A Quiz For Everyone!(1st part)

How much do you know about marine life?Answer this quiz and you will know how much you know about marine life!
1. When do most coral polyps feed?

1)They don't feed.
2)Any time during the day.
3)At night.
4)At 12 o'clock.

2. Why is black coral valuable to humans?

1)It is edible.
2)It contains an antioxidant that is sold in many parts of Asia.
3)It can be cut and polished and made into jewellery.
4)It can be used as a paint.
3. How many rows of teeth does a Whale shark have?

1)About 60
2)About 400
3)About 100
4)About 1000
4. Up to how long can a Whale shark grow?

1)30 metres
2)4 metres
3)12 metres
4)50 metres
5. Around how many species of sea sponge have been recorded by scientists?

1)Around 1000
2)Around 8000
3)Around 100
4)Around 25000


This is only the 1st part.The answers and ratings will be in the 2nd part.So stay tuned on the blog.Bye!

~Marine Lovers~

Check It Out!

Dear Marine Visitors,

Do visit this website. It has many fun underwater quizzes, games, stories and many more!

http://www.quizilla.com/tags/underwater

~Marine Trio'

More facts about coral reefs

Hi! Today,let us tell you how important the coral reefs are in the sea and how they become a reef.

The coral reefs make the amazing underworld park. Did you know that some fishes make the coral reefs their permanent home and never leave them? Some fishes live in the holes or cracks amongst the coral reef and some fishes hide in them too! Other than fishes, crustaceans, sea urchins and molluscs, other marine creatures also make the coral reefs their home.

The coral reefs are hard skeleton of dead coral polyps that used to live in groups called colonies. So,the coral reefs are built up by many coral polyps over a long period of time. The reefs are an accumulation of skeletons made up of carbonate of lime from dead polyps.

It begins with the formation of corals around the crater of a volcano until a circle of reefs or an atoll develops.then,the volcanic island is eroded away by the waves.It becomes smaller and eventually sinks into the sea leaving the atoll on the surface of the sea.

A fringing reef grows and becomes a barrier reef.New coral continues to grow on the old coral reefs.

The barrier reef continues to grow over the submerged island forming an atoll.

Not all oceans have coral reefs. Coral polyps are able to survive only in shallow tropical reefs. They need sufficient sunlight and water with a temperature not less than 18 Degree Celsius. The biggest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef along the northeast coast of Australia is the longest coral reef in the world. It is more than 2000km long.

We hope you have learned more about coral reefs.Bye for now!


