In this blog Hannah describes many different types of sea life. Good luck exploring! — Editor Roman Rickwood
By Hannah Hall, Nature Correspondent
It’s summer. Quarantine restrictions are loosening. The time is coming when you will see, splashed across social media, people on their tropical vacations. Although I am not one of those people, congratulations to you if you are. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t create a makeshift island experience. I found one way to do that is pretend snorkeling. All you have to do is look up snorkeling pictures underwater.
Unfortunately, you will not find mermaids, but here I have done a little bit of research regarding some species you can find under the sea.
Green Sea Turtle
The green sea turtle has a smooth dark brown or olive-colored shell and green-tinged flesh which comes from their diet. They are herbivores and eat reef, sea grass, and algae. Hatchlings, however, do eat jellyfish and invertebrates. When fully grown, on average, they are 3-4 ft long and 350 pounds but can get up to 5ft and 700 pounds! The turtles migrate throughout the entire ocean during their lifetime, but only females come to shore to lay eggs. Female turtles always go back to the same beach on which they were born no matter the distance. They lay about 100-200 eggs, and they hatch in over two months. Oftentimes predators such as birds and crabs will go after these eggs and hatchlings, which makes the yield pretty low, estimating that only 1 in 1000 or even 1 in 10,000 survive till adulthood. Green Sea Turtles are an endangered species, but, unfortunately due to hunting, man-made accidents, climate change, and habitat loss, the numbers are still waning. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation predicts that “90 percent [of the sea turtle] population decrease[d] over the past half century.” Still, their lifespan is pretty long, ranging from 80-100 years.
Clownfish
Clownfish, also known as false clownfish or clown anemonefish, are known by their iconic bright orange color with white and black stripes, but they can also come in colors such as “pink, red, yellow, black, brown and multi-colored stripes” (livescience.com). Clownfish live in the south-east corner of the world in shallow waters. They create a symbiotic relationship with anemones as they use them for protection, and the clownfish eats the parasite within the anemone. All clownfish are born male but are hermaphrodites. They have the ability to change their sex to female, usually for mating, but once they change, it is not possible to change back. Their social circle is led by one dominant female, which is the largest fish. The second in charge is the largest male fish. If the female dies, then the dominant male will transition to being female, then the new largest male will become second dominant as a replacement. According to the National Aquarium, clownfish eat algae, zooplankton, worms, and small crustaceans.
Anemone
Anemone, as we learned before, are a big part of the clownfish lifestyle. Anemones do, however, have a life of their own. One other includes green algae. NatGeo says “in exchange for providing the algae safe harbor and exposure to sunlight, the anemone receives oxygen and sugar, the bi-products of the algae’s photosynthesis.” If jellyfish was a kind of coral, that’s what an anemone looks like—they are all actually related. Anemones come in the colors of the rainbow and have tentacle appendages and a base-like structure. They use their tentacles to sting and contract fish into their body cavity. They have one hole which leads to their gut, but that also means they have one way out if you know what I mean. They remarkably can weigh up to 440 pounds, and their mouths can open up to 2ft wide!
There are many other species that you will come across if you actually get to go snorkeling. Let me know what kinds of tropical creatures you wish I covered.
Editor-in-Chief: Roman Rickwood
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/green-sea-turtle
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Sea-Turtles/Green-Sea-Turtle
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/clownfish
https://www.livescience.com/55399-clownfish.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/sea-anemones
https://sciencing.com/physical-characteristics-sea-anemone-8680735.html
im headshot-less 🙁