Thursday, May 23, 2013

More about cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous and bony fish regulate the salt found in water by:
Fish- drink a lot of seawater for hydration and excrete the concentrated salt through their gills and gut
Sharks- Reabsorb the area by the breakdown of protien back into their tissue

Sharks have developed a life strategy that requires slow growth to a relatively large size, while fish demonstrate rapid growth and reach maturity faster

Shark reproduction is internal. They have pelvic claspers that serve as the sperm conducting structure for internal fertilization.



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

What are cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous fish differ from other fish because they have skeletons made of cartilage

Examples of cartilaginous fish include sharks, rays, and chimeras

A sharks eye is special because some can protect their eye with a tough 3rd eyelid, and some even have a muscle that can roll their eye backward for protection.

Differences between bony and cartilaginous fish:



  • Sharks have fewer and larger blood cells
  • Shark skin is covered by dermal denticles and bony fish are covered in flat scales
  • Shark kidneys and genitals empty in only one opening while bony fish have two separate openings, the rectum and the anus.





  • Friday, May 10, 2013

    Marine Science Words of Wisdom

    "Dont wander away unseen for ten years...come back and visit often" Sea turtle hatchlings have to make their way from their nest on shore to the open ocean, alone. From the time they take their first swim until they return to the coastal ocean to forage as juveniles can take up to a decade and is called “the lost years” because they are so hard to track.


    Wednesday, May 8, 2013

    Nine Major Animal Phyla

    The nine major phyla are:


    1. Phylum Porifera - The Sponges
    2. Phylum Coelenterata – The Coelenterates: jellyfish, hydras, corals

    3. Phylum Platyhelminthes – The Flatworms: planaria, tapeworms
    4. Phylum Nematoda – The Roundworms
    5. Phylum Annelida – The Segmented Worms: earthworm, leech, sandworm
    6. Phylum Arthropoda – The Arthropods: insects, spiders, crustaceans
    7. Phylum Mollusca – The Mollusks: clams, snails, oysters, octopus
    8. Phylum Echinodermata – The Echinoderms: sea stars, sea urchins
    9. Phylum Chordata – The Chordates: fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals

    • The types of habitats they can be found in are salt water, fresh water, and terrestrial.

    • Some species dont have digestive systems, but those who do either have a complete or incomplete one.
    • I have seen birds in the shy flying by as an example of a species in a phyla





    Friday, April 19, 2013

    animal habitat

    In Eel grass the greater the density, the more animals that live in there

    Animal Habitat April 11th

    San Diego Bay is home to a list of Natural resources like salt marsh and tidal flats, birds nesting, and foraging sites

    An invasive species is those who evolved elsewhere and whose introduction has or is likely to cause harm to the environment or human health.

    An endangered species is a species who is at the risk of extinction. An endangered species in the SD Bay is the Pacific Green Sea Turtles. The San Diego bay offers a protected foraging habitat for the sea turtles and offers a prime study area for researchers

    http://www.portofsandiego.org/environment/natural-resources.html

    intro to SD bay

    The San Diego bay is located in San Diego county. It is 19km long and 1.6 to 4.8 km wide. It is the 3rd largest of 3 natural bays

    Activities on the bay are military activities and training

    The shallow end of the bay is used for evaporation to extract salt from sea water.

    The San diego National Wildlife refuge complex is located in Chula Vista

    The purpose of the SD National Wildlife is to preserve and protect the rare birds of southern california coastal marshes.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Bay
    http://www.fws.gov/sandiegorefuges/