~Marine Trio`

Sharks

Hello marine lovers! In this post, you will find out more about sharks, and please do not be afraid when you read this! Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protect their skin from damage and parasites and improve fluid dynamics, and they also have replaceable teeth. Sharks range in size from the small dwarf lanternshark, Etmopterus perryi, a deep sea species of only 17 centimetres in length, to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, the largest fish, which grows to a length of approximately 12 metres 39 ft and which, like baleen whales, feeds only on plankton, squid, and small fish through filter feeding. The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is the best known of several species to swim in both salt, freshwater and in deltas.Most sharks live for 20 to 30 years, while the spiny dogfish and the whale shark lives a record lifespan of more than 100 years. Until the 16th century, sharks were known to mariners as "sea dogs". According to the OED the name "shark" first came into use after Sir John Hawkins' sailors exhibited one in London in 1569 and used the word to refer to the large sharks of the Caribbean Sea, and later as a general term for all sharks. Evidence for the existence of sharks extends back over 450–420 million years, into the Ordovician period, before land vertebrates existed and before many plants had colonised the continents. All that has been recovered from the first sharks are some scales. The oldest shark teeth are from 400 million years ago. The first sharks looked very different from modern sharks. The majority of the modern sharks can be traced back to around 100 million years ago!
Mostly only the fossilized teeth of sharks are found, although often in large numbers. In some cases pieces of the internal skeleton or even complete fossilized sharks have been discovered. Estimates suggest that over a span of a few years a shark may grow tens of thousands of teeth, which explains the abundance of fossils. As the teeth consist of calcium phosphate, an apatite, they are easily fossilized.
Instead of bones, sharks have cartilagenous skeletons, with a bone-like layer broken up into thousands of isolated apatite prisms. When a shark dies, the decomposing skeleton breaks up and the apatite prisms scatter. Complete shark skeletons are only preserved when rapid burial in bottom sediments occurs.
Among the most ancient and primitive sharks is Cladoselache, from about 370 million years ago, which has been found within the Paleozoic strata of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. At this point in the Earth's history these rocks made up the soft sediment of the bottom of a large, shallow ocean, which stretched across much of North America. Cladoselache was only about 1 m long with stiff triangular fins and slender jaws. Its teeth had several pointed cusps, which would have been worn down by use. From the number of teeth found in any one place it is most likely that Cladoselache did not replace its teeth as regularly as modern sharks. Its caudal fins had a similar shape to the great white sharks and the pelagic shortfin and longfin makos. The discovery of whole fish found tail first in their stomachs suggest that they were fast swimmers with great agility.
From about 300 to 150 million years ago, most fossil sharks can be assigned to one of two groups. One of these, the Acanthodii, was almost exclusive to freshwater environments. By the time this group became extinct. About 220 million years ago, they had achieved worldwide distribution. The other group, the hybodonts, appeared about 320 million years ago and was mostly found in the oceans, but also in freshwater.
Modern sharks began to appear about 100 million years ago. Fossil mackerel shark teeth occurred in the Lower Cretaceous. One of the most recent families of sharks that evolved is the hammerhead sharks (family Sphyrnidae), which emerged in Eocene. The oldest white shark teeth date from 60 to 65 million years ago, around the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs. In early white shark evolution there are at least two lineages: one with coarsely serrated teeth that probably gave rise to the modern great white shark, and another with finely serrated teeth and a tendency to attain gigantic proportions. This group includes the extinct Megalodon, Carcharodon megalodon, which like most extinct sharks is only known from its teeth and a few vertebrae. This shark could grow to more than 16 metres long and is recognized as the biggest known carnivorous fish to have ever existed. Fossil records reveal that this shark preyed upon whales and other large marine mammals.
It is believed that the immense size of predatory sharks such as the great white may have arisen from the extinction of giant marine reptiles, such as the mosasaurs and the diversification of mammals. It is known that at the same time these sharks were evolving some early mammalian groups evolved into aquatic forms. Certainly, wherever the teeth of large sharks have been found, there has also been an abundance of marine mammal bones, including seals, porpoises and whales. These bones frequently show signs of shark attack. There are hypotheses that suggest that large sharks evolved to better take advantage of larger prey. Studies on the behaviour of sharks have only recently been carried out leading to little information on the subject, although this is changing. The classic view of the shark is that of a solitary hunter, ranging the oceans in search of food; however, this is only true for a few species, with most living far more sedentary, benthic lives. Even solitary sharks meet for breeding or on rich hunting grounds, which may lead them to cover thousands of miles in a year. Migration patterns in sharks may be even more complex than in birds, with many sharks covering entire ocean basins.
Some sharks can be highly social, remaining in large schools, sometimes up to over 100individuals of scalloped hammerheads congregating around seamounts and islands e.g. in the Gulf of California. Cross-species social hierarchies exist with oceanic whitetip sharks dominating silky sharks of comparable size when feeding.
When approached too closely some sharks will perform a threat display to warn off the prospective predators. This usually consists of exaggerated swimming movements, and can vary in intensity according to the level of threat. So as you see marine lovers, you might notice that I have posted mostly about marine animals, because I truly, truly hope that we, as people, will feel like we have a duty to treat them well. So long!
~~~~~~Megan~~~~~~

Octopus

Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (as distinct from the tentacles found in squid and cuttlefish), usually bearing suction cups. These arms are a type of muscular hydrostat. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses, those in the suborder most commonly known, Incirrina — have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. They have do not have a protective outer shell like the nautilus, or any vestige of an internal shell or bones, like cuttlefish or squid. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is the only hard part of their body. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish. The octopuses in the less familiar Cirrina suborder have two fins and an internal shell, generally reducing their ability to squeeze into small spaces.
Octopuses have a relatively short life expectancy, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch. They neglect to eat during the one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs, but they don't die of starvation. Endocrine secretions from the two optic glands are the cause of genetically-programmed death, and if these glands are surgically removed, the octopus may live many months beyond reproduction, until she finally starves.
Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Although less efficient under normal conditions than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, in cold conditions with low oxygen pressure, hemocyanin oxygen transportation is more efficient than hemoglobin oxygen transportation. The hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being bound in red blood cells and gives the blood a blue color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.
Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably more intelligent than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists, but maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based, although this remains largely unproven. They learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom young octopuses have very little contact.
An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the Mimic Octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.
In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning, although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds. Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play- repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.
In some countries, octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia. In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals Act 1986 and other cruelty to animals legislation, extending to them protections not normally afforded to invertebrates.
A common belief is that when stressed, an octopus may begin to eat its own arms. However, limited research conducted in this area has revealed that the cause of this strange behavior, may be a virus that attacks the octopus's nervous system. This behavior may be more correctly labeled as a neurological disorder.
Three defensive mechanisms are typical of octopuses: ink sacs, camouflage, and autotomising limbs.
This small octopus species will travel with shells that it has collected for protection.Most octopuses can eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main colouring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin colour. This ink cloud dulls smell, which is particularly useful for evading predators that are dependent on smell for hunting, such as sharks.
An octopus's camouflage is by certain specialized skin cells which can change the apparent color, opacity, and reflectiveness of the epidermis. Chromatophores contain yellow, orange, red, brown, or black pigments; most species have three of these colors, while some have two or four. Other colour-changing cells are reflective iridophores, and leucophores (white). This colour-changing ability can also be used to communicate with or warn other octopuses. The very venomous blue-ringed octopus becomes bright yellow with blue rings when it is provoked.
When under attack, some octopuses can detach their own limbs, in a similar manner to the way skinks and other lizards detach their tails. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators. This ability is also used in mating.
A few species, such as the Mimic Octopus, have a fourth defense mechanism. They can combine their highly flexible bodies with their colour changing ability to (accurately) mimic other, more dangerous animals such as lionfish, sea snakes and eels. They have also been observed changing the texture of their mantle in order to achieve a greater camouflage. The mantle can take on the spiky appearance of seaweed, or the scraggly, bumpy texture of a rock, among other disguises.S, marine lovers, this is just another brief description about marine animals. See you next time!
~~~~~~Megan~~~~~~

