three hearts are necessary for better bl...
Together with 1,500 species of fishes and several species of snapper and coal trout. There are many more species in the Reef and this makes it important to Australian fish markets as a source of fish. This place is also a tourist location and a lot of people come visit here every day whether it be fishing or sight seeing.
After reading "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "For Esme--with Love and Squalor", I found the two short stories to be similar, with only a few small differences. For example, the themes are very much alike due to the war and how it affects the people in each character's lives which shows to be the main conflict in both of the following stories. In Bananafish, Seymour the main character, is suffering from PTSD after being involved in the war, which similar to Sergeant X, who is the narrator in For Esme. Although they share the idea of mental suffering post war, the end results of the character's in both stories are different. Seymour doesn't handle his situation well, he has to much to deal with mentally, resulting in his death.
The Elkhorn Coral is considered to be the best and they’re the most important reef-building corals. They are also very blessed at reef building in the Caribbean sea. They have very large branches and the coral structure of the elkhorn which resembles elk antlers. Elkhorns create habitats for for sea animals like Lobsters, parrotfish,snapper shrimps and other reef fish. The colonies of elkhorns are said to be very fast growing and their average growth rate is 5 to 10 cm per year and can eventually grow up to 3.7m in diameter. The elkhorn lives in the Caribbean and they are corals of course. Their diet is organic byproducts of photosynthesis.They may eat live animals or live prey, like fish, and zooplankton. The elkhorn reproduces asexualy and their life span is unknown and they are very hard to find now days that they are typically gone they are only a threats are white band disease, hurricanes, bleaching and all sorts of things they could be endangered from. Their status is threatened throughout its range. Their importance to living is that they are considered to be the most important reef building corals in the
There’s No Real Good Guy In the movie, “Blackfish” we are exposed to the fact that the way orcas are treated at SeaWorld is worse than we are lead to believe. We see how they are forced to swim in tiny pools and how they can only be fed if they preform well. After seeing this it makes you feel like the only way to help these poor creatures is to jump on the animal activist wagon and to free all the whales like in “Free Willy”. But is that really the right way to go?