Archive for November, 2008
The “pull” of the water that you feel as you stand in the shallows near the shoreline is just moving water rubbing against your skin. So, why is the water moving out to sea near the beach? Several different forces push – or pull – an excess of water up onto the beach, and then [...]
The male lobster is apparently quite the Casanova. Studies have shown that female lobsters tend to patiently wait in line outside of a male lobster’s den waiting for their turn to mate. One could say lobsters are apparently the ocean’s version of a rock star.
The males really do have all the right moves – for [...]
You just ingested a plethora of bacteria, exponentially less than that in terms of phytoplankton and then even fewer of zooplankton. Totaling several hundreds of millions of organisms – yup, that were living. Gulp. You will survive though. Just don’t make a habit out of it.
Also, it should be mentioned that there are a substantial [...]
What I think you are referring to is the trail of a moon snail, or sometimes called a sand snail. This univalve animal has a cinnamon bun swirled shell. The shell is extremely thick to protect itself from the ocean and other animals that may try to eat it.
If you try to pick it up [...]
The amount of salt in the ocean, known as salinity, is a measure of the of the amount of salt (in grams) dissolved in 1000 grams of water. So, the amount is expressed as parts per thousands.
Refractometers are a tool used to measure the amount of salinity in the ocean.
The salinity in the ocean is [...]
Theoretically, a barrier island is there to protect the mainland from harsh weather.
Barrier islands are a permanently exposed “mountains” from the bottom of the ocean made up of sand and rock and pebble. A lot of barrier islands are developed – as you drive to a barrier island you inevitably cross a bridge that is [...]
It is comparable to the amount of stars in the sky. Especially if you think that 95% of the world’s oceans are unexplored.
That is why in 2000 a huge census of what lives in the ocean started. The Census of Marine Life brings together more than 2,000 scientists from 82 countries to try and answer [...]
There are a few different answers here, depending on what type of fish we are asking about.
The most sophisticated types of fishes, the bony fishes, have a swim bladder. The fish can essentially inflate the swim bladder with gas from a special gas gland. The gas is basically just oxygen from the fish’s blood.
Bony fishes [...]
It is interesting to think that seagulls may want to rest at some point. When they are not pooping on your goofy cousin’s head or stealing your ice cream cone, they are re-energizing somewhere safe inland – anywhere they can – old boat yards, rock jetties, water towers, etc.
Also, I will add as with most [...]
If anyone has ever come upon a sea spider you immediately think – where are its guts and stuff? The answer is that their stomach, intestines and reproductive parts are housed within the sea spider’s legs. The animal breathes and manages waste by direct diffusion along the surface of it’s bodies. They can be a [...]