Crabs

Crabs are 10-legged animals that walk sideways. There are almost 5,000 different species of crabs; about 4,500 are true crabs, plus about 500 are hermit crabs (hermit crabs don't have a very hard shell and use other animals' old shells for protection). Most crabs live in the oceans, but many, like the robber crab, live on land.
The Biggest Crabs: The biggest crab is the Japanese Spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi), which lives on the floor of the north Pacific Ocean; it has a 12 ft leg span. The biggest land crab is the Coconut crab ,which lives on islands in the Pacific Ocean. It has a leg span up to 2.5 ft.
Many crabs are omnivores,others are carnivores,and some are herbivores.
Crabs are invertebrates, animals without a backbone. They have an exoskeleton (also called a carapace), an outer shell that both protects them from predators and provides support. These crustaceans have ten jointed legs, two of which have large, grasping claws (called pincers or chelipeds). They have a flattened body, two feelers,and two eyes located at the ends of stalks.
Marine crabs breathe underwater using gills, which are located in a two cavities under the carapace. True land crabs have enlarged, modified cavities that act like lungs so that the land crabs can breathe air.
The earliest unambiguous crab fossils date from the Jurassic, although the Carboniferous Imocaris, known only from its carapace is thought to be a primitive crab. The radiation of crabs in the Cretaceous and afterwards may be linked either to the break-up of Gondwana or to the concurrent radiation of bony fish, the main predators of crabs.
About 850 species of crab are freshwater or (semi-)terrestrial species; they are found throughout the world's tropical and semi-tropical regions. They were previously thought to be a closely related group, but are now believed to represent at least two distinct lineages, one in the Old World and one in the New World. Well, this is all I can tell you about crabs, marine-lovers. See you in the next poest!
~~~~~~Megan~~~~~~

A Uniquely Interesting Marine Creature...

Dear Marine Visitors,

Today, you are about to read about the most mysterious, unique, and Hard-To-Believe Marine Creature. Guess what it is.

If you guessed the Loch ness Monster, then you are right!

The Loch ness Monster is an alleged animal, identified neither as to a family or species, purpotedly inhabating Scotland's Loch Ness. The Loch Ness Monster is one of the best-known cryptids studied by cryptozoology. Popular belief and interest in the animal has fluctuated over the years since it came to the world's attention in 1933.

Evidence of it's existence is largely anecdotal, with minimal, and much disputed, photographic material and sonar readings: there has not been any physical evidence(skeletal remainings, capture of a live animal, definitive tissue samples or spoor) uncovered as of 2008. Local people, and later many around the world, have affectionately referred to the animal by the diminutive Nessie since the 1950s.

For many years, scientists have been trying to uncover the secrets of this mysterious creature.

For More information, visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster

Sincerely,
~Gina~

How to save the coral reefs and other sea creatures environment (part 4)

Hi to the readers of this post!Today will be the final part for 'How to save the coral reefs and other sea creatures environment'.Hope you enjoyed all the 4 parts that I have stated.

7.Plant a tree:Trees reduce runoff into the oceans. You will also contribute to reversing the warming of our planet,the rising temperatures of our oceans and making the world a more beautiful place for all.

8.Support reef-friendly businesses:Ask the fishing, boating, hotel, aquarium, dive or snorkeling operators how they protect the reef. Be sure they care for the living reef ecosystem and ask if the organization responsible is part of a coral reef ecosystem management effort.By asking them for more information,you can use the information they give you to do something for the coral reefs and sea creatures.

So after reading all of the parts,be sure to do your part in how to save the coral reefs and other sea creatures environment today!

~Belinda